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German Language Program
Times have changes since the great wave of German immigration to this country, but the fact remains that according to the latest United States census, one out of every five Americans is of German descent. Add this to the increasing and ever more important role of the newly United Federal republic of Germany is playing in the economic, political, social and cultural life of Europe today. Many exciting career opportunities are opening up for anyone with a good command of the German language and the German way of life. The number of internships available to qualified students is growing daily; they include positions (and eventual career opportunities) in international transportation, communications, foreign trade and banking, marketing, government, science and technology, teaching and information science service. Even if your career aspiration lie in a different direction, learning a foreign language and appreciating the culture that both utilizes and nourishes it is an enriching experience.
The undergraduate divisions of Fordham University have a language requirement for the bachelor's degree in liberal arts and sciences. Details of these requirements, as well as the possibility of satisfying the language requirement by demonstrating already attained proficiency in German can be found in the current college bulletins. In addition, Fordham College at Rose Hill offers two major (and minor) programs of concentration in German: German literature and German Studies.
Fordham College at Lincoln Center currently offers language skills courses, which lay the foundation and adequately prepare students for further study, either on the tutorial level or via regularly scheduled courses. Students may pursue a major or minor in either of the two German tracks: the literature student will take ten courses from departmental offerings. It is expected that this major will include a combination of language and literature courses, normally three advanced language courses and seven courses in German literature.
The German Studies major requires any 10 departmental courses in German. Students choose seven courses covering a variety of disciplines, including literature, advanced language courses, a two-semester sequence of German culture and civilization, and up to three courses from another related discipline, such as history, political science, economics, art and music and philosophy, with the prior approval of the department advisor. A minor in German Literature or German Studies consists of six courses for the respective major.
An exciting new development is also underway, whereby students in the College of Business Administration are encouraged to pursue a global program emphasizing a culture in which they become knowledgeable, including proficiency in the respective language. G.L.O.B.E.'s German for Business course is open to all undergraduate students.
Finally, all students are encouraged to participate in Fordham's Study Abroad program, which offers a number of opportunities to live and study for a period of four to six weeks at the Goethe Institute Program during the summer, fall or Spring semester. They may also spend an academic year abroad sponsored by an accredited American university program affiliated with German universities of higher education.
Faculty
Susan H. Ray
555 Faber Hall, Rose Hill
(718) 817-2658; sray@fordham.edu
Ph.D., New York University
Germanic Languages and Literatures; 20th Century German Expressionism
Professor of German. Listed in Who’s Who in Humanities Higher Education (WWHHE), 2005. Author of two books on Gottfried Benn (Geschichtspessimismus und Moralvorstellung, Peter Lang, Bern/Frankfurt am Main 1982; Beyond Nihilism: Gottfried Benn’s Postmodernist Poetics, Peter Lang, Bern, 2003), co-author with Gudrun Isaak of intermediate German reader Prosa der Gegenwart (Langenscheidt, Munich, 1985), and ATA-accredited German to English translator (published translations range in topic from art, biography, education, history, horticulture, law, literary criticism, medicine, music, philately, religion).
Gudrun Isaak
562 Faber Hall, Rose Hill
(718) 817-2669; isaak@fordham.edu
Ph.D. New York University
German literature and sociology
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