GM3LNI-The German Language and National identity

Module Provider: Languages and Cultures
Number of credits: 20 [10 ECTS credits]
Level:6
Terms in which taught: Spring term module
Pre-requisites: GM2L4 Advanced German Language II or GM2L3 Advanced German Language I or GM2L2 German Language II
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2023/4

Module Convenor: Dr Melani Schroeter
Email: m.schroeter@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:

This module introduces students to the role of language in perceptions of and debates about national identity. We will start our exploration at the end of the Thirty Years’ War in 1648, when early reflections about the state of Germany as well as about using the German language for poetry and learned writing began, alongside an increasing use of German in formal and official contexts and an increasing codification of the language in the form of grammars and dictionaries as well as, with these, the regularisation of orthography. We will trace developments such as increasing levels of literacy and schooling, an expanding public administration requiring written records (as well as literacy) and an expanding public sphere sustained initially by print and later other media. We will also look at debates reflecting the role of the German language in providing a sense of shared identity across the various German-speaking territories prior to the advent of the first modern German nation state in 1871. We will link the emergence of the latter to refreshed undertakings of standardising the German language. We will also see how increased political participation in mass democracies led to criticism of the use or abuse of language by politicians in order to gain and sustain political power. This becomes especially relevant in post-war reflections of linguistic manipulation by the Nazi regime and how a change in language use was required for a fresh start in the new post-war German states. A further crucial stage to consider in this respect is German unification and to what extent language use differed in East and West, leading to different repertoires, and the impact of this on a shared sense of identity in East and West. Last but not least, the use and role of German also feeds into debates about the integration of immigrants in Germany. At this stage, we can also critically reflect whether there is or should be such a thing as a collectively shared ‘national identity’. We will also consider how and why resistance to the amount of borrowing from English that occurs in German as well as to the implementation of the most recent orthography reform in the 1990s is linked to right-wing political positions.     

Aims:

Students will be familiarised with developments in German history from the 17th century onwards, with a view on how Germany developed into a nation state and how views of the German language as well as the use of the German language changed in the context of political, social and technological developments. Students will gain an understanding of the processes of standardisation and codification of language and will appreciate the wider political and social contexts in which these are embedded – such developments do not apply exclusively to German and insights into such processes are therefore transferable to other languages. We will look at writing and debates about the uses (and abuses) of German and therefore come to appreciate how much language matters in discussions about a shared sense of identity beyond the individual. Links can be made also between different views on what language does or should do, what it should be like and how it should be used and the resulting variety in criticism as well as political and regulatory demands.

Intended learning outcomes:

Students should be able to identify and trace different periods in the development of the German language in conjunction with the changing states and shapes of ‘the nation’. Students will be able to relate the standardisation and codification of German to this process. They should be able relate debates about the German language to the specific historical, political or social context in which they occur. Considering more recent debates, they should be able to associate different views, claims and demands about language with different political positioning.

Assessable learning outcomes:

By the end of the module it is expected that students will be able to:

• Identify different periods in German history


• Link developments in the use and standardisation of German to different periods in German history


• Critically discuss the way in which language is positioned in providing a sense of shared identity for Germans/within Germany at different points in time


• Critically discuss the way in which claims and demands about language can be linked to political positioning


• Demonstrate skill in oral and written organisation and presentation of their ideas;


• Utilise a structured analytical approach to textual and/or visual and/or audio material.

Additional outcomes:

The module will enhance students’ understanding of German history, politics and society as well as of the German language. It will also, more generally, highlight ways in which any language, and views on any language, might be related to shifting political and social contexts.

Outline content:

The course will follow a chronological development from the 17th century to the present and look at selected notable texts from debates about German as a standard language, perceptions of a shared language as sustaining a shared sense of identity and debates about the effects of ‘contaminating’ the language either with hate and discrimination (e.g. in the Nazi period) or with foreign elements (e.g. borrowing from English) on the community that uses it.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:

There will be a mixture of interactive lectures and student-led seminars. Focussed seminar discussions are based on students’ preparation of primary material and/or reading of secondary literature. Students will acquire important background information from the interactive lectures and will be guided to undertake independent work in preparation of seminar discussions and assignments. Students may also undertake an academic placement, through which they will learn how to apply the knowle dge and skills gained in studying for this module in a professional context outside the University.

Contact hours:

	Autumn	Spring	Summer
Lectures		10
Seminars		18
Tutorials			2
Guided independent study:
Wider reading (independent)		50
Wider reading (directed)		20
Preparation for seminars		35
Revision and preparation			28
Essay preparation		35
Reflection			2
Total hours by term	0	168	32
Total hours for module	200

Summative Assessment Methods:

Method	Percentage
Written exam	60
Written assignment including essay	40

Summative assessment- Examinations:

One online written examination in the Summer exam period.

Summative assessment- Coursework and in-class tests:

One 3,000-word commentary, worth 40% of the module mark.



One piece of assessment worth no more than 50% of the module mark can be replaced by a report produced after an academic placement. The placement must be agreed in advance by the module convenor; the length of the report is to be equivalent to standard departmental practice for coursework.

Formative assessment methods:

There will be an opportunity to hand in a draft essay/commentary. 

Penalties for late submission:

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of five working days;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than five working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/cqsd-old-site-documents/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf
You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Assessment requirements for a pass:

40% overall.

Reassessment arrangements:

Re- examination in August in the event of failure in this module and the degree as a whole. Coursework bearing a confirmed mark of 40% or more can be carried forward; all other coursework to be resubmitted before 12 NOON on the third Friday of August or, if the University is closed, by 12 NOON on the first working day thereafter.

Additional Costs (specified where applicable):

1) Required text books: 

2) Specialist equipment or materials: 

3) Specialist clothing, footwear or headgear: 

4) Printing and binding: 

5) Computers and devices with a particular specification: 

6) Travel, accommodation and subsistence: 

Last updated: 30 March 2023