Required Texts:

        Brigitte Reimann, Ankunft im Alltag (1961)
        Hermann Kant, Die Aula (1965)
        Ulrich Plenzdorf,  Die neuen Leiden des jungen W. (1972)
        Christa Wolf,   Kein Ort. Nirgends (1979)
        Christoph Hein, Der fremde Freund (1982)
        Christoph Hein, Horns Ende (1985)
        Jurek Becker, Bronsteins Kinder (1986)

        Photocopies of selected short texts

Recommended Texts:

        -Wolfgang Emmerich, Kleine Literaturgeschichte der DDR (Leipzig: Kiepenheuer, 1996)
        -Joseph Gibaldi, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 4th ed. (New York: 1995)

Course Evaluation:
 
        Option One:
        Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20%
        Diskussionsleitung . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20%
        Referat  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20%
        Midterm  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20%
        Final  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20%

        Option Two:
        Participation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20%
        Diskussionsleitung  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%
        Semester Project
                Abstract   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    7%
                2-pages + biblio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    8%
                Report  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10%
                Paper  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  35%

Attendance: We will miss you if you are not here, and besides that, if you are absent for (almost) any reason in excess of 1 class period, your final course grade will be lowered by 2 percentage points per absence.

Participation: Participation in class discussion involves first of all close and careful reading of the texts.  You are expected to read each text thoroughly and conscientiously, to bring to class your ideas, questions, and interpretations, to prepare answers to the questions on hand-outs when they are provided to guide your reading, and to listen to and consider carefully and considerately what others say.  Each person's full participation in class discussion is essential to making this course an intellectually stimulating and rewarding experience for everyone.

Diskussionsleitung: You will lead the discussion on a selected work for half of one class period.  At the end of the class preceding your Diskussionsleitung, you should provide a list of questions that will help guide our reading.  At this time you might also want to explain briefly the work's context and which aspects you would like us to focus on.  You will probably want to begin your Diskussionsleitung by providing background information about the text's genesis and its author's life, as well as a summary of important points, both those you have discovered yourself and those discussed in secondary literature.  You will then lead the discussion based on the questions you have given us and the other important points you have discovered.

As part of this component it is required that you read several works of secondary literature about the text you are discussing, not counting articles in reference works such as The Oxford Companion to German Literature. Knowing how inadequate Wise Library can occasionally be, you will need to search for relevant material early in the semester so that you can avail yourself of the Interlibrary Loan Service, should you need to. It should be clear from your presentation what secondary texts you have read, perhaps by disputing or affirming the positions taken in them.  My evaluation of your performance will be based on evidence of effort, accurate and insightful scholarship, and an interesting and informative presentation that involves all class members.

Referat: This report will be on a topic of importance to GDR literature and literary history not assigned to the class as a whole, but of relevance to our understanding of the period.  It should be 20-40 minutes in length and may be followed by a discussion, but its duration should never exceed 60 minutes.

Possible topics and appropriate dates include:
Bitterfelder Weg (26. Jan., 2. oder 9. Feb.); Fantasie im Sozialismus (23. Feb.); Wolf Biermann–seine Lieder und seine Ausbürgerung (16. März); die Rolle des Kabaretts in der DDR (16. oder 23. März, 6. oder 20. April); Ökologische Literatur (z.B., Monika Marons Flugasche–23. März); Literatur der Hineingeborenen / “Die Szene” im Prenzlauer Berg (6. oder 20. April); die Schriftsteller und die Stasi (z.B., Was bleibt–20. April); Feminismus in einer “emanzipierten” Gesellschaft (z.B. Wolfs Kassandra–es gibt auch viele andere Möglichkeiten–23. Feb. oder 16. März)

Take-Home Midterm: There will be no class on March 2nd.   Instead you will write a take-home midterm at this time on key points we have discussed in class.

Final: There will be an in-class final on the terms, texts and ideas we have discussed throughout the semester.

Semester Project: The project will consist of four parts: an abstract of your proposed research paper, in which you state your thesis and how you will proceed (due February 23); a list of works cited  plus the first two pages of your paper (due April 6); an oral report on the paper topic (date to be arranged) and the completed research paper (due May 5 at approximately 3:00 p.m.).  These different components will be graded; the grade for the abstract will be worth 7%, the list of works cited plus first two pages 8%, the oral report 10%, and the completed research paper 35%.  The project must reflect familiarity with secondary literature on your chosen topic (including recent articles), and it must be written according to the style guidelines presented in the MLA Handbook, including use of parenthetical documentation and a list of works cited.  Papers should use standard size font (10 cpi), 1 inch margins, and double-spacing, and should be 15-18 pages in length. Start thinking now about a topic you would like to research--it can be on the material discussed in class or on other texts belonging to the period under study.

Semester Schedule:
Our readings and discussions will proceed approximately as follows:

Week 1 (January 12):
                Introduction: Anti-Fascismus und das literarische Erbe
                Discussion of  “Sieg der Zukunft” Hand-out: Freundschaft mit der Sowjet Union; Sozialistischer Realismus

Week 2 (January 19: Martin Luther King Recess)
 
Week 3 (January 26):
                Vom Aufbau zur Ankunft I
                Discussion of Brigitte Reimann’s Ankunft im Alltag

Week 4 (February 2):
                Vom Aufbau zur Ankunft I
                Begin discussion of Hermann Kant’s Die Aula.(to p. 235)   
 
Week 5 (February 9):
                Vom Aufbau zur Ankunft II
                Complete discussion of Die Aula

Week 6 (February 16):
                Das Individuum und die Gesellschaft I
                Discussion of Ulrich Plenzdorf's Die neuen Leiden des jungen W.

Week 7 (February 23):
                Fantasie im Sozialismus; ein neues Verhaeltnis zum Erbe
                Discussion of Hand-outs: Anna Seghers’ “Die Reisebegegnung” and Günter Kunert’s “Pamphlet fuer K.”

Week 8 (March 2): Take-home Midterm

Week 9 (March 9): Spring break

Week 10 (March 16):
                Die Neubewertung der Romantik
                Discussion of Christa Wolf’s Kein Ort. Nirgends

Week 11 (March 23):
                Das Individuum und die Gesellschaft II: Neuer Realismus
                Discussion of Christoph Hein’s Der fremde Freund [Drachenblut]

Week 12 (March 30):
                “Vergangenheitsbewältigung” in der DDR/Opfer und Täter I
                Begin discussion of Christoph Hein’s Horns Ende (to p. 125)

Week 13 (April 6):
                “Vergangenheitsbewältigung” in der DDR/Opfer und Täter I
               Complete discussion of Christoph Hein’s Horns Ende

Week 14 (April 13):
                Das väterliche Erbe: Opfer und Täter II
                Begin discussion of Jurek Becker’s Bronsteins Kinder (to p. 149)

Week 15 (April 20):
                Das väterliche Erbe: Opfer und Täter II
                Complete discussion of Jurek Becker’s Bronsteins Kinder

Week 16 (April 27): Course Wrap-Up

Please refer to this syllabus frequently throughout the semester to remind yourself of the course’s requirements and schedule.

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