| Unit name | Performing Germany: National Identity in Changing Times |
|---|---|
| Unit code | GERM30075 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. McClelland |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of German |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
What role does performance play in shaping a nation’s self-image? To what extent is ‘Germanness’ performative? How do democracies and dictatorships employ performance – and do they do so to different ends? How do Germans perform national identity when not in Germany? These are some of the questions that student will investigate in this unit, which addresses the concept of ‘performance’ as it relates to the deliberate and public shaping of Germany’s national image. Here, performance is understood as a ‘broad spectrum’ of practices that allow us to assess ‘historical, social and cultural processes’ (R. Schechner, 1988). At the same time, it allows us to evaluate a broad range of cultural practices that respond to historical, geographical, social and technological change. Beginning with the late nineteenth century, students will assess the divergent ways in which performance has been employed by the German state(s). At the same time, we will interrogate the impact that this has on the individual. In the course of the unit, students will engage with a series of key performance events that allow us to question how and why German national identity has changed in the last 150 years. Topics of study include: 1. Imperial modernity in the German Kaiserreich; 2. Performing ‘Germanness’ in the colonies; 3. Speed and excess in the Weimar Republic; 4. National Socialism and the performing Volk; 5. The Berlin Olympics; 6. After Heimat – German expellees and the performance of identity; 7. Creating Utopia – Performing the GDR; 8. 1968 and the protest movement; 9. Reunification and its aftermath; 10. Germany and the shadow of the past.
The Unit Aims:
By the end of the unit, successful students will be able to:
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous sessions and asynchronous activities, including seminars, lectures and collaborative as well as self-directed learning opportunities, supported by tutor consultation.
1) A recorded group presentation (3 members / 15 minutes max) responding to a series of prompts from the tutor (group mark 30%). Testing ILOs 1-3 and 5.
2) A 3000-word project essay devised by students on a topic of their choice in consultation with the tutor (70%). Testing ILOs 1-5.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. GERM30075).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
