GER 410-510 “Bildung”: Ideal and Institution (Fall 2007)

This course investigates the notion of Bildung and its crucial role in German literature and thought from the late 18th to the 20th century. The term came to prominence in the 18th century not only as the primary category of individual development in relation to society, but emerged also in biological inquiries on the nature of the formation of organisms, suggesting a connection between cultural and natural phenomena. Since this time, “Bildung” has routinely been used to capture the presumed essence of what educational institutions are all about. One of the primary aims of this course is thus to trace the emergence of institutions founded on the basis of this ideal that are, for better or worse, still with us today, and to come to an understanding of the ideological implications that sustain them. Texts to be read will include both theoretical and literary works (some in excerpts) by Goethe (“Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre”), Schiller (“Über die ästhetische Erziehung des Menschen”), Novalis (“Die Lehrlinge zu Sais”), Humboldt, Nietzsche, and Musil (“Die Verwirrungen des Zöglings Törleß”). We will also be discussing films directed by Helmut Weiss, Volker Schlöndorff, and Wim Wenders.