Course
Description:
With the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, the
Cold War officially ended on German soil. The
demise of the German Democratic Republic has
paved the way for a redefinition of Germany
as a modern state. But how can a divided country
whose common jingoist, genocidal past has rendered
nationalism deeply suspect begin to conceive
of itself as a viable and future-oriented unified
nation? This seminar looks at recent German
cinema to explore how idealism and political
dissent have shaped post-World War II German
history and the construction of national identity
after reunification in 1990. Students will watch
and discuss films about the continuing rift
between East and West. We will examine films
that present the GDR as an Unrechtsstaat, a
fortified prison state replete with police surveillance,
scarcity, censorship, and the lack of basic
freedoms, and others that promote Ostalgie,
a stubborn nostalgia for the East and the missed
opportunities of communism. We will also analyze
films about the Rote Armee Fraktion (RAF) or
Baader-Meinhof Gang, which illustrate the crushing
effect of National Socialism on the ‘68
generation as well as their rebellion against
the excesses of the capitalist consumer paradise.
Finally, we will study a group of films about
the emergence of “creative chaos”
as a strategy to protest against the loss of
utopian dreams. At the root of our endeavor
is to investigate how post-wall German cinema
continuously accentuates that history is never
an objective past reality just waiting to be
uncovered but always mediated and given significance
as a constructed narrative. We will explore
the notion that historians assemble the past
into a coherent and meaningful story through
narration, the conscious act of selection, arrangement,
and control. Moreover, we will address the postmodern
preoccupation with ruptures, discontinuities,
and absences to question the master narrative
that sees the period 1989-1990 as the inevitable
triumph of capitalism over communism.
Learning Goals:
Students will gain fundamental knowledge of
the post-World War II German history, the development
of German cinema after the fall of the Berlin
wall, and the debates surrounding the construction
of a shared national identity since reunification.
This Scribner Seminar
aims:
To provide students with a basic understanding
of recent German history and culture. Themes
include the history of the GDR; socialist realism
and real existing socialism; the worker’s
revolt; the building of the wall; political
dissent under communism; the economic miracle
in the FRG; the development of terrorism in
the FRG; the student movement and peaceful protest;
the peaceful revolution of 1989; the fall of
the wall; reunification; and the current political
and social climate.
General Goals of all
Scribner Seminars:
• distinguish among, and formulate, the
types of questions asked by different disciplines
• read critically, and gather and interpret
evidence
• distinguish among the evidence and methodologies
appropriate to different disciplines
• consider and address complexities and
ambiguities
• develop the habit of mind of making
connections among ideas
• recognize choices, examine assumptions
and take a skeptical stance
• formulate conclusions based upon evidence
• communicate those ideas to others both
orally and in writing
• relate the results to each student's
educational goals
Specific Goals of this
Scribner Seminar:
• To develop critical and comparative
reading skills by introducing students to both
primary and secondary sources
• To enhance the ability to read and think
critically about scholarly writing by examining
a variety of texts from different theoretical
and interpretative perspectives
• To develop better oral and written communication
skills
• To foster an awareness of the importance
of debate in scholarly writing and knowledge
Requirements:
• Class and Film Screening Attendance,
Participation in Discussions (10%)
• Oral Report (10%)
• Three Film Analyses: three essays of
5 pages each (45%)
• Final Research Paper: an essay of 10
pages (35%)
Fourth Credit Hour:
The flexible fourth credit hour will allow us
to meet individually to discuss your progress
at Skidmore, work on the mechanics of writing,
review effective learning strategies, and learn
about each other’s interests and intellectual
passions. As a group we will venture into Scribner
Library together and evaluate various print
and electronic resources. In addition, we will
meet with participants in other Scribner Seminars
to discuss and debate common issues, readings,
or theoretical perspectives.
Required Films:
The following films will be shown once a week
on Tuesday evenings from 7-9 in BO 380 starting
Thursday, Sept. 21st and attendance is required.
All films are in German with English subtitles.
Since several of the films are zone 2 (Europe),
you will need to see the films in the scheduled
film hour in BO 380.
1. Berlin is in Germany (Hannes Stöhr,
2001)
2. Der Tunnel (The Tunnel,
Roland Suso Richter, 2001)
3. Das Versprechen (The Promise,
Margarethe von Trotta, 1994)
4. Raus aus der Haut (Shedding
Skins, 1997, Andreas Dresen)
5. Die Stille nach dem Schuß
(The Legend of Rita, 1999, Volker Schlöndorff)
6. Baader (2002, Christopher Roth)
7. Was tun, wenn's brennt? (What
to Do in Case of Fire?, 2002, Gregor Schnitzler)
8. Goodbye, Lenin! (Wolfgang Becker,
2003)
9. Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei (The
Edukators, Hans Weingartner, 2005)
Required Texts:
Jarausch, Konrad and Michael Geyer. Shattered
Past: Reconstructing German Histories.
Princeton University Press, 2003. ISBN: 069105936.
Landy, Marcia, ed. The Historical Film:
History and Memory in Media. Rutgers University
Press, 2000. ISBN: 0813528569.
White, Hayden. The Content of the Form:
Narrative Discourse and Historical Representation.
Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987. ISBN
0-8018-4115-1
.
Selected Readings will be distributed in class.
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