Module Information

The aim of this module is to study the language of German Drama stretching from the 18th to the 21st century. Students will learn to understand dialogue as a primary vehicle for meaning in a range of dramatic scenes. They will learn how to establish links with literary and philosophical concepts in German philosophy and culture, ranging from the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Realism, to Modernism, post-1956 drama in the German-speaking countries and to contemporary theories of postdramatic writing. The primary objective of the module, however, is to provide students with a critical understanding of dramatic language and dialogue and its ability to transform and utilize language in the form of situative speech acts. As a direct learning outcome, students will develop dialogue-specific linguistic skills, critical reading skills, and the module will enable them to approach the genre of German Drama as an opportunity for scenic play. They will learn to differentiate between well-made dialogues and streams of consciousness on the one hand, and between historical drama and postdramatic theatrical writing on the other. Students will also gain a solid foundation in the linguistic and lexical understanding of German dialogue patterns and encounter workshop situations in which they will be asked to transfer theoretical knowledge to a number of pre-defined speech acts and workshop situations.

This module, taught in both German and English, will approach the notions of drama and dialogue as templates for a more thorough linguistic understanding of the speech act and of scenic interpretation in Foreign Language Teaching. Several extracts and canonical plays, e.g. Goethe’s FAUST, Buechner’s WOYCZECK, Duerrenmatt’s BESUCH DER ALTEN DAME and a few more contemporary pieces such as David Gieselmann’s HERR KOLPERT will serve as illustrative examples of German drama, culture and philosophy in a number of formal lectures. The concept of dialogue and the idea of the “mise-en-scene”, however, will play a vital part in all of the seminar’s discussions and workshop situations. Students will be asked to gain a realistic understanding of the linguistic and cultural concepts of dialogue. They will also encounter numerous opportunities to transfer the skills they have learned to actual scenic interpretations. Ingo Scheller’s original idea of an ‘Erfahrungsraum’ will form the basis for students’ active linguistic development. Keith Johnston’s ideas on improvisation techniques and pedagogical theatre concepts will further assist students in activating the vocabulary and the linguistic structures they have learnt in a number of dialogue- driven exercises.