GER 5410 is also offered in Fall 2024
GER 5410 is also offered in Spring 2024
GER 5410 is also offered in Spring 2022
Fall 2018 | GER 5410 Section 001: Topics in German Literature -- German Fools and Tricksters (33641)
- Instructor(s)
- Class Component:
- Discussion
- Credits:
- 3 Credits
- Grading Basis:
- Student Option
- Instructor Consent:
- No Special Consent Required
- Instruction Mode:
- In Person Term Based
- Class Attributes:
Topics Course
- Meets With:
GER 3490 Section 001
- Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
Tue,
Thu 02:30PM - 03:45PM
UMTC, East Bank
Folwell Hall 6
- Enrollment Status:
Closed (5 of 5 seats filled)
- Also Offered:
- Course Catalog Description:
- Topic may focus on a specific author, group of authors, genre, period, or subject matter. Topics specified in Class Schedule.
- Class Notes:
- http://classinfo.umn.edu/?singerr+GER5410+Fall2018
- Class Description:
- A strange thing happens each year in February in parts of Germany and German Switzerland: Respectable citizens dress up as fools and take to the streets, throwing confetti and teasing bystanders. This custom exemplifies an exceptional fascination with fools in German culture that goes back to the Middle Ages and connects high and popular culture. Characteristic is the tension between the "foolish fool" who fools himself, and the "trickster fool" who fools others. The foolish fool is exemplified by the first German books in print that became international bestsellers, namely Sebastian Brant's moralizing "Ship of Fools" (1494), the trickster by Herman Bote's anarchic Till Eulenspiegel (1515). Starting with these books, we will analyze extracts from prominent literary works, including Grimmelshausen's baroque novel Simplicius Simplicissimus (1668), Goethe's Faust drama (presenting the devil as trickster who ultimately gets fooled), and Günter Grass' novel The Tin Drum (1959). We will give special consideration to connections between these works and visual culture, especially illustrations and film adaptations. Another aspect will be the work of performance artists and satirists in the fool-tradition, such as Martin Sonneborn, who is the leader of the satirical party DIE PARTEI and a member of the European parliament where he plays the fool in a very diligent German way. Last but not least, we will learn about "Kasperl(e)," a hand puppet that is still part of most Germans' childhood, and its theatrical ancestry that goes back to the 17th century. Our guiding question will be whether these fools rather confirm, or subvert, social norms.
- Textbooks:
- https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/33641/1189
- Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
- 30 March 2018
ClassInfo Links - Fall 2018 German Classes