The University of Maryland, European Division

German 338: Kurzgeschichten
 

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In Term 01/02, Academic Year 2001/2002, starting on 27 August 2001, the University of Maryland in Europe will offer the following distance education German literature course:

Deutsche Kurzgeschichten von der Romantik bis zur Gegenwart

27 August - 14 December 2001

The objectives of this course are:

To introduce students to a representative selection of classical shorter literary texts by German authors in the past two centuries. These texts belong to the great cultural heritage of the nation.

To gain insight into the cultural settings of the periods in which the texts were written.

To understand the techniques the authors used to construct and create their texts.

To appreciate, and learn from the usage of expressive tools the authors use.

To learn to express your impressions and thoughts in proper and 'graceful' German.

To extend your vocabulary beyond the range of 'Alltagsdeutsch'.

Prerequisite:         GERM 200-level course or equivalent.
Credit:                  Three (3) semester hours via Distance Education
Instructor:            Dr. Gerhard Schulz
Dates:                   Terms I - II,   27 August - 14 December 2001
Requirements:      Email and Internet Access, Web Browser

All communication in this course will be in German (except administrative issues).

Schedule:

For most of these texts there will be vocabulary help 

STUDENT AND TEACHER RESPONSIBILITIES :  

You are expected to participate on a regular basis. Logging on twice a week is considered a minimum.
Turning in assignments is not just something between you and me. We are learning as a group, and it is important for the other students to share in the results of your work (in a traditional classroom they would hear your speech/report/questions etc.). Students will also be required to keep up with the reading according to the indicated sequence and time frame.

I have set up a schedule, however, there will be enough time to follow sidelines that develop as the course progresses. I shall insert short grammatical discussions when I see a need for them, - you should indicate topics that you wish to be integrated into the course. One of the biggest advantages of the WebTycho platform is that the contributions which we make are always available for 'inspection', - they don't wind up on individual PCs; it's like having a large classroom wall where our ideas find a public place to 'reside'. This is our great chance to interact, communicate, and learn from each other.  

Grading your work will, of course, be done privately, i. e. via email. Basically the WT platform is the medium for discussions, email is the electronic medium for one-on-one contact. I am under obligation to respond promptly to work and questions that you send in.  

A NOTE ON USING RESOURCES:  

Scholarly (and scientific) research is characterized by utilizing the results of other scholars. Progress in the field of research means adding something to the stock of knowledge that so far has been accumulated. From this point of view drawing on resources is a normal process when formulating one's own thoughts. It is, however, mandatory to name the source of information you are using (in order to give credit to the author of the original text). Omitting to name your sources will cause you to be accused of plagiarism and will - in a college course - have an adverse effect on your grade.  See the Maryland in Europe Catalog for UMUC policy on plagiarism and academic dishonesty.
  

COURSE MATERIALS:  

Materials for this course will come from various sources. Most of the original texts will be made available in download form from the lecturer's homepage. Some of the texts you will have to buy (see "Leseliste"). Vocabulary lists can also be downloaded; very valuable background material for some of the authors and their texts is available in the inexpensive Reclam series "Erläuterungen und Dokumente" (check www.amazon.de). There are also many websites dealing with the authors and the texts we are studying.   

GRADING INFORMATION:  

The component parts of your Final Grade will be:

•      Online Participation: 20 % 
•      Weekly Assignments: 30 % 
•      PROJECT: Extra Work ("Freie Arbeit"): 20 % 
•      Rate of Improvement ("Lernzuwachs"): 10 % 
•      Midterm Examination (online): 10 %  (All materials and dictionary allowed) 
•      Final Examination (online): 10 %  (All materials and dictionary allowed)

I will use the standard 100 point scale:  

A: 100-90,  B: 89-80;  C: 79-70;  D: 69-60;  F(a): below 60 /  F(n) -  unexcused non-participation/ non attendance

If you have any questions feel free to contact me at gschulz@lists.ed.umuc.edu

Send me a note!