Course content

On the course, you will study the German language and literature from its beginnings to the present day. This means both with various media forms and with current developments in cultural studies. For the teacher training course, the didactic courses are of course of particular importance. In this area, knowledge and skills are acquired that can later be used in schools, whereby you should then also be able to reflect on your skills, use them independently and, of course, successfully.

This is certainly what many people think when they hear this term for the first time. But even if it is simply made up of the terms "science" and "language" and some people will roll their eyes because they think "What is there to research anyway?" or "Nobody needs that because people don't communicate properly these days anyway!" - language plays an important role, especially in the current age of online media. Perhaps even more than ever. Because even the messages you exchange with your friends via WhatsApp contain a form of linguistic communication. Written language is just as much a part of language research as face-to-face communication.

When you are confronted with linguistics for the first time during your German studies, you can't really imagine the broad spectrum of research possibilities it covers. But let me tell you: linguistics is not at all dry in many respects and the sub-areas of the science of language, also known as linguistics, are diverse.

Of course, if you decide to study linguistics, you should have a soft spot for language and language development, that's quite clear. But you can also discover it for yourself. If you think outside the box and don't let the dry theory (because it does exist, there's no denying that) put you off and totally confuse you, you can discover that researching language can be a lot of fun - and you get to know language from a perspective that you wouldn't have even considered without a linguistics degree. A few enthusiastic linguists were certainly born at the University of Kassel, too, who previously vehemently shouted "Get away from me with linguistics!", only to then become fully absorbed in their analyses of Instagram posts.

You see, linguistics also takes a close look at modern aspects of language. And as a language professional, which you will (hopefully) be after your studies, you have as many career prospects as there are communication models: Editors, translators, media professions - these are just a few of the possibilities for which you are suited as a linguist. Because in today's knowledge and information society, you definitely have an ace up your sleeve if you are familiar with language and know how to use it. So let someone say that you can't do anything with linguistics!

Well, first of all we have system-oriented linguistics, which deals with questions about the structuring role of orality and writing. This means, among other things, that attempts are made here to analyze the extent to which the two are interrelated. However, aspects of language history are also examined more closely. German language history deals with the various phases of language development, and within the German studies course, in particular (who would have thought it) with the development of the German language. In addition, language didactics is also a research focus - something that is particularly interesting for those who decide to study to become a teacher - as it deals with the teaching and learning of language, e.g. within school institutions. To this end, language didactics sometimes makes reference to pedagogy and psychology.

You usually attend the introductory lecture to the world of linguistics in your first semester, in the winter semester. Here you will be given an overview of many aspects. Among other things, general questions about the subject of linguistics are clarified: how is the term linguistics defined? What does it mean and what is the difference between metalanguage and object language, for example? But you will also be introduced to the functions and structure of language and will deal with language systems. As this is an introductory lecture, all of this is of course still very new and you will come across a lot of terminology that you have to memorize and not get confused by. However, there is an obligatory tutorial accompanying this introductory lecture in which you can clarify any unanswered questions in smaller student groups (usually the size of a seminar course) and generally repeat the subject matter to consolidate it. This can also be very helpful for the exam that you write at the end of the linguistics lecture. It is therefore advisable to really attend the tutorials and make use of them if anything is still unclear.

You will certainly receive literature recommendations from lecturers from time to time anyway, be it during the introductory lecture. So you don't necessarily have to read anything in advance, because especially in the introductory course you will slowly get to grips with the entire field of research anyway. From the theory of signs to the history of language, there is a lot of literature on linguistics that you can find and read, but it is not a prerequisite for starting your studies. However, if you are motivated to gain an initial insight in advance, we recommend, for example, "Grundzüge der Allgemeinen Sprachwissenschaft" by André Martinet, which you can and should also use as an accompanying reading for the introductory linguistics lecture. This literature will be required reading for the exam at the latest. If you attend the lecture regularly and keep your mind on the topic, you will certainly have no problems following the central theme. It may sound quite a lot to begin with and you will probably feel a little overwhelmed by all the terms, definitions and research approaches, which you should not only memorize in a short space of time, but at best understand - but it is unnecessary to drive yourself crazy beforehand and wade through the endless expanses of literature on linguistics. After all, the introductory lecture is there to prepare you for more advanced linguistics seminars by giving you the basic knowledge you need.

Literary Studies is one of the subject areas of German Studies at the University of Kassel. This field can be subdivided into older German literary studies (medieval studies), newer German literary studies, literary didactics, the work and impact of the Brothers Grimm and media studies

Modern German literary studies deals with literary texts from the 15th to the 21st century. At the University of Kassel, current research focuses include literature and the arts, literature and philosophy from the Enlightenment to the Classical period, early modern cultures of knowledge and narrative literatures, research and gender (16th-19th centuries), Kassel literary history (18th-20th centuries), intercultural constructions and the history of literature (18th-19th centuries).(16th-19th centuries), Kassel literary history (18th-20th centuries), intercultural constructions of knowledge (images of Italy 16th-20th centuries) and contemporary pop literature. In addition to cultural studies approaches, gender, knowledge and mentalities will also be addressed.

Older German literary studies, also known as medieval studies, mainly deals with the literature of the European Middle Ages from the early Middle Ages to the beginning of the modern era. At the University of Kassel, medieval studies still deals with texts up to the Baroque period. Current research focuses on the reception of the Middle Ages, media staging, cultural studies and spaces, as well as animal and gender studies.

Literary didactics deals with the teaching of literary texts in all forms and the acquisition of literary skills. Today, the concept of literature includes not only adult and high literature, but also forms of children's, youth, entertainment and trivial literature (simple and easy to understand).

The subject area "Work and Impact of the Brothers Grimm", which is unique in Kassel, deals with the literary works of the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and their impact up to the present day. The brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were linguists and literary scholars who collected fairy tales, sagas and legends from all over Europe and recorded them for posterity, sometimes in their respective dialects. The University of Kassel can draw on a large pool of original texts, works, first editions, notebooks, transcripts and letters by the Brothers Grimm.

In addition to the two main areas of linguistics and literary studies, the Bachelor's degree in German Studies also includes media studies. As the name suggests, you will deal with various media in this field. You will always take a humanities perspective: What are the characteristics and special features of different media? How can a certain medium tell a story? Which analytical tools can help me? These are the questions that are answered in media studies seminars and lectures. Media studies deals academically with media of all kinds, including mass media, public communication and the aesthetics, history and theory of media.

Media studies courses are incredibly diverse. Basically, you can look at and examine anything that is not a typical literary work.

Social media is becoming more and more important in the world. Many events therefore deal with communication in the digital space. It makes sense to examine how people get into conversation with each other via social networks. After all, messengers and social media now make up a large part of our communication. Learn what unwritten rules these conversations follow and observe how our written language is changing there. And what functions do emojis and meme culture actually play in this?

Film analysis is another area of media studies that is very popular with students. Here you not only look at characters and plot, but also camera perspective and movement, image composition, editing, music and the color concept of a film. In the same way, films are often examined in terms of intermediality. This means taking a closer look at how, for example, the subject matter of a book is transferred into a film adaptation.

But of course, media studies is much more than just social media and films. The possibilities are almost limitless. Game studies, for example, is a very young field of research. Video games are being studied there for the first time as an independent art form. Media studies courses on comics, graphic novels and visual art are also held at the University of Kassel. Audio books are also scrutinized.

Although media studies is not an area that you can choose as a specialization as you progress through your studies, there are numerous seminars that are offered in this area. They can therefore still make up a large part of your studies. Depending on the topic, you can take these courses either in the literary studies or language studies modules.

Basically, as with all other courses, all forms of examination (written exam, oral exam, term paper) are possible. However, more unconventional project work is also offered in the field of media studies. In film seminars, there may be opportunities to adapt a text into a short film, in the video game seminar you may come up with your own game concept or you may write a FAQ for future German Studies students in another media seminar.

In this respect, media studies are not particularly different from other areas of German studies. At the beginning of the semester, the lecturer usually tells you what he/she requires as coursework. This may simply be your regular attendance and participation, but sometimes there are also minutes of meetings, short essays or short presentations.

Media studies courses are perfect for turning things you know from everyday life into the subject of research. They offer a lot of fun, variety and usually a lot of surprising findings.

The possibilities for topics and projects are virtually unlimited. That's why media studies seminars always provide refreshing variety in your timetable, even during stressful exam periods.
In addition, the fact that there is still so much unexplored territory in this field definitely has its appeal. There simply isn't as much specialist literature published on WhatsApp and Minecraft as there is on Kafka or Goethe. This is why you are often freer in your own media studies work in the context of term papers and often have the feeling that you are gaining new insights instead of reproducing what experts have been writing for years.

Media studies is becoming increasingly important due to digitalization and new, young academics are needed to work and continue research in this field.