GERM3331
The Life and Work of Bertolt Brecht
20 credits

Module manager Professor Stephen Brockmann
Email: gllsjt@leeds.ac.uk

Taught Semester 1 View Timetable

Year running 2007/08

Pre-requisite qualifications
German A level or equivalent

This module is approved as an Elective

Module summary
The module introduces the work of Bert Brecht, German dramatist, poet, writer and public-political intellectual. During the course of the module, we will examine a number of Brecht's key texts and discuss the extent to which his work is purely political and whether it has lasting value as 'art'. We will also be looking at Brecht as a drama theorist and practitioner. We will be examining Brecht as a major German writer who emerged during the Weimar Republic, lived through exile during the Nazi period, and was a key intellectual in the early years of communist East Germany.

Objectives
By the end of the module, students should have gained a broad overview of Bertolt Brecht's life, career, and works, and they should understand the main arguments in recent Brecht criticism, and they should be able to articulate what is at stake in these debates. Students should also have improved their ability to read and understand prose, drama, and poetry in German, as well as to think and write critically about literary works in English.

Learning outcomes
By the end of this module, students will be familiar with a number of Brecht's key texts and be able to place them within the social, political and cultural context within which he worked.

Skills outcomes
By the end of this modules, students will be able to critically analyse literary texts, place them within their broader social, political, cultural and historical context, and also debate key issues surrounding the relationship between art and society.

Syllabus
During the course of the module we will consider:
1. Brecht, Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, ISBN 3-518-18863-1,
Suhrkamp.

2. Brecht, Die heilige Johanna der Schlachthöfe, ISBN 3-518-10113-7,
Suhrkamp.

3. Brecht, Der gute Mensch von Sezuan, ISBN 3-518-18825-9, Suhrkamp.

4. Brecht, Ausgewahlte Gedichte, ISBN 3-518-10086-6, Suhrkamp.

5. Brecht, Geschichten vom Herrn Keuner, ISBN 3-518-18846-1, Suhrkamp.

6. Brecht, Die Maßnahme, ISBN 3-518-12058-1, Suhrkamp.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
In Course Assessment	1	0.50	0.50
Seminar	10	2.00	20.00
Private study hours			179.50
Total Contact hours			20.50
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study
Students will need to read the texts, read secondary literature and prepare for class in their private study. They will do ten hours of private study a week (11 weeks + five non-teaching weeks * 5 hours = 160 hours).
They will spend a further 19.5 hours writing a literature review and an assessed essay in semester one.

Progress monitoring
In class, with informal presentations and submission of essay plans.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	3,000 words	80.00
Literature Review	1,000 words	20.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Reading list
The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 31/03/2008

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