German Studies (GERST)Arts and Sciences

Showing 23 results.

Course descriptions provided by the 2026-2027 Catalog.

Last Updated

  • Schedule of Classes - April 8, 2026 7:48PM EDT

GERST 1109
FWS: From Fairy Tales to the Uncanny: Exploring the Romantic Consciousness

How did bawdy tales of peasants using magic to climb the social ladder get transformed into moral lessons for children? The answer lies in Romanticism and its appropriation of the imagination as a force ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   FWS Session. 

  • 3 Credits Graded

  •  2321 GERST 1109   SEM 101

  •  
    • TR
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Brady, B

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    For more information about First-Year Writing Seminars, see the Knight Institute website at http://knight.as.cornell.edu/.

GERST 1122
FWS: Love and Death in Vienna

Singing boys. Dancing horses. Waltzing debutantes. Those fortunate enough to live in a city where each day begins with a pastry and ends with a two-liter bottle of wine must live a charmed existence! Not ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   FWS Session. 

  • 3 Credits Graded

  •  2438 GERST 1122   SEM 101

  •  
    • MWF
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • McBride, D

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    For more information about First-Year Writing Seminars, see the Knight Institute website at http://knight.as.cornell.edu/.

Syllabi: none

  •   FWS Session. 

  • 3 Credits Graded

  •  2439 GERST 1122   SEM 102

  •  
    • TR
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Walkinshaw, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    For more information about First-Year Writing Seminars, see the Knight Institute website at http://knight.as.cornell.edu/.

GERST 1132
FWS: Epic, Romance, and Fate: Medieval Germanic Literature

A dragon-slayer wins a kingdom—then loses everything to betrayal. A young fool wanders into King Arthur’s court and embarks on a quest for the Holy Grail. The Nibelungenlied and Wolfram von Eschenbach’s ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   FWS Session. 

  • 3 Credits GradeNoAud

  •  2451 GERST 1132   SEM 101

  •  
    • MW
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Groundwater-Schuldt, W

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    For more information about First-Year Writing Seminars, see the Knight Institute website at http://knight.as.cornell.edu/.

GERST 1170
FWS: Marx, Nietzsche, Freud

A basic understanding of Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud is a prerequisite for participating in critical debates in the humanities and social sciences. Our seminar will explore key terms in the revolutionary ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   FWS Session. 

  • 3 Credits Graded

  •  2322 GERST 1170   SEM 101

  •  
    • TR
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Gilgen, P

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    For more information about First-Year Writing Seminars, see the Knight Institute website at http://knight.as.cornell.edu/.

GERST 1210
Exploring German Contexts I

Students develop basic abilities in listening, reading, writing, and speaking German in meaningful contexts through interaction in small group activities. Course materials including videos, short articles, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8790 GERST 1210   SEM 101

  •  
    • MTWF
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Primarily for: students with no prior experience in German language or based on German Placement test result.

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8791 GERST 1210   SEM 102

  •  
    • MTWF
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Primarily for: students with no prior experience in German language or based on German Placement test result.

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8792 GERST 1210   SEM 103

  •  
    • MTWF
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Lischke, G

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Primarily for: students with no prior experience in German language or based on German Placement test result.

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8793 GERST 1210   SEM 104

  •  
    • MTWF
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Primarily for: students with no prior experience in German language or based on German Placement test result.

GERST 1220
Exploring German Contexts II

Students build on their basic knowledge of German by engaging in intense and more sustained interaction in the language. Students learn more advanced language structures allowing them to express more complex ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8794 GERST 1220   SEM 101

  •  
    • MTWF
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Hadley, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Prerequisite: GERST 1210 or based on German Placement test result.

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8795 GERST 1220   SEM 102

  •  
    • MTWF
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Matthias Phelps, G

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Prerequisite: GERST 1210 or based on German Placement test result.

GERST 1230
Expanding the German Dossier

Students continue to develop their language skills by discussing a variety of cultural topics and themes in the German-speaking world. The focus of the course is on expanding vocabulary, reviewing major ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8796 GERST 1230   SEM 101

  •  
    • MWF
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Matthias Phelps, G

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Enrollment limited to: students who have previously studied German and based on German Placement test result.

GERST 1776
Elementary Yiddish I

Elementary Yiddish I is the first in a three-class sequence that will enable students to meet their Arts & Sciences language requirement in Yiddish. It provides an introduction to reading, writing, listening, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: JWST 1776, YIDSH 1776

  • 4 Credits Graded

  •  8734 GERST 1776   SEM 101

  •  
    • MTWR
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Forman, D

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

GERST 2000
Germany: Intercultural Context

Students examine important aspects of present-day German culture while expanding and strengthening their reading, writing, and speaking skills in German. Materials for each topic are selected from a variety ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8797 GERST 2000   SEM 101

  •  
    • MWF
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Matthias Phelps, G

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Prerequisite: GERST 1220 and placement result, GERST 1230, or placement by examination. Taught in German.

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8798 GERST 2000   SEM 102

  •  
    • MWF
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Beese, B

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Prerequisite: GERST 1220 and placement result, GERST 1230, or placement by examination. Taught in German.

GERST 2020
Literary Texts and Contexts

Babylon Berlin is the most expensive and elaborate television series in German history. The neo-noir police procedural set in a mythical Berlin of 1929 was already a global hit when it entered its current, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8799 GERST 2020   SEM 101

  •  
    • MWF
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • McBride, D

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Prerequisite: GERST 2000, or equivalent, or placement by examination. Taught in German. Can be used in partial fulfillment of the humanities distribution requirement. Students must take one of the following courses as a prerequisite for Study Abroad in a German-speaking country: GERST 2020, GERST 2040, or GERST 2060. This course counts toward the German Studies Minor.

GERST 2040
Perspectives on German Culture

This course aims at sharpening your awareness of personal and cultural subjectivity by examining texts in a variety of media against the backdrop of cultural, political, and historical contexts. We will ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8800 GERST 2040   SEM 101

  •  
    • MWF
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Reynders, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Prerequisite: GERST 2000 or equivalent, or placement by examination. This course counts toward the German Studies Minor. Taught in German.

GERST 2655
Hannah Arendt And

This class offers students a selective introduction to the work of Hannah Arendt, one of the most brilliant, maddening, controversial, and unclassifiable political thinkers of the twentieth century, through ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: GOVT 2655

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 18356 GERST 2655   LEC 001

  •  
    • TR
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Markell, P

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

GERST 2700
Introduction to German Culture and Thought

Big names, Big ideas, and Big events are associated with German culture and thought: Luther, Faust, Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, Mozart, Beethoven, Kant, Hegel, Goethe, Einstein, Kafka and Thomas ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8813 GERST 2700   SEM 101

    • TR
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Schwarz, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Readings and discussion in English. Application required. See https://german.cornell.edu/application-gerst2700 to apply.

    Department Consent Required (Add)

GERST 3612
Remembering Socialism: Literature and Film After the End of History

More than thirty years after the end of the Soviet Union, we have the distance needed to view the twentieth-century state socialist project from a historical perspective--even as Cold War tropes are revived ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: COML 3012, ENGL 3903, HIST 3012

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7699 GERST 3612   SEM 101

  •  
    • TR
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Pinkham, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

GERST 3800
Kafka's Worlds: Castles, Trials, and Tribulations

This seminar will explore the unique “Kafkaesque” universe of metamorphoses, labyrinthine systems of law and (in)-justice, and uncanny societies of humans and animals. Focusing on Franz Kafka’s novels ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: COML 3688

  • 3-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8814 GERST 3800   SEM 101

  •  
    • TR
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Schwarz, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

GERST 4250
Marx, Nietzsche, Freud

This is an introduction to the three 'master thinkers' who have helped determine the discourses of modernity and post-modernity. We consider basic aspects of their work: (a) specific critical and historical ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: COML 4250, GOVT 4735

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8807 GERST 4250   LEC 001

  •  
    • MW
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Waite, G

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

GERST 4510
Independent Study

Undergraduate student and faculty advisor to determine course of study and credit hours. view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Project Session Full. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8801 GERST 4510   IND 601

    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

    To apply: first discuss the Independent Study with the course supervisor, and then complete the online Independent Study form at https://data.arts.cornell.edu/as-stus/indep_study_intro.cfm.

    Department Consent Required (Add)

GERST 4530
Honors Research

The Reading Course is administered by the director of the honors thesis. It carries 4 hours credit, and may be counted towards the work required for the German Major. The reading concentrates ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Multi-Term

  •  8802 GERST 4530   RSC 701

    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: Directed Research

    Department Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Multi-Term

  •  8803 GERST 4530   RSC 702

    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: Directed Research

    Department Consent Required (Add)

GERST 4540
Honors Thesis

The thesis is to be written on a subject related to the work done in GERST 4530. A suggested length for the thesis is 50-60 pages. view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Graded

  •  8804 GERST 4540   IND 601

    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

    Prerequisite: GERST 4530.

    Department Consent Required (Add)

GERST 5070
Teaching German as a Foreign Language: Principles and Practices

Designed to familiarize students with current thought and approaches in the field of applied linguistics and language pedagogy. Introduces different models of foreign language approaches and discusses ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8812 GERST 5070   SEM 101

  •  
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Lischke, G

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Primarily for: graduate students preparing to teach German and undergraduate students interested in deeper understanding of language study and teaching. Taught in German; readings are in English and German.

GERST 6405
Thinking Media Studies

This required seminar for the new graduate minor in media studies considers media from a wide number of perspectives, ranging from the methods of cinema and television studies to those of music, information ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •  9622 GERST 6405   SEM 101

  •  
    • W
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Ma, S

      Vaziri, P

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

GERST 7530
Independent Study

Graduate student and faculty advisor to determine course of study and credit hours. view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8805 GERST 7530   IND 601

    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

    Enrollment limited to: graduate students.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

GERST 7531
Colloquium

The course consists of a bi-weekly workshop series focusing on a range of interdisciplinary topics and sponsored by the Institute for German Cultural Studies (IGCS). Speakers include prominent scholars ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 2 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8810 GERST 7531   SEM 101

  •  
    • F
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Gilgen, P

  • Instruction Mode: In Person