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Germans-Jewish Culture And Modern Multiculturalism In Germany (Intersession 2021), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

"This class studies the expression of cultural identity in central European literature. How many people come to think of themselves or others as "Germans", "Jews", "Turks", "Foreigners", "Immigrants"? While the Holocaust is obviously central to the German-Jewish relationship, it is not the only focus of this course -- we will read literary reflections of the emancipation of the Jews, of German-Jewish assimilation and symbiosis, of the rise of anti-Semitism and Zionism, as well as attempts to remember the past. And while the long history of the relationship between Jews and non-Jews in Germany will be a major component of our …

Germans, Jews And Turks (Fall 2015), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

This class studies the expression of cultural identity in central European literature. How have people come to think of themselves or others as “Germans,” “Jews,” “Turks,” or some combinations thereof? While the Holocaust is obviously central to the German-Jewish relationship, it is not the only focus of this course—we will read literary reflections of the emancipation of the Jews, of German-Jewish assimilation and symbiosis, of the rise of anti-Semitism and Zionism, as well as attempts to remember the past. And while the long history of the relationship between Jews and non-Jews in Germany will be a major component of our …

Sexuality And Textuality (Fall 2014), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

"Sexuality and Textuality" serves as an introduction to gay and lesbian literary studies and queer theory. It looks at questions of sexuality and literature in ancient and early modern texts (from the Hebrew, Greek and English traditions), as well as in modern texts (from German, French, Spanish, Japanese, and English traditions). In addition to literary texts, students will work with a number of cinematic representations of queer sexuality. Besides these primary texts, students will work with important secondary literature about sexuality."

A photo of this Fall 2014 class was taken as part of Professor Bob Tobin's ongoing class photo tradition.

Sexuality And Human Rights (Spring 2014), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

What happens when we think of sexuality, with all of its transgressive and individualistic energies, in terms of rationally established universal human rights? Literary texts that focus on individual cases in the context of larger cultural and social traditions with a particular attention to the power of language can help us sort through some of the complex ideas that emerge from a discussion of sexual rights.

In this class, we will focus on issues such as sadism, masochism, polygamy, prostitution, HIV/AIDS, and transsexuality that bring questions of rights to the forefront.

A photo of this Spring 2014 class was taken …

Global Freud (Fall 2013), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

In 1909, Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis went global. At the behest of Clark's president G. Stanley Hall, Freud traveled with Carl Jung and Sandor Ferenczi from Vienna, capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to speak at Clark University. Clark is the only university in the Americas at which Freud ever lectured and the only university in the world to have given Freud an honorary degree. Freud's visit to Clark took place at the cusp of his career -- ten years before his visit he was known only to a small group in Vienna while ten years after his visit he was …

German Film And The Frankfurt School (Spring 2012), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

German Film and the Frankfurt School is an introduction to German cinema and media criticism. It will introduce students to important German films that have had a global impact, significant theoretical approaches to those films (especially those from the “Frankfurt School”), and the historical and cultural contexts in which these films and film theories arose. The class is cross-listed in German, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and Screen Studies. It provides a survey of an important art-form in German cultural history. Although National Socialism, the Holocaust and the Second World War are not the only themes of the course, they are …

The National Imagination (Spring 2011), Robert D. Tobin, Beth Gale, Alice Valentine

Syllabi

What images make people think of the United States of America? Cowboys? The flag? And are there similar icons in other cultures that help define cultural identity? The National Imagination explores the concept of a national community as constructed and critiqued through literary and cinematic narratives, as well as other cultural texts.

Our underlying premise is that national languages and cultures promote the identity of particular communities. We are interested in examining those subjective expressions of culture—images, symbols, narratives—that lead people to feel that they are members of the communities we call nations. We are also interested in discovering points …

The German Discovery Of Sex (Spring 2011), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

In this course, we will use the tools of literary and cultural analysis, studying fictional, political, psychoanalytic and scientific works to investigate the emergence of modern sexual discourses in the German-speaking world. The Greek term “homo” (same) and the Latinate “sex” (sex) were first combined to describe someone with a sexual interest in members of their own sex in 1869 in the German-speaking world. Similar observations can be made about terms such as “heterosexual,” “masochist,” and “transvestite.” There was apparently an intense interest in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century German-speaking central Europe in reconfiguring and reconsidering sexuality. Out of this …

Faust And The Faustian (Fall 2010), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

Faust—the scholar who makes a deal with the devil in order to achieve knowledge, love and power—is one of the great myths of modernity. Faust makes his deal with the devil because he despairs of living in the ivory tower and wants to effect real, positive, change in the world. This course thus gives us a chance to think critically about their own desires to “challenge convention and change the world.” Clark University’s Motto, “Challenge Convention and Change the World,” comes directly out of the Faustian tradition, as does the very conception of a socially activist research university.

A photo …

Germans, Jews And Turks (Spring 2010), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

This class studies the expression of cultural identity in central European literature. How have people come to think of themselves or others as “Germans,” “Jews,” “Turks,” or some combinations thereof? While the Holocaust is obviously central to the German-Jewish relationship, it is not the only focus of this course—we will read literary reflections of the emancipation of the Jews, of German-Jewish assimilation and symbiosis, of the rise of anti-Semitism and Zionism, as well as attempts to remember the past. And while the long history of the relationship between Jews and non-Jews in Germany will be a major component of our …

The National Imagination (Spring 2009), Robert D. Tobin, Marvin D'Lugo, Alice Valentine

Syllabi

This course compares the idea of the nation in two or three different traditions. This particular syllabus compares the national in Argentina, Japan, and Germany.

A photo of this Spring 2009 class was taken as part of Professor Bob Tobin's ongoing class photo tradition. The photograph was taken by Stephen DiRado as part of his Classroom Series.

German Film And The Frankfurt School (Spring 2009), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

This course is an introduction to German cinema. We will study masterpieces of German film, important critical and theoretical discussions of them, and the contexts in which they were produced and received. As a critical lens, we will rely heavily on psychoanalytic and Frankfurt School criticism, focusing on writings by Walter Benjamin, Siegfried Kracauer and Theodor Adorno. By the end of the semester, students should know the history of German film, have a better understanding of German culture, and have developed a critical understanding that is useful for their appreciation of all cinematic form.

A photo of this Spring 2009 …

Global Freud (Fall 2009), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

This course provides an introduction to Freud’s thinking, especially on literary and cultural topics. Reading his writing in conjunction with literary texts from a variety of cultural backgrounds, we will focus on the ways in which authors, artists, musicians and film makers from around the world have used Freud’s insights and try to determine in what ways his thoughts translate globally.

Faust And The Faustian (Spring 2008) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

This course was taught by Robert Tobin at Whitman College. Professor Tobin worked at Whitman for 18 years as associate dean of the faculty and chair of the humanities, and was named Cushing Eells Professor of the Humanities. Several of the courses he developed at Whitman would make the transition to Clark, where they continued to evolve.

"Along with Don Juan, Faust -- the scholar who makes a deal with the devil -- is one of the great myths of modernity. Based on an historical figure from the 16th century, the Faust story has inspired numerous literary, artistic, and musical …

Germany And Its Others (Fall 2007) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

This course was taught by Robert Tobin at Whitman College. Professor Tobin worked at Whitman for 18 years as associate dean of the faculty and chair of the humanities, and was named Cushing Eells Professor of the Humanities.

"In this course, we will be investigating how German culture has defined itself against its others: If Germany has defined itself in opposition to the East, is it Western? If Germany has defined itself in opposition to the South, has it escaped the legacy of Rome? Or is it a developed country? How did Germany's relationship to its colonies structure its self-image? …

The Fairy Tale (Spring 2007) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

This course was taught by Robert Tobin at Whitman College. Professor Tobin worked at Whitman for 18 years as associate dean of the faculty and chair of the humanities, and was named Cushing Eells Professor of the Humanities.

"In this course, we will study one of the most appealing and enigmatic literary forms in human history: the fairy tale. Although focused on the German tradition, we will strive for a sense of the international and intercultural context of the tales. We will approach the tales from a variety of perspectives - structuralist, historical, sociological, and feminist among others. In the …

Um 1800 (Spring 2006) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

This course was taught by Robert Tobin at Whitman College. Professor Tobin worked at Whitman for 18 years as associate dean of the faculty and chair of the humanities, and was named Cushing Eells Professor of the Humanities.

"In this course, we are attempting to get a sense of the richness of the cultural life of German-speaking central Europe around 1800, when there was a flowering of literature, philosophy, music and the arts flowered. We will read a variety of texts in German from a variety of disciplines and develop our skills as literary analysts, cultural critics, and readers of …

German Film (Spring 2002) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

This course was taught by Robert Tobin at Whitman College. Professor Tobin worked at Whitman for 18 years as associate dean of the faculty and chair of the humanities, and was named Cushing Eells Professor of the Humanities. Several of the courses he developed at Whitman would make the transition to Clark, where they continued to evolve.

"This course is an introduction to German cinema. Students will study masterpieces of German cinema, important critical discussion of them, and the context in which they arose."

Masterpieces Of Classicism And Romanticism (Fall 2000) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

This course was taught by Robert Tobin at Whitman College. Professor Tobin worked at Whitman for 18 years as associate dean of the faculty and chair of the humanities, and was named Cushing Eells Professor of the Humanities.

"Masterpieces of Classicism and Romanticism is designed to give students a broad overview of European literature of the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. Besides gaining familiarity with some of the authors of this period, students should learn to put the texts we read into their social and historical contexts and gain a basic familiarity with approaches to literary texts."

Liebestod (Fall 1999) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

This course was taught by Robert Tobin at Whitman College. Professor Tobin worked at Whitman for 18 years as associate dean of the faculty and chair of the humanities, and was named Cushing Eells Professor of the Humanities.

"Love and death, sexuality and sickness, desire and disease...these are constantly recurring themes in the German tradition. In this course, we can analyze why and how the "Liebestod" theme has such a powerful hold in German literature. We will begin with the locus classicus of the love-death, which is the Tristan myth, pursuing it from its medieval origins, through its apex in …

Classicism And Romanticism (Fall 1997) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

This course was taught by Robert Tobin at Whitman College. Professor Tobin worked at Whitman for 18 years as associate dean of the faculty and chair of the humanities, and was named Cushing Eells Professor of the Humanities.

"Classicism and Romanticism attempts to provide an overview of the European literature in translation that arose in the so-called classical and romantic periods. Very roughly speaking, one could say that Classical literature was written in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, while Romantic literature was written in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries."

Medicine & Literature (Spring 1996) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

This course was taught by Robert Tobin at Whitman College. Professor Tobin worked at Whitman for 18 years as associate dean of the faculty and chair of the humanities, and was named Cushing Eells Professor of the Humanities.

"In World Literature 390, I want to examine from a literary perspective medicine and medical discourse. How do authors use metaphors of sickness and health, illness and cure, disease and well-being in their literature? How in turn do these literary and rhetorical metaphors affect everyday understandings of these basic concepts?"

Contemporary German Literature (Fall 1995) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

This course was taught by Robert Tobin at Whitman College. Professor Tobin worked at Whitman for 18 years as associate dean of the faculty and chair of the humanities, and was named Cushing Eells Professor of the Humanities.

"In this course we will read and discuss works of post-World War II literature written in German. Authors to be discussed are Paul Celan, Wolfgang Borchert, Ilse Aichinger, Bertolt Brecht, Wolfgang Koeppen, Heinar Kipphardt, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, and Christa Wolf."

Masterpieces Of Classicism And Romanticism (Fall 1993) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

This course was taught by Robert Tobin at Whitman College. Professor Tobin worked at Whitman for 18 years as associate dean of the faculty and chair of the humanities, and was named Cushing Eells Professor of the Humanities.

"Masterpieces of Classicism and Romanticism is designed to give students a broad introduction to the European literature of the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. In addition to gaining a familiarity with a few of the great writers of those periods, students should develop and hone their skills of critical analysis. This semester, we will devote special attention to familial structures and …