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Lehrplan: |
Kulturkunde: Introduction to German Cultural Studies  MWF 1-1:50 Kauke 204 Writing Assignments, Final Project, Course Goals, Grading, Academic Integrity _______________________________ Wulf Koepke, Die Deutschen
You are also expected to own (this is most ideal)--or have ready access to:
_______________________________ German 260 is designed to introduce you to the discipline of German studies and to improve your information literacy skills, that is, your ability to locate and evaluate both print and electronic forms of information. As with all courses taught in the German Department at the College of Wooster, we will work in this course to refine and expand your German communication skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, and cultural knowledge, with emphasis placed on the latter two. The course will be conducted entirely in German and is intended to serve as a bridge between the first five semesters of German (beginning, intermediate and advanced German) and upper-level seminars. Beginning in German history where German 250 left off, we will begin with a discussion of the Second World War and the theme of Vergangenheitsbewältigung and work backwards to the Middle Ages. Koepke's reader, Die Deutschen, will provide an overview of the major events of German cultural history together with grammar review and vocabulary-building exercises. Readings of primary texts (including those by Schlink and Goethe) and secondary print and electronic sources will help you to hone your reading skills and analytical abilitites. Information literacy sessions in the library will be related to your writing assignments and will help you to move from writing a book review at the beginning of the course to writing a fifteen-page final research project at the end of the semester. **Special thanks go to Christen Cardina and The College of Wooster Information Literacy Committee for providing Mellon Grant Funding to support the preparation of this course. I also thank Damon Hickey for his assistance with information literacy activities and Irene Mynatt for technical support. _______________________________ Participation and attendance are required. Please make sure to bring your texts with you to all classes and be ready to begin class on time. If you must miss a session, I expect you to inform me of this before class on that day. Absences are excused when due to illness, personal or family emergency, or activities or religious holidays recognized by the College of Wooster. Excessive tardiness and unexcused absences will affect your grade significantly. To guarantee maximum use of our class periods, reading and writing assignments must be prepared and completed on time, as assigned on the syllabus. Our main purpose in class is to use German communicatively and creatively, and the homework is an essential means to this end. All written homework assignments are due on the date indicated. I will be happy to comment on and correct late homework, but you will receive no credit for it. Please keep in mind that homework includes reviewing information, vocabulary, and grammar points from previous lessons. "Übung macht den Meister (bzw. die Meisterin)," as the Germans say. _______________________________ Writing assignments are due on the day indicated on the syllabus and will be graded as a separate category from the rest of your homework. This is done both to acknowledge the particular effort that these assignments require and to emphasize the importance of developing writing skills. The essays will be graded based on both content and form (grammar and structure of paper). All writing assignments must be typed and checked with a German spell-check program. If you are not satisfied with the grade you receive for a writing assignment, you may revise it and the two grades will be averaged together. Revisions are due one week after the original assignment is returned to you. Due Dates: Feb. 9; March 9; April 13 _______________________________ Your final assignment for this class will be a research project with a related oral presentation. In the research project you will be expected to write a bibliography incorporating electronic and print sources and then write a 15-page analysis making use of these sources. This project will allow you to draw together the various skills you have developed this semester. The topic can be of your own choosing, but I will also give you a list of suggestions. You will be expected to turn in a rough draft two weeks before the end of the semester, and then you will be expected to turn in a revised version (revised on both content and language levels) at the time scheduled for our final exam. During this period, you will also be expected to give a brief oral report (approximately 10 minutes) in which you present your work. Rough Draft Due:
April 20 _______________________________
Students are expected to be familiar with and abide by the Code of Academic Integrity as outlined in The Scot's Key Official Student Handbook. I consider the following to be means of attempting to gain unfair advantage over your fellow students: knowingly representing the work of others as your own; falsifying data. Academic dishonesty will result in a "0" on the assignment in question and a written report of the incident to the Dean of Students. In severe instances it will result in an "F" for the course. _______________________________ Please inform me as soon as possible of any special learning requirements you have. |