Department of Germanic Languages and Literature DEUTSCHES HAUS GRMN 180-001 German in Residence Syllabus Fall 2017 Evelyne Brie (Deutsches Haus Program Director) Modern Language Program, Gregory College House University of Pennsylvania Contact: ebrie@sas.upenn.edu 1. Course description: German House (GRMN 180-001 German in Residence) is a series of regularly scheduled, German-language-only events for students interested in developing and maintaining their German language skills through conversation and cultural events. The focus is on improving your language skills, so this program welcomes both advanced/fluent speakers and those just learning German I will expect you to contribute at your own level. However, it is preferable that beginners are concurrently enrolled in a language course for the program to be beneficial to all. Deutsches Haus is not only open to students of Gregory College House, but to all UPenn students, provided we have a reasonably sized group. Regular program Stammtisch (13 occurrences, Monday 8:00-9:00pm) Kaffeestunde (9 occurrences, Wednesday 8:00-9:00p) Cultural activities Movie nights (4 occurrences, Wednesday 8:00-10:30pm) Excursions (2 occurrences, Wednesday and Saturday 7:00-10:00pm) 2. Core events: The core events consist of a Stammtisch on Mondays from 8:00 pm- 9:00 pm, a Kaffeestunde on Wednesdays from 8-9 pm, as well as a German movie nights or excursions on six occasions. Movies are followed by a. 2.1 Stammtisch Stammtisch, or conversation over dinner, will consist of a trip to the basement of the 1920s. Please feel free to buy dinner or coffee here or bring your own from home. 1
2.2 Kaffeestunde Kaffeestunde is held in the Greenhouse of the Class of 1925 Building of Gregory College House, but I am happy to visit nearby cafes instead on occasion for a change of venue. At the Kaffeestunde we will discuss current news events, play German games, cook, or schedule special cultural outings. I welcome are suggestions for German dishes you would like to learn to cook, as we usually cook during at least one of our regular Kaffeestunden. 2.3 Filmabende Films will be shown four times during the semester on Wednesdays, taking the place of 4 Kaffeestunden on those days. We will watch the film at 8:00 pm in the basement film lounge of the Class of 1925 Building of Gregory College House (down the stairs at the East end of the building, all the way to the west end of the Basement). We will follow up the film with 20 minutes of. 2.4 Special Events Last year we enjoyed visits to Frankford Hall s outdoor Biergarten for sausage and Bretzel, and Brauhaus Schmitz, a German restaurant in Center City on South Street. We also attended dinner and a movie at the German Society of Pennsylvania and made a trip to the Christmas Market at Love Park. This semester we will continue this tradition of dining out with a trip to one of Center City s modern German restaurants. Regular sessions may also be substituted for several special cultural events I m open to any suggestions from the group! Please see the full schedule for regular events on page 5. Note: We share the Greenhouse, the Basement of Class 1925, as well as the Basement of 1920s Commons with other Penn and Gregory College House students. Because of this, we have to allow for 5 7 minutes at the beginning and end of our hour of class to set up/clean up the space and leave so that the next class can use it. When you arrive to class and I am setting up, I expect you to get settled and begin speaking to one another in German. This is part of your active participation grade. 3. Registration: You can register for GRMN 180-001 German in Residence on Penn InTouch. The German House along with the Arabic, French, and Spanish language programs at Gregory offers students the option of earning 1 2 CU for the semester. All Penn undergraduate students are eligible to register for GRMN 180-001, offered through the Department of Germanic Languages. If you have any questions, please contact me via email, but know that you must register for this course yourself through Penn InTouch just like all your other courses. Again: if you are not registered for GRMN 180 by the deadline or you don t see GRMN 180 in your Penn InTouch schedule, you are not registered. 2
4. Grade determination: Grades are based on your attendance of our regularly scheduled events (please refer to the schedule on page 5) and your effort to actively participate in conversation. You will be able to miss 5 events per semester and still receive an A-. Failing to attend at least half of the events will result in an F. There will be two make-up sessions throughout the semester to accommodate busy schedules. Please make arrangements to attend and actively participate in the number of classes that coincides with the grade you would like to receive in the class. 4.1 Grades 1-3 absences & active participation = A 1-3 absences & mediocre participation = A- 3.5-5 absences & active participation = A- 3.5-5 absences & mediocre participation = B+ 5.5-7 absences & active participation = B+ 4.2 Attendance a. I will take attendance 5 minutes into class. b. Tardiness will be noted and count as a 1/2 class missed. If you arrive more than 30 minutes late, you will be marked as absent. There are no exceptions. c. If you arrive late and want credit for 1 2 class, it is your responsibility to find me at the end of class, to notify me that you arrived late. d. I will inform you of your attendance total midway through the semester via email. e. Make-up Sessions: 2 make-up sessions will be offered throughout the semester. These will be the only means of making up missed classes. f. Other study sessions or extracurricular activities do not justify missing class. Deutsches Haus is an official Penn course, for which you are registered please anticipate time in your weekly schedule for our meetings, just like for any other course. 4.3 Films a. Films are a mandatory and fun part of Deutsches Haus and contribute to the culture component of the course. b. Each Filmabend will count as 2 class periods. c. You are required to watch the whole film: each Filmabend involves watching the whole film and then discussing it with your classmates and instructor afterwards for 20 minutes. If you do not attend, it will count as 1 absence of the 2 class periods it counts for. d. Attendance policy for films is the same as with normal events. There are no exceptions. 4.4 Schedule a. This syllabus is accurate and final. b. I will generally send out reminder emails, but the syllabus takes precedence. Do not rely on reminder emails to get to our regularly scheduled meeting times. Regular event times 3
and locations will not change. Each meeting is noted in the syllabus please check the dates before registering for the course, or you may plan on making use of the scheduled make-up sessions in order to achieve your desired grade. c. You can also find regular meeting times on the Gregory College House Deutsches Haus calendar online for your convenience (syllabus still takes precedence). d. In the event of an emergency/unforeseen cancellation, I will send an email 24 hours in advance if possible. If not, I will send a substitute in my place to either run the class or inform you of the cancellation. Please do not assume that the course is cancelled because you cannot see me at first glance. 4
Please refer to this schedule for all events. You can also find the schedule on the Gregory College House Calendar. WK DAY DATE TIME # EVENT LOCATION NOTE 2 MON 9/4/2017 LABOR DAY (NO CLASS) WED 9/6/2017 8pm 1 Kaffeestunde Greenhouse, 3 MON 9/11/2017 8pm 2 Stammtisch Basement, 1920 WED 9/13/2017 8pm 3 Kaffeestunde Greenhouse, 4 MON 9/18/2017 8pm 4 Stammtisch Basement, 1920 WED 9/20/2017 8pm 5 Filmabend TV Lounge, Class Movie followed by #1 1925 Bldg SA 9/23/2017 7pm 6 Ausflug Frankford Hall (meet at Gregory) 5 MON 9/25/2017 8pm 7 Stammtisch Basement, 1920 WED 9/27/2017 8pm 8 Kaffeestunde Greenhouse, 6 MON 10/2/2017 8pm 9 Stammtisch Basement, 1920 WED 10/4/2017 8pm 10 Kaffeestunde Greenhouse, 7 MON 10/9/2017 8pm 11 Stammtisch Basement, 1920 WED 10/11/2017 8pm 12 Filmabend #2 TV Lounge, Class 1925 Bldg 8 MON 10/16/2017 8pm 13 Stammtisch Basement, 1920 WED 10/18/2017 8pm 14 Kaffeestunde Greenhouse, 9 MON 10/23/2017 8pm 15 Stammtisch Basement, 1920 WED 10/25/2017 8pm 16 Kaffeestunde Greenhouse, 10 MON 10/30/2017 8pm 17 Stammtisch Basement, 1920 WED 11/1/2017 8pm 18 Filmabend #3 TV Lounge, Class 1925 Bldg 11 MON 11/6/2017 8pm 19 Stammtisch Basement, 1920 WED 11/8/2017 8pm 20 Kaffeestunde Greenhouse, 12 MON 11/13/2017 8pm 21 Stammtisch Basement, 1920 WED 11/15/2017 8pm 22 Kaffeestunde Greenhouse, 13 MON 11/20/2017 8pm 23 Stammtisch Basement, 1920 Oktoberfest! (optional event) Movie followed by Movie followed by Attendance progress report 5
WED 11/22/2017 THANKSGIVING SCHEDULE (NO CLASS) 14 MON 11/27/2017 8pm 24 Stammtisch Basement, 1920 WED 11/29/2017 8pm 25 Filmabend #4 TV Lounge, Class 1925 Bldg 15 MON 12/4/2017 8pm 26 Stammtisch Basement, 1920 WED 12/6/2017 8pm 27 Kaffeestunde Greenhouse, 16 MON 12/11/2017 7pm 28 Restaurant Trip WED 12/13/2017 8pm 29 Make-up session #1 THU 12/14/2017 8pm 30 Make-up session #2 Location to be confirmed Greenhouse, Greenhouse, Movie followed by Time to be confirmed 6