1 - 6 of 6 results for: GERMAN

We designed this course for students who have some German, and who want to jump-start their language acquisition through an intense and immersive experience. If you have taken two or three quarters of German, or if you took German in high school, this course will allow you to dramatically improve your proficiency, all the while immersing you in German music, film, literature and journalism. Our main thematic focus will the city of Berlin, and the many groups that have migrated there over the years: their experiences and artistic creations, from concertos to hip hop videos, from poems to comic books, and from classic films to viral videos will be our guides through both a fascinating city and a fascinating language. Sophomore College course: Applications required, March 1 - April 5, 2016. Apply at http://soco.stanford.edu

Who were the Vikings and what has been their influence on contemporary culture? This course provides a broad introduction to Viking society and culture as well as to their legacy in the modern world. We will look at Viking life, mythology, literature, art and archaeology as well as modern adaptations of Viking culture in music, literature, film and television. We will read some of the great works of Viking literature ¿ tales of Odin and Thor, of magic and monsters, of adventures across the seas - and examine online exhibitions of Vikings artefacts and settlements in Europe and Newfoundland. During the first half of the course, students will begin thinking about their final project ¿ a creative reimagining one of the texts or artefacts which we will discuss in class. The latter half of the course will focus on the development of the Vikings as a cultural model for modern creative expression. We will investigate how Norse themes, characters and forms were adapted in Germany, England and the USA in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by writers, artists and composers such as Richard Wagner, William Morris, Henry Longfellow and J.R.R. Tolkien. The course will conclude with a discussion of how the Vikings (and Viking ideas) are represented today in popular culture, including the 1958 Kirk Douglas film, ¿the Vikings¿, the TV shows ¿The Vikings¿ and ¿Game of Thrones¿ and the Marvel comic books series. Students will be encouraged to examine the ways in which these texts engage with their historical models and consider how this might influence their own creative project.

Repeatable for Credit. Instructor Consent Required