German

Professors H. De Vries, D. TenHuisen
Associate Professors P. Dykstra-Pruim, C. Roberts (chair)

The German Studies major and minor draw together language learning, intercultural skills, and exploration of German cultural and historical identities as expressed in literature, film, visual media, and online texts, as well as products, practices, and worldviews. Calvin-sponsored abroad programs play an important role. Opportunities include study, internships, and work in Germany and Austria for the interim, a semester, the academic year, or the summer. Students interested in these abroad opportunities should work out the details with the department chair, the director of off-campus programs, and the office of academic services.

College Core Language Requirement

Completion of GERM 202 satisfies the college core foreign language requirement.

Students who have not had any prior German may complete the foreign language requirement with a three-course sequence: GERM 121 (fall), GERM 150 (interim), GERM 202 (spring). Students wishing to begin language study in the spring may complete the core sequence with: GERM 121 (spring), GERM 201 (fall), GERM 202 (spring). The core language requirement can also be met with one semester study in Vienna, Austria on the beginning-language track.

Students in academic programs with reduced core requirements may complete the foreign language core with any two-course beginning sequence: GERM 121 followed by GERM 150 , GERM 201 .

Other College Core Requirements

The Cross-Cultural Engagement core requirement may be met by German W80 (German Interim Abroad).
The core Literature requirement may be met by GERM 303 .
The Rhetoric and Culture core requirement may be met by GERM 362 . The Arts core requirement may be met by GERM 371 .

German Studies Abroad Opportunities

Calvin offers or sponsors many abroad opportunities in German-speaking Europe. The semester in Vienna, Austria, preceded by one or two months of intensive language learning in Germany, offers both an advanced language, literature, and culture track and a core language track for a semester or the entire year. The basic language track requires no prior knowledge of German and can be completed in a semester. On this program, students typically accumulate 16-20 semester hours of credit in one semester. Much of what is taken in the advanced track may count toward the German major or minor. The semester abroad track of the German Studies major assumes participation in one Goethe Institut course plus a minimum of 9 hours of German course work in Vienna.

The German Interim Abroad (W80), offered every January, is a four-week course in Germany with homestays in families, interactions with Germans in social institutions (schools, churches, and governmental agencies, etc.), visits to historical sites, and cultural events. A Calvin professor prepares the students for cross-cultural learning before departure, accompanies them throughout, and leads students in reflection on their experiences. German 301 or an approved equivalent is the prerequisite for participation on the GIA. Scholarships are available.

Other abroad opportunities that are regularly available but must be arranged individually include summer internships, the summer work program, and the Engineering in Berlin Summer Program.

Programs

Major

Minor

Courses

German