This course combines two one-credit seminars with a two-week study abroad experience to provide students with a unique opportunity to study one of today's major economic powers. The course is designed to be a highly interactive and engaging study of German culture, history, economics, and business. Students will attend weekly seminars that cover topics such as business, trade, economics, politics, culture, history, and more.
|
Robert Sullivan, Ph.D. Germanic Languages and Literatures |
Ray Pfeiffer, Ph.D. Accounting and Information Systems |
|
| Office address: | 511 Herter Hall | 355 School of Management |
| Email: | sullivan@german.umass.edu | pfeiffer@acctg.umass.edu |
| Phone: | 413 545 6672 | 413 545 5653 |
| Office hours: |
W: 2:15-4:00, or by appointment |
By appointment |
| URL: | http://intra.som.umass.edu/pfeiffer |
The fall seminar has the following objectives:
1. To provide students the opportunity to learn about France and Germany --- their history, culture, geography, politics, economics, and contemporary issues.
2. To expose students to issues faced by businesses that invest in, trade with, or operate in other countries.
3. To prepare students for a one-and-one-half week study abroad experience, both pragmatically and by acquiring an appreciation of the uniqueness and similarities of life and people in France, Germany, and the United States. Students will gain some preliminary knowledge of the French and German languages, customs, and an appreciation of the things that the French and Germans care and think about.
We will conduct the course as a mixture of organized presentations by the instructors, group discussions, and outside readings by the students.
The last twenty minutes of each class will be devoted to learning some very basic and practical French and German. We hope this will be fun as well as being useful. It's our experience that Europeans are very grateful for any effort foreigners, particularly Americans, make in learning their languages, and your enjoyment of our trip will be much greater if you can understand and use these languages at least a little.
You will profit from this part of the class in direct proportion to how much time and effort you invest in it. Obviously, if you have no background in French or German, this course will not suddenly make you fluent. Try not to approach language learning as an all-or-nothing affair. Learning a language is a life-long process, but each step in this process has its own rewards. In previous years, many students leaned enough to order food and drink in restaurants, etc. and to start basic conversations.
Regular attendance and active participation in class are essential to success in this course.
There are four required books for this semester, listed below. Books will be available soon at Amherst Books (not the textbook annex), 8 Main St., Amherst (next to Subway); 256-1547.
1.) Schulze, Hagen. Germany: A New History. Trs. Deborah Lucas Schneider. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-674-00545-7
2.) Price, Roger. A Concise History of France. Second Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-521-60656-X
3.) Knopf Mapguides: Paris. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001. ISBN 0-375- 70953-3
4.) Knopf Mapguides: Berlin. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003. ISBN 0-375- 71010-8
Grades for the fall semester portion of the course will be based upon the extent to which students are able to achieve the objectives set forth above. Evidence regarding the extent of success will come from four sources: the overall quality of participation in the weekly class meetings, shorter homework assignments, and performance on two exams.
| Quality of class participation/homework | 50% |
| Midterm exam | 25% |
| Final exam | 25% |
| Total | 100% |
| Date | Topic |
| September 8 | Introduction and Overview of the Course |
| September 15 | Germany: People and Places; German elections |
| September 22 | Introduction to Business: The Basics |
| September 29 | German elections and politics |
| October 6 | Introduction to Business, continued: The corporate form, regulation, stakeholders |
| October 13 | Berlin: The New Capital |
| October 20 | The Market and the Social Market (Midterm take-home exam distributed) |
| October 27 | Parallels and contrasts among US, German, and French business (Midterm take-home exam due) |
| November 3 | France: Peoples and places |
| November 10 | French traditions and politics |
| November 17 | A preview of business-related visits in Paris and Berlin |
| November 24 | NO CLASS ---- Thanksgiving recess |
| December 1 | Paris: The ancient capital |
| December 8 | Final preparations for the journey. (Final Take-Home Exam
distributed; due on Friday, Dec. 16) |
Click here for a list of potentially useful links (http://intra.som.umass.edu/pfeiffer/GERM197b/useful_web_resources.htm).
Click here for business-related homework assignments.
We really love teaching this class. It has been a great experience for the instructors and for the students in the past four years. We hope that you enjoy this class and learn a lot. May we all have a successful semester!