FRS 001F —
Sec. 001 —
(1 unit) — CRN 55872 — M 3:10-4:00 pm — 25 Wellman
Germany: Highlights of Cultural History
Instructor: John Fetzer, Department of German, College of Letters and
Science
Description: The aim of this seminar is to give the student a
thumbnail overview of some of the major facets of German culture.
After pinpointing
the central terms of "German" and "culture," the
course will
outline the major epochs of cultural history and then focus on the
distinctively
German contributions to such fields as art, architecture, philosophy,
literature,
and music. In each instance, only the most prominent figures and concepts will
be stressed (for instance, in the visual arts, medieval altars, Durer
in the age
of the Renaissance, the 20th century Expressionists; in architecture,
Romanesque,
Gothic, Baroque, and modern structures; in music, the three "B's" and
their aftermath, etc.). Brief examples from each field (for instance,
very short
excerpts from major musical compositions) will be used in order to
whet the appetite
of the students and interest them in pursuing the subject in depth and detail
in their subsequent studies.
Format: The class will meet for one hour each week
for ten weeks.
There will be a short reader (compiled by the instructor) containing notes in
outline form which cover the contents of each introductory lecture. The remarks
and summaries will serve as food for thought and as a springboard for follow-up
discussions. Grading: there will be two short
papers assigned
in the course, each consisting of three pages (40% for each paper,
20% for class
discussion).
About the Instructor: John Fetzer received his BA
from New York
University, his MA from Columbia University, and his PhD. from the University
of California, Berkeley. Before coming to UC Davis in 1965, he taught
at Northwestern
University. His book publications deal with Romantic writers (such as Clemens
Brentano) and modern German authors (Thomas Mann), while his
articles, which cover
a variety of literary and musical subjects, include a recent study of Anna K.
Emmerick, the stigmatic German nun whose writings on Christ's sufferings served
as a major source for Mel Gibson's film "The Passion of the Christ."
Fetzer's extra-curricular interests include musical composition as
well as tennis
and golf.