Course Structure and Duration

(i) The minimum period required for a candidate to study and qualify for the award of a degree is seven (7) semesters. The maximum period is sixteen (16) semesters assuming two (2) per academic year or twenty four (24) trimesters assuming three (3) per academic year.

(ii) A candidate for a B.A. degree shall be required to register, study, sit examinations and pass in at least forty four (44) course units taken throughout the period of study. These units shall include the faculty-based Designated Common Courses (DCC) and prescribed Common Undergraduate Courses (CUC).

(iii) Students may register for courses in Intercultural German Studies as either a Major or a Minor. There are two possible modes of study: full time (module I) and part-time (module II). 

 

Course Codes and Titles

All course units comprise 45 contact hours.

Level I:

Core units:

CGS 3101 Introduction to German Grammar

CGS 3102 German Communication Skills

CGS 3103 Intercultural Studies 1: Introduction to the German-Speaking Countries

CGS 3104 Introduction to Methods of Literary Criticism

Level II:

Core units:

CGS 3201 Phonetics, German Phonology and Orthography

CGS 3202 Introduction to Applied Linguistics

CGS 3203 Genres of German Literature

CGS 3204 German Literature and Immigration

Level III:

Core units:

CLD 301 Introduction to Translation

CLD 302 German Literature after 1989

CLD 303 German Literature from the 1960s to the 1980s

CLD 304 Intercultural Studies 2: Intercultural Communication

 

Elective units:

CLD 305 Varieties of the German Language 

CLD 306 Academic Skills in Intercultural German Studies

CLD 307 Intercultural Studies 3: Multilingualism

CLD 308 Aspects of the Political Culture of the German-Speaking Countries

CLD 309 Post World War II Literature in the German-Speaking Countries

CLD 310 Intercultural Studies 4: Cultures and Subcultures

Level IV:

Core units:

CLD 401 Semantics, Pragmatics and the German Language

CLD 402 Intercultural Studies 5: Principles and Strategies of International Relations

CLD 403 German History within the 20th Century

CLD 404 Literature of the Weimar Republic

 

Elective units:

CLD 405 Theory and Practice of Translation

CLD 406 Readings in German Philosophy

CLD 407 The Media in the German-Speaking World

CLD 408 The History of the German Language

CLD 409 Classical German Literature 

CLD 410 Intercultural Studies 6: Intercultural Business Communication

 

Course Descriptions

CGS 3101 Introduction to German Grammar

Basic grammatical categories, such as person, number, tense, aspect, voice, gender, case etc. in contrast to English and Kenyan languages. Distinction of the levels of grammatical analysis: sounds, morphemes (in both inflectional and derivational processes); word classification (article words, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, etc.); phrases, (embedded sentences, etc.); the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives; clause element order types; the construction of German sentences.

CGS 3102 German Communication Skills

Practical exercises to improve the communication skills on four different levels: listening comprehension, reading comprehension, and oral and written expression; the simulation of situations in which linguistic skills are required (shopping, at the language school or travel agency, at the doctors); compositions. 

CGS 3103 Intercultural Studies I: Introduction to the German-Speaking Countries

The topography of the German-speaking countries; their significance at the centre of Europe; their relationships to Kenya and other African countries; economic activities; natural resources; physical features; agricultural and industrial development; environmental issues; political structures; social structures; social life; science and education; the German language in Africa.

CGS 3104 Introduction to Methods of Literary Criticism

The concept of literature; literality vs. fictionality; literature as non-pragmatic discourse; literary language as a self referring system; introduction to selected theoretical approaches to fictional literature: hermeneutics, post-structuralism, psycho analysis, gender etc.). Their points of contact and divergence; the problem of “applying” theories to literary analysis.

CGS 3201 Phonetics, German Phonology and Orthography

Introduction to phonetics; German segmental (phonemes and the ways they pattern) and suprasegmental (prosody) phonology; principles of German orthography; relation between (strings of) phonemes and (strings of) graphemes and between oral and written linguistic structure.

CGS 3202 Introduction to Applied Linguistics

Introduction to Applied Linguistics and its sub-fields: translation; technical writing; languages for special purposes; medical discourse; teacher-student-interaction; communication at the workplace; intercultural communication; becoming aware that the use of the German language varies according to settings and communicational purposes; analysis and categorization of various texts according to the criteria relevant in the various domains of Applied Linguistics.

CGS 3203 Genres of German Literature 

The concept of literary genre; differences and similarities between literary genres; literary genres vs. non-literary genres; examples of literary genres including poem, myth, fairy tale, short story, novel, drama. Introduction to major authors, periods and genres of German literature from the 18th century to the present; Development of subtle interpretative techniques and intensive writing practice.

CGS 3204 German Literature and Immigration

The concept of Migrantenliteratur (‘immigrants’ literature’); German literature in times of immigration to the German-speaking world; concepts of minority and intercultural literature; the development of intercultural literature in the German-speaking countries; contemporary debates evolving around Migrantenliteratur; survey of authors who have made a contribution to this genre.

CLD 301 Introduction to Translation

Introduction to the theory and practice of translation for a variety of text types; introduction to the problems/strategies of translation; basic concepts in the theories of translation and their application to simple translation exercises; translation-oriented text analysis; translation exercises of non-fictional texts, parts of texts and short complete texts, thus expanding the students reservoirs of foreign language strategies and competence. 

CLD 302 German Literature after 1989

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and its repercussions in German literature; the emergence of literary forms and plots that reflect the contemporary socio-cultural changes, and challenge some of the political assumptions and narrative patterns that dominated the post war German literature; topics include the “Wendeliteratur”, “der deutsch-deutsche Literaturstreit”, post-Wall German literature dealing with the collapse of the DDR; the loss of “home”; an overview of authors reflecting West and East German points of view on the unification process.

CLD 303 German Literature from the 1960s to the 1980s

The 1960s as an era of intense political activities and activism in academic circles worldwide; the political dimension of literature; the relationship between political and cultural activities; the specific German situation: the young generation’s critical approach to their parents’ past during national socialism; the unrest and students’ movement of the 1960s and the general political and economical situation in Germany between the 1960s and the 1970s; literature as a “political weapon”, e.g. documentary literature, political songs and poems; new subjectivism, literature of private emotions and “neue Empfindsamkeit” of the 1970s and 1980s. 

CLD 304 Intercultural Studies 2: Intercultural Communication

Introduction to Germany, Switzerland and Austria as multicultural societies; empathy and openness as preconditions of successful intercultural communication; interactional routines and the values and cultural assumptions tied to them; “critical” communicational occasions: first encounters, making requests, writing letters (on paper, e-mail), small talk: topics and non-topics; proximity: how close do we get to each other in communication; linguistic etiquette(s) and politeness.

CLD 305 Varieties of the German Language

The concept of a homogeneous German language (National) language vs. (regional) dialects; Dimensions of variation: temporal, regional, social, stylistics. Standard vs. non-standard varieties of German: their communicational function, their prestige. Oral vs. written language; medial vs. conceptual; orality/literacy in the age of the new media (chat, e-mail, SMS etc.).

CLD 306 Academic Skills in Intercultural German Studies

Introduction to academic German language usage and to the standards of science related communication; analysis and production of text samples elaborating on the structure and arrangement of academic texts: abstract, summary, thesis, structure of text, preface, techniques of citation, referencing within the text, bibliography etc.; current methods of information research: online academic libraries, catalogues, on internet research methods, standards of publication and academic communication; ethical problems of science and their legal implications.

CLD 307 Intercultural Studies 3: Multilingualism

The linguistic, psychological, social and educational issues facing multilingual individuals and societies; the relationship between social milieu and the learning and use of languages; societal reactions to the existence of competing languages and values; differences in a multilingual child's linguistic and cognitive development and a monolingual child; how do language identity and loyalty affect a multilingual person's speech and linguistic behavior; multilingualism as resource and asset of a society and of individuals; multilingualism as a problem. 

CLD 308 Aspects of Political Culture of the German-Speaking Countries

The foundations of German democratic principles; the structure and significance of political institutions; federalism; the principle of separation of powers; constitutional order and constitutional guarantees; social security; emancipation movements. The interplay between politics and other societal domains, such as culture, sports, media.

CLD 309 Post World War II Literature in the German-Speaking Countries

German literature in the aftermath of World War II started from a new beginning – the so called “Stunde Null”–, with many of the literary texts attempting to find a way of describing the shocking experience of war and devastation. This unit will look at the following topics: “Stunde Null”, examples of “Kahlschlag-” and “Trümmerliteratur”; “Gruppe 47”; “Innere Migration” and exile literature; reconstruction and the “Wirtschaftswunder”, and the emergence of an “affluent society”.

CLD 310 Intercultural Studies 4: Cultures and Subcultures

Germany and Kenya as multilingual and multicultural societies; theories of culture and interculturalism; main stream culture: theatre, opera, exhibitions, museums; subcultures: “Generation Golf”, youth cultures; symbols of German and Kenyan cultures; regional differences in culture and their origins; gender in different societies; commercial, hype or hyper consumerist strategies as everyday politics.

CLD 401 Semantics, Pragmatics and the German Language

Language as a semiotic system and process; the relation between linguistic expression (grammar) and linguistic meaning (semantics): arbitrariness and iconicity; word-meaning, sentence-meaning, text-meaning: compositionality and idiomaticity; “literary”/conventional meaning vs. utterance meaning vs. communicative sense; various theoretical approaches to meaning: behaviourism, cognitivism, inferentialism; language use as communication: semiotic and communication models (Bühler 1934; How we do things with words); genres and principles of written text and oral discourse.

CLD 402 Intercultural Studies 5: Principles and Strategies of International Relations

International relations in the context of the EU, UN and NATO; relations with developing countries in Africa; guiding principles in political, economic and strategic cooperation within Europe and with the rest of the world; intercultural cooperation; German educational exchange programmes. Readings, discussions and projects based on a variety of contemporary political, social, economic and cultural topics; materials from the German language press, the internet, videos and television news.

CLD 403 German History within the 20th Century

The Weimar Republic 1919 -1933; Third Reich 1933 – 1945; The foundation and division of the two German states 1945 - 1990; the cold war period and the East-West antagonism; East and West Germany during the “cold war” period; 1968 and its implications; 1989/90 and the unification; Berlin Republic and the EU 1990 to the present; Germany, a “normal” country?

CLD 404 Literature of the Weimar Republic

The Weimar Republic (1919–1933) in German history; Political and economical implications of the Treaty of Versailles (1918); Weimar and the explosive intellectual productivity – a literature between two German catastrophes; the Weimar Republic’s literature as representative of competing political perspectives; its innovative aesthetic practices; its insight into a society that was struggling to redefine itself; the political, economic, and social history of Germany between 1918 and 1933; the decline of the German empire during the First World War and the rise of the “Third Reich” in the 1930s.

CLD 405 Theory and Practice of Translation

Translation from the areas of fiction, media, advertising, health, technology, etc.; the perfect translation as an inconceivable concept; possible guidelines for the translator (be revertible, transport the same message, achieve the same effect); translation as negotiation; comprehensive range of practical and theoretical skills for translating; losses and compensation strategies; translation as an intercultural process; overview of principles and practices governing the translation profession. 

CLD 406 Readings in German Philosophy

The beginnings of German philosphy; German philosophy as part of the European philosophical tradition and discourse; selected readings in German philosophy, e.g.: Immanuel Kant “Was ist Aufklärung?”; Johann Gottfried Herder Vom Ursprung der Sprache, Wilhelm von Humboldt Über die Verschiedenheiten des menschlichen Sprachbaus; Hans Georg Gadamer Hermeneutik; Jürgen Habermas Zweckmäßigkeit und Verständigung etc.

CLD 407 The Media in the German-Speaking World

An overview of the various kinds of media and their influence on the modern societies in the German-speaking world; Particular emphasis on the internet, major newspapers, journals and magazines, as well as TV and radio; Comparison and analysis of various media and their impact on different areas of everyday and professional life; Germany, Austria and Switzerland as “media societies”;, especially language trends and stylistics in the ‘new media’(e-mail, SMS, mobile phones, WWW); what roles do the media play in the lives of their users?

CLD 408 The History of the German Language

Overview of the history and periods of the German language from Old High German (up to the 9th) century; Middle High German (up to the 15th century); the literary revolution; the impact of the reformation; Early New High German (up to 17th century); consolidation of political power and its impact on Early New High German; New High German; Contemporary standard German; language societies; 17th and 18th century movements in Europe; twentieth Century developments; changes in the sound and grammatical systems of German; standardization; major dialect regions; ideology and vocabulary. 

CLD 409 Classical German Literature 

Reading of canonical works of German literature from various epochs of German literature; the concept of epoch or era in fictional literature; Readings include: Goethe, Schiller, Kleist, Hoffmann, Büchner, Heine, Droste-Hülshoff, Keller, Fontane, Hauptmann, Döblin, Kafka, Celan and Bachmann.

CLD 410 Intercultural Studies 6: Intercultural Business Communication

Features and problems of communication in business and tourism across cultures; fundamental concepts of intercultural business communication; knowledge of pertinent types of texts: press-publications and tourist guides, videotapes illustrating business situations, writing and replying business letters; practical application of the concepts discussed in class during an industrial attachment at relevant institutions, organizations or companies.

 

Award of Degree

In order to qualify for the award of a B.A. degree, a candidate must have registered for, attended lectures, sat examinations and passed in at least 44 units taken throughout the period of study for the degree.

The final classification of the degree shall be based on all the required units taken during the degree programme. The total score on the required units shall be based on cumulative average score to arrive at the final degree classification as follows:

70% – 100% = First Class Honours

60% – 69% = Upper Second Class Honours

50% – 59% = Lower Second Class Honours

40% – 49% = Pass