Department of German

Since its development between 1997 and 2000 the German Department’s curriculum has attracted considerable national and international attention: The Developing Multiple Literacies curriculum is the only collegiate foreign language program in the United States that has integrated learning the language with acquiring cultural knowledge about the German-speaking world throughout a four-year undergraduate program.

Its goal is to allow students to become competent and literate non native users of German who can employ the language in a range of intellectual and professional contexts and who can also draw from it personal enrichment and enjoyment.

The curriculum addresses interests and learning needs of a range of students:

• Students who begin their study of German at Georgetown can attain levels of ability within four semesters that allow them to matriculate directly in university-level studies at a German-speaking university during their junior year abroad.

• Students who have previously learned German are reliably placed into courses that recognize their current abilities and enable them to further develop their knowledge of German in all areas of language use (i.e., in speaking, reading, listening, and writing).

• Students with considerable cultural and linguistic knowledge are challenged throughout the curriculum to progress toward very advanced abilities.

• Students who take advantage of study abroad opportunities, including the Department’s summer program in Trier, can continue their studies in a meaningful way upon returning to Georgetown.

• German majors and minors especially benefit from the broad range of topical courses and sustained attention to their language development.

• Students with a variety of academic and professional interests can enhance these through the cultural and linguistic knowledge fostered in the German curriculum.

Teachers in courses at all levels link language learning and content learning in a range of fields such as literary studies, film, area studies, business culture, and performance. In turn, students critically explore their own assumptions, ways of knowing, judging, decision-making, and acting in an increasingly multilingual and multicultural world, the world in which they hope to thrive and make meaningful contributions. Please follow these links for further information: