Media and the City: 1920s
& 30s Berlin
Midnight in Berlin
“Weimar was Berlin, Berlin
Weimar. With more than four million residents, the capital was by far the
largest city in Germany, the second largest in Europe, a megalopolis that charmed
and frightened, attracted and repelled Germans and foreigners alike. […] Berlin
was a magnet for artists and poets, the young and ambitious. It had a
glittering nightclub scene, including scores of homosexual bars, and a
relentless fascination with the body and sex.”
(Eric D.
Weitz. Weimar Germany.)
German 232.001:
Winter 2013
Mon,Tues,Thurs,Fri 10-11am
Instructor:
Hannah McMurray (hanmcm@umich.edu)
Course description
Forget Midnight in Paris…this course transports us back in time to explore Berlin! Focusing mainly on Berlin’s “goldene zwanziger Jahre,” this course examines the city as a vibrant, modern metropolis, pulsating with both people and ideas. We will become acquainted with some of the greatest cultural icons of the twentieth century, including Fritz Lang, Bertolt Brecht, Erich Kästner, Hannah Höch, Käthe Kollwitz, and Mies van der Rohe. We will become familiar with some of the major schools and movements which defined Modernism during this period, such as Bauhaus, Dada and Neue Sachlichkeit.
We will read short excerpts from literary works, interpret works
of art and architecture, and view films. Grammar and vocabulary work will be a
part of each topic. Course materials will be made available on CTools.
