The German Program at Kalamazoo College

Outcomes of the Kalamazoo College German Program

1. Linguistic Competence (Production): Graduates of the Kalamazoo College German program are able to use German to communicate effectively with others and to present information (with grammatical accuracy and using appropriate discourse) in a range of intellectual and professional contexts. They are able to use German creatively to transform ideas or information into new representations. Students will be empowered to participate actively in German-speaking communities, as both producers and as recipients of discourse and texts in multiple genres. These genres include, but are not limited to, the following:

         Informal and formal conversation (dialogue with familiar and unfamiliar people) in a variety of social situations and
           cultural contexts
         Formal presentations (lecture, interview, etc.)
         Personal texts, including journals, letters (both formal and informal), etc.
         Journalistic reports
         Academic writing (reviews, argumentative essays, research reports, etc.)
         Creative writing (poetry, short fiction, dialogues, and drama)

2. Linguistic Competence (Reception): Graduates of the German Program can recognize, interpret, and respond appropriately to sophisticated texts in a variety of genres, including literary, personal, and journalistic reportage (see above).

3. Cultural Competence: Graduates of the German Program demonstrate a rich understanding of modern German-speaking cultures and histories through their ability to read and interpret various cultural products, including texts of all kinds. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

         Film
         Visual Art
         Music
         Literature
         German history
         Drama

Graduates demonstrate not only the ability to read and interpret, but also an understanding of and a sensitivity to the histories of these cultural products.

4. Critical Understanding of the German-Speaking World: Graduates of the German Program demonstrate a keen awareness of the fact that German culture represents not a monolithic other, but rather a constantly shifting complex of dominant and sub-dominant cultures, each of which has its own histories and commitments that need to be examined and understood. Successful graduates will demonstrate awareness of this complicated reality, and of the critical negotiations that continually take place between the cultural constituents of the German-speaking world. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

         Questions of gender, class, and sexuality
         Avant garde vs. popular culture
         Racial and ethnic minority cultures within German-speaking states
         Transculturation and its effect upon artistic and cultural production

Graduates will learn to critically examine their own assumptions in light of the German cultural multiplicity, and in so doing learn to value the multiple perspectives that the learning of German affords them.

General Program and Advising Notes
Faculty members meet students in and out of class, are involved in campus activities, and are prepared to counsel students regarding career choices such as foreign service, music, high school and college teaching, science, publishing, foreign trade, and international banking.

A student intending to major or minor in German who begins German 101 at Kalamazoo College should begin his study of German no later than the winter quarter of his/her freshman year. Students considering a major in German are urged to begin their study of German in their freshman year.
German 203 and 204 are not sequential courses: 204 can precede 203 if a student's schedule requires this sequence.

Transfer Credits
Transfer credits may count toward the major or minor if approved by the department.

Course Sequence
German majors are encouraged, but not required, to take courses in a second language, beginning no later than the sophomore year.