Target Group: Students of German studies, German literary studies and/or translation studies, DaF / DaZ teachers, prospective German teachers as well as German teachers who are already employed

Course Language: German

Language Level: C1 / C2

Requirements: At least a pass at B2 level

Weeks: 4

Hours per Week: 30

Subject: Literature, Language and Culture

If you want to understand the people of a particular country and their culture, it is not enough to learn the ordinary language that is spoken on a daily basis. Getting to know the literature of the country helps to give you a fuller picture by putting together all of the individual pieces of the mosaic. This course poses the following question: "What do Germans read these days?". It also aims to provide some of these mosaic tiles. Our lecturers skilfully present a combination of language and literature using a variety of methods. Their goal is not only to introduce you to German writers through the ages but also to expand your proficiency in the active and passive mastery of the German language.

Literature: As part of the four-week literature course, after a brief excursion into literary theory, we will conduct an in-depth study of the literary works of selected authors. We will focus on aspects such as interpretation, comparison, reflection, and evaluation of the works.

Language: The focus will be on literary texts from different periods of German literary history. Emphasis will be placed not only on public or critical reception and methods for text analysis but also on developing awareness of the lexical, syntactic, textual, and stylistic norms of the German language to extend linguistic proficiency to the highest level.

Intercultural activity: The course deals with cultural, political, and social developments without which literary texts cannot be understood. Analysis of the authors and their works goes hand in hand with regional and cultural studies of the German-speaking world. Above and beyond linguistic proficiency, this also entails the mastery of techniques for critical reception, demonstrating understanding of texts, interpretation, and reflection.

At the end of the course, the participants will present their results and receive a certificate that documents their learning outcomes. The 30 lessons correspond to the teaching hours of one seminar of a degree in German Literature Studies.

We will make your language-learning visit to the "documenta" city of Kassel a unique cultural experience!

The course is presented in collaboration with the “Übersetzungszentrum Kassel” (Kassel Translation centre).
The languages focused on are: Russian, Spanish, English, Polish and Turkish. Course participants who speak the above languages are guided by certified translators and official interpreters. Participation of prospective students with other source languages may be possible on request.

• Minimum number of participants: 12
• Arrival day: one day before course starts

• Cancellation of course booking on account of visa problems:
  Should a course participant, having registered from abroad not receive a visa, the course fees will be repayed to him / her less a cancellation fee of 20 % of the course fee. In such a case, the original notice of rejection from the German embassy or consulate must be supplied prior to commencement of course. On this point, see also our general terms and conditions:
  > terms & conditions.