Study Field Outline
German language and literature are the main elements of German studies from a linguistics and a literary and cultural stud- ies perspective. German studies not only covers sources and examples of modern language (since 1500, “Modern German Studies”), but also earlier forms (Gothic, Old High German, Middle High German, “Old German Studies”) and so-called minor Germanic languages (e.g. Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish). The latter area also has its own special studies in degree programmes like Nordic studies and Scandinavian studies. An emphasis on linguistic elements leads to systematic study of the phonetics, morphology, syntax and semantics of a language.
The term literary studies encompasses the various branches involving the academic treatment of literary texts. The field of gen- eral literary studies sees itself as an aes- thetic discipline. It is concerned with theo- ries on the interpretation, identification and cataloguing of general structures of literature, including thematic and formal categories of all literatures. Interpretation
includes study of the meaning and effect of literary works, leads to general insights into literature as such and illuminates concrete historical backgrounds. Poetics examines individual literary works on the basis of specifically-given individual works of poetry, in search of general and liter- ary insights and knowledge, inquires into the functions of literature, discusses and observes literary theories. Topics from the field of literary history cover the historical development and contexts of literature in respect of national literatures and interna- tional, global literature, examining individ- ual periods (e.g. realism, classical period) or genres (e.g. epic poetry). Besides a chronological presentation of factual information, literary history also generally seeks to evaluate the subject matter of the writing, and then arranges this within a greater ideological and theoretical frame of reference.
Medieval studies specifically examines German language and literature from its beginnings in the 8th century through to the end of the Middle Ages. Comparative literary studies have a pronounced interna- tional character and involve examination
Programmes in this field
Bayreuth U • Berlin FU • Berlin UdK • Berlin-Weißensee KHB • Bochum U • Dresden HfBK • Erlangen-Nürnberg U (Erlangen) • Frankfurt am Main HfMDK • Frankfurt am Main U • Gießen U • Hamburg HfBK • Hamburg HfMT • Hildesheim U • Karlsruhe HfGest • Leipzig HfMT •
Leipzig U • Ludwigsburg ADK • Mainz U • München AkdBK • München HfMT • München U • Osnabrück FH (Lingen/Ems) • Potsdam-Babelsberg HFF • Stuttgart AkdBK
Studies at Universities
Basic study stage: The course is made up of lectures, exercises and seminars on the content and methods of the relevant branches of German studies; constant reading is required. Successful participa- tion in a certain number of introductory seminars is a requirement for later admis- sion to the advanced seminars and gradu- ate classes.
Main study stage: Core study areas and specialisations can be set in the field of language/linguistics and literature. Both branches can be chosen as independent degree programmes at some universities. Depending on the programme in ques- tion, branches of German studies have to be studied with various degrees of inten- sity.
of the literatures of various countries or cultural regions on the basis of generic aspects. Divergent views on historical, philosophical, aesthetic, sociological and literary theory have made discussion in this field increasingly controversial. German studies programmes aim to pro- vide a thorough knowledge of the develop- ment of the German language and the key trends in German literature.
In Magister degree courses, students choose a branch of German studies as a major plus, in most cases, two minors. Students of Bachelor‘s programmes not only have to study a core German studies subject, but also, in most cases, a comple- mentary academic subject or a minor from the field of cultural and social sciences.
Programmes in this field
Aachen TH • Augsburg U • Bamberg U • Bayreuth U • Berlin FU • Berlin HU • Bielefeld U • Bochum U • Bonn U • Braunschweig TU • Bremen U •
Chemnitz TU • Darmstadt TU • Dortmund TU • Dresden TU • Duisburg-Essen U (Essen) • Düsseldorf U • Eichstätt-Ingolstadt U (Eichstätt) • Erfurt U • Erlangen-Nürnberg U (Erlangen) • Flensburg U • Frankfurt am Main U • Freiburg U • Gießen U • Göttingen U • Greifswald U • Halle- Wittenberg U • Hamburg U • Hannover U • Heidelberg U • Hildesheim U • Jena U • Karlsruhe U • Kassel U • Kiel U • Koblenz- Landau U • Köln U • Konstanz U • Leipzig U • Lüneburg U • Magdeburg U • Mainz U • Mannheim U • Marburg U • München U • Münster U • Oldenburg U • Osnabrück U • Paderborn U • Passau U • Potsdam U • Regensburg U • Rostock U • Saarbrücken U • Stuttgart U • Trier U • Tübingen U • Vechta H • Wuppertal U • Würzburg U
Study Field Outline
History researches the development of humans as social, active beings; it attempts to reconstruct and interpret past events on the basis of reliable historical sources. Based on handed-down sources, history is divided into individual branches. Ancient history is closely related to classical phi- lology, oriental studies and archaeology. Medieval history is primarily dependent on the study of manuscripts. Important related and complementary subjects in this field include art and church history, medieval Latin philology plus a range of historical auxiliary subjects (see below). Modern history begins with the study of printed sources from the early 16th cen- tury. As from 1789, we speak of recent history and as of 1917 of contemporary history, which for its part is closely related to political science.
These traditional divisions into ancient history, medieval history, modern history have evolved into individual disciplines such as Egyptology or Byzantine studies, (history and culture of the Eastern Roman Empire), or have been allocated to other fields (church and religious history, liter- ary and art history, history of medicine, history of the natural sciences, history of law and constitution). Hence, for example, the history of China or Japan became a part of independent subjects (Sinology/ Chinese studies, Japanese studies/Japa- nology). In response to industrialisation, areas developed such as economic and
social history as well as the history of engi- neering and technology. The study of indi- vidual regions and areas led to subjects like regional, national, urban/municipal and population/demographic history developing.
In addition, other independent subjects evolved, such as ethnology, which deals with the cultural and social structure of the so-called primitive cultures and civilisations. Ancient American stud- ies represent a sub-branch of ethnology, whose topics cover the highly-developed pre-Columbian Indian cultures of America and their successors. The fields of pre and early history examine artefacts found in or on the ground/territory of those civilisations for which we have no written sources. Studies above all have to use the methods and procedures of archaeology (the study of human antiquities), which is concerned with the material legacy of the ancient oriental, Greco-Roman, biblical and early Christian cultures. Folklore stud- ies (European ethnology) restricts itself to the study and interpretation of folk cul- ture, above all in German and European regions.
Auxiliary historical sciences include pal- aeography (study of writing), diplomatics (study of the authenticity of documents and manuscripts), chronology (study of time measurement), genealogy (study of family pedigrees), sphragistics (study of seals and signets), numismatics (study of coins), heraldry (study of coats-of-arms), plus sociology, economics and statistics.
3.6 History
Studies at Universities
Basic study stage: Acquisition of a gen- eral overview of the various historical fields and historical methodology of sci- entific research work, courses to catch up with the required foreign language skills, lectures and special basic courses, intro- ductory seminar courses, exercises and (at some institutions) fact courses.
Main study stage: Independent scientific work (research) and specialisation (core study areas), special lectures and special foundation courses, advanced seminars and graduate classes, plus excursions and field trips.
Programmes in this field
Aachen TH • Augsburg U • Bamberg U • Bayreuth U • Berlin FU • Berlin HU • Berlin TU • Bielefeld U • Bochum U • Bonn U • Braunschweig TU • Bremen Jacobs University • Bremen U •
Chemnitz TU • Darmstadt TU • Dresden TU • Duisburg-Essen U (Essen) • Düsseldorf U • Eichstätt-Ingolstadt U (Eichstätt) •
Erfurt U • Erlangen-Nürnberg U (Erlangen) • Flensburg U • Frankfurt am Main U • Frankfurt (Oder) U • Freiberg TUBergAk • Freiburg U • Gießen U • Göttingen U • Greifswald U • Halle-Wittenberg U • Hamburg U • Hamburg UBw • Hannover U • Heidelberg U • Hildesheim U • Jena U • Karlsruhe U • Kassel U • Kiel U • Koblenz-Landau U • Köln U • Konstanz U • Leipzig U • Magdeburg U • Mainz U • Mannheim U • Marburg U • München U • Münster U • Oldenburg U • Osnabrück U • Paderborn U • Potsdam U • Regensburg U • Rostock U • Saarbrücken U • Siegen U • Stuttgart U • Trier U • Tübingen U • Vechta H • Wuppertal U • Würzburg U Not every university offers all these disci-
plines or branches, which is why curricula vary quite substantially. Normally, the core subjects of ancient history, mediaeval his- tory and modern history are offered eve- rywhere. Political, cultural, sociological, psychological and economic contexts of history are also taken into consideration. The diversity of historical approaches and the locational bias inherent in historical sources calls for historians to be good at analysing a variety questions and interpre- tations from various perspectives.
To be able to study history successfully, students must have a basic knowledge of the historical periods and an adequate insight into the facts and circumstances of other important events. Foreign language skills in Latin, French and English are expected. Latin is needed for the recep- tion of ancient and medieval texts, while French and English are required as the international languages of archives and science.
Study Field Outline
In terms of substance and methods, inte- rior design lies somewhere between archi- tecture, facility engineering and design. Interior design is responsible for the crea- tive, architectural, technical, economic, ecological and social planning/design of interior spaces and for the associated structural changes to buildings. This typi- cally includes activities to determine the heating requirements, to solve insulation problems, to decide on suitable facility and domestic installations and lighting options. Furniture design may also be a responsibility of interior designers. Neighbouring disciplines include urban planning, urban development and modern infrastructure planning.
The 3-year Bachelor‘s programme creates a basis for the subsequent 2-year postgrad- uate Master‘s programmes. Together with a generally 2-year phase of professional practical training this qualifies graduates for entry into the Register of Architects and entitles them to use the professional title of “Interior Designer”. The study of interior design is additionally offered in the form of 8-semester Bachelor‘s pro- grammes. Together with the professional practical training, a degree from such programmes also qualifies graduates in accordance with the EU architects direc- tive.
3.7 Interior Design
Studies at Art Colleges and Universi- ties of Applied Sciences
Practical experience/internships: Depend- ing on the school/vocational qualifica- tions, a pre-study internship of several weeks is generally required. Practical phases of varying length are completed during the studies.
Studies: Modules deliver the creative design and technical principles of interior design and furniture making. Topics like projective geometry, theory of space, prin- ciples of design and conception, interior structural design and materials, build- ing technology, facility engineering and
building physics, principles of furniture development and of ergonomics, lighting design, history or art and architecture, theory of architecture, homes and health, building law and project management, including complementary modules on foreign languages and presentation tech- niques. Students can individually set their own core study areas and specialisations through project assignments and optional modules.
Studies may be divided into a basic and a main study stage at some institutions.
Studies at Universities and other Higher Education Institutions
Studies: Language training (with exams in Hebrew (Hebraicum), optionally in Ara- maic (Aramaicum), Yiddish (Yiddicum) and in Jewish Spanish (Judenspanisch)), courses on the Bible and Jewish interpre- tation of the Bible; rabbinical literature, halacha and liturgy; Jewish philosophy and intellectual history: Hebrew linguis- tics and literature; history of the Jewish people; German-Jewish literature and culture, Yiddish language and literature. In addition, the college offers complemen-
tary subjects like Jewish art. Bachelor‘s programmes differ in structure from one institution to the next. Detailed informa- tion can be found on the websites of the established institutes in Germany.
Programmes in this field
Berlin FU • Düsseldorf U • Frankfurt am Main U • Freiburg U • Halle-Wittenberg U • Heidelberg HJS • Köln U • München U • Potsdam U • Tübingen U