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2022/2023  BA-BBLTO1021U  Area Studies 1 - German: State, identities and cultures

English Title
Area Studies 1 - German: State, identities and cultures

Course information

Language German
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Bachelor
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for BSc and MSc in Business, Language and Culture, BSc
Course coordinator
  • Bjarne Ørsnes - Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC)
Main academic disciplines
  • Language
Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face teaching
Last updated on 27-06-2022

Relevant links

Learning objectives
At the end of the course students should be able to:
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the political systems and the states in the German-speaking countries • Demonstrate knowledge of identities and cultures in the German-speaking countries and what has formed them • Demonstrate knowledge of economic developments in the German-speaking countries • Demonstrate knowledge of key developments in the societies of the German-speaking countries
  • Demonstrate knowledge of basic grammar and sentence structure in the foreign language • Demonstrate knowledge of vocabulary of political, historical, socio-cultural and economic issues • Demonstrate ability to understand texts in the foreign language on the topics of the course • Demonstrate ability to extract relevant information from texts in the foreign language on the topics of the course.
Examination
The exam in the subject consists of two parts:
German Area Studies 1 Content Exam:
Sub exam weight50%
Examination formWritten sit-in exam on CBS' computers
Individual or group examIndividual exam
Assignment typeWritten assignment
Duration2 hours
Grading scale7-point grading scale
Examiner(s)One internal examiner
Exam periodWinter
AidsClosed book: no aids
However, at all written sit-in exams the student has access to the basic IT application package (Microsoft Office (minus Excel), digital pen and paper, 7-zip file manager, Adobe Acrobat, Texlive, VLC player, Windows Media Player), and the student is allowed to bring simple writing and drawing utensils (non-digital). PLEASE NOTE: Students are not allowed to communicate with others during the exam.
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
If the number of registered candidates for the make-up examination/re-take examination warrants that it may most appropriately be held as an oral examination, the programme office will inform the students that the make-up examination/re-take examination will be held as an oral examination instead.
Description of the exam procedure

The duration of the exam is 2 hours in total (1 hour per sub exam).

 

The test consists of multiple choice-questions, multiple answer questions and short answer questions 

German Area Studies 1 Language Exam:
Sub exam weight50%
Examination formWritten sit-in exam on CBS' computers
Individual or group examIndividual exam
Assignment typeWritten assignment
Duration2 hours
Grading scale7-point grading scale
Examiner(s)One internal examiner
Exam periodWinter
AidsClosed book: no aids
However, at all written sit-in exams the student has access to the basic IT application package (Microsoft Office (minus Excel), digital pen and paper, 7-zip file manager, Adobe Acrobat, Texlive, VLC player, Windows Media Player), and the student is allowed to bring simple writing and drawing utensils (non-digital). PLEASE NOTE: Students are not allowed to communicate with others during the exam.
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
If the number of registered candidates for the make-up examination/re-take examination warrants that it may most appropriately be held as an oral examination, the programme office will inform the students that the make-up examination/re-take examination will be held as an oral examination instead.
Description of the exam procedure

The duration of the exam is 2 hours in total (1 hour per sub exam).

 

Written assignment consisting of questions and tasks.

Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

 

The first semester of Area Studies in German is built on two dimensions: Content and Language

 

The content dimension of German 1 provides a basic historical, geographical, political and cultural introduction to the German-speaking countries and regions (with a particular view to Germany), covering their identities, political cultures, economies and institutions as well as their international relations.  

The topics, concepts and perspectives raised during the course help develop the student's cultural sensitivity and understanding of viewpoints, narratives and institutions that are specific to the language area.

 

Topics dealt with in the course include: The characteristics and formation of the modern German, Austrian and Swiss states, their political and economic development after 1945 and after 1990, their identities (national, regional and local) and cultures (cultural standards), society and societies (demography, media, education and the family), economic relations (export, trade) and international co-operation.

 

The language dimension aims at improving the students’ basic language skills (grammar and vocabulary), pronunciation and fluency; as well as their reading and oral comprehension of the foreign language. Emphasis is also put on learning and using phrases needed to make presentations and to participate actively in discussions.

 

Integration

The course lays the foundation of the second semester area studies course in German 2 - that focuses on markets, institutions and the interplay between globalization and local/specific contexts in the German speaking countries.

It integrates with the course on Cultural Analysis for Business and it seeks to apply the concepts from this course to actual problems and cases from the German-speaking countries. 

Students are expected to apply the theories and methods from Cultural Analysis for Business to analyse and explain developments and behaviours in business-contexts in the German-speaking countries. They are trained in being aware of culturally based differences in behaviour and to reflect on the reasons for these differences and the consequences for intercultural communication and collaboration..

 

Description of the teaching methods
All teaching takes place in German and all reading is also in German. The course integrates content and language learning so that the foreign language is used to acquire content combined with language instruction. A combination of lectures, class discussions and student presentations develops the students’ knowledge and ability to analyse and understand current political, cultural and social processes in the chosen region. The course takes a blended approach to learning, integrating online and face-to-face activities.
Feedback during the teaching period
Feedback is given continuously through written and oral assignments, both as Teacher supervised peer-to-peer feedback, quizzes and tests (online and offline) and as individual/group discussions (online and offline). Students are encouraged to participate in feedback activities and to make use of the weekly office hours for individual feedback (office hours can also be online by arrangement).

The students are offered individual feed-back in 2 voluntary assignments of 3 pages each. These exercises help the students to work independently with the topics and to train linguistic phenomena needed for the oral discussions.

Student workload
Lectures on content 28 hours
Lectures on language 18 hours
Preparation 158 hours
Exam 2 hours
In total 206 hours
Expected literature

To be announced on Canvas 

Last updated on 27-06-2022