JYM course catalog
All students are required to enroll in Advanced German Language (JYG 3100/3200). These courses consist of a language course offered by the International Universitätsclub München and a one-hour weekly conversation hour at the JYM institute. This combination allows us to ensure that students are in courses that are right for their language level while also creating community and checking in on the group on a weekly basis. All or part of the Advanced German Language requirement may be waived if the administrative director in residence deems a student's level of German language proficiency is sufficiently high (generally at the C-2 level).
JYM area studies courses are taught at the JYM institute. They utilize Munich's prestigious cultural, educational and historical resources as an integral part of the curriculum whenever possible. Courses may include visits and/or assignments related to museums, archives, theatrical performances or even travel beyond Munich. All JYM courses are conducted in German.
Not all courses listed below may be offered in any one year of the program, and topics courses are subject to change. Changes to the schedule of JYM courses we plan to offer may be made depending on the final composition of the JYM student group. JYM reserves the right to require a minimum number of students to be enrolled in a JYM course before it will be offered.
Courses
Courses marked "WiSe" are generally offered only in the Wintersemester (first semester). Courses marked "SoSe" are generally offered only in the Sommersemester (second semester).
JYG 3100/3200: Advanced German Language I, II
Offered: WiSe, SoSe
Required. Credits: 3
JYG 3110: Written Communication and Expression
Offered: WiSe
Credits: 3
This course focuses specifically on developing students' writing skills and oral expression. Emphasis is placed on a) strengthening clarity of written expression in German as needed in both academic and non-academic environments, and b) accuracy and appropriateness of diction and pronunciation.
JYG 4100: Introduction to the Study of German Literature
Offered: WiSe, offered irregularly
Credits: 3
Includes an analysis of literary texts related to a specific theme, an introduction to methods of literary study and literary terminology, and practice in literary interpretation.
JYG 4200: Contemporary German Culture
Offered: WiSe, SoSe
Credits: 3
This course explores German politics, society and culture from the standpoint of current affairs in Germany today. Drawing on examples from newspaper articles, magazines and popular culture media, topics explored may include the social, economic and political challenges facing Germany today, Germany's place within the European Union and how these are manifested in contemporary German cultural activity.
JYG 4300: History of Art
Offered: SoSe
Credits: 3
Munich's world-famous museums allow students to study treasures of art history up close and personal works of art that otherwise are found only find in books or on the internet. With more than 35 museums, there's no need for PowerPoints when students study art in Munich. Just around the corner from JYM is the Lenbachhaus Museum, home to the Blaue Reiter expressionist group. Minutes away are Munich's three world-renowned Pinakothek galleries: Alte Pinakothek, Neue Pinakothek, and Pinakothek der Moderne. And then there are the museums of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture am Königsplatz (also just around the corner from JYM), the Brandhorst Museum, Schack Gallerie, Villa Stuck, and many more. Methods and criteria of analysis contextualize exemplary works of German architecture, painting, sculpture, and decorative arts in relation to European artistic periods, styles, and genres. Instruction takes place at JYM, in museums, and on field trips.
JYG 4500: Munich and National Socialism
Offered: WiSe, SoSe
Credits: 3
This course explores the origins of National Socialism and the establishment of Munich as the administrative, symbolic and artistic center of the Nazi movement, explores everyday life in Munich under the Nazi dictatorship, antisemitism and the holocaust, persecution and resistance, de-Nazification and coming to terms with the past. Includes visits to sites of historical significance in and around Munich, e.g. the Dachau concentration camp memorial, the new Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism in Munich, and Nürnberg (site of the 1934 Nazi Party rally and stage for Leni Riefenthal's Triumph des Willens).
JYG 4800: Topics in German Studies
Comparative Eco-Politics
Offered: WiSe or SoSe
Credits: 3
Climate change, mass extinction, alternative energy: we cannot understand present-day debates about the future of our planet without looking to the past. This seminar examines the relationships between nature and society in Germany over the past 250 years. Our historical journey will take us from the belching smokestacks of the Ruhr Valley in the nineteenth century, to the protests against nuclear energy in the 1970s and 1980s, to the twenty-first-century wind farms that currently dot the German landscape. We will also compare Germany's environmental history and policy decisions with those of the former GDR, the European Union and the USA. Students will learn to work critically with a range of historical sources and genres: texts, images and films, as they explore the initiatives and challenges along the way to a Green Germany.
JYG 4800: Topics in German Studies
Thinking, Speaking and Writing about Film. An Introduction to the German Film Landscape.
Offered: SoSe
Credits: 3
This course offers an overview over film theory, film history, and film analysis. Film theory provides answers to questions such as: Is cinema an art or rather an industry? What different ways are there of thinking about films in terms of social criticism, philosophy or content? In film history, we then learn about different eras of German film, starting with the invention of the bioscope in Berlin in 1895, through the expressionist avant-garde of the Weimar Republic and the New German Cinema, to the Berlin School of the late 1990s. In the film analysis, we then take a closer look at these films. What aspects need to be considered when talking about films? The knowledge gained in the seminar will be applied directly during the internationally renowned Munich Film Festival, which takes place at the end of June. Students will have the opportunity to view new films and television shows and write essays that deal with what they have seen on a theoretical, historical and analytical level.
JYG 4900: Undergraduate Research Project
Offered: SoSe
Credits: 3
Independent study or Undergraduate Research Project approved by the student's advisor noted on the application form and supervised by the administrative director in residence.
JYG 5890: Overseas Internship
Offered: SoSe
Credits: 3
Internship experience approved for credit in advance by the student's advisor. For credit, student must participate in an internship and attend an accompanying course that gives participants the opportunity to analyze and contextualize their intercultural experiences. At the end of the course, students will produce an internship portfolio and practice talking about the competencies that they gained in an interview setting.