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Rückblick

Texte und Bilder nach 1945

An Intermediate German Studies Reader

Andreas Lixl-Purcell

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Houghton Mifflin Company
Boston 1995
ISBN 0-395-69904


Rückblick is designed for use in intermediate to advanced intermediate German courses with a focus on popular culture and social history. The interdisciplinary texts and images offer portraits of Central European life from the Cold War through the postmodern era. The accompanying exercises are designed to enhance students' reading, conversation, and composition skills.

Inhalt

Timeline

Introduction

Teil I BLICK AUF DIE GEGENWART
Einführung und Chronologie 1989-heute

Teil II POSTMODERNES NEBENEINANDER
Einführung und Chronologie 1982-1989

Teil III KULTUR DER NEUEN INNERLICHKEIT
Einführung und Chronologie 1974-1982

Teil IV POP, PROTEST UND PROVOKATION
Einführung und Chronologie 1965-1974

Teil V ALLTAG UNTER GETEILTEM HIMMEL
Einführung und Chronologie 1955-1965

Teil VI KULTUR IM ATOMZEITALTER
Einführung und Chronologie 1949-1955

Teil VII ALS DAS LEBEN WIEDER ANFING
Einführung und Chronologie 1945-1949

Ausgewählte Bibliographie

Register / Index

Quellennachweis / Credits

Introduction

Focus on Cultural History and Landeskunde

Rückblick. Texte und Bilder nach 1945 is an illustrated German Studies textbook for reading, conversation and composition courses taught at intermediate to advanced-intermediate levels . The collection of texts and images is ideally suited for second or third year students who have completed three or four semesters of college German or the high-school equivalent.

Scope: Based on literary, cultural, and historical "Landeskunde" materials, Rückblick projects an interdisciplinary portrait of central European life and letters during the last 50 years.

Rückblick is designed for instructors who want a German Studies textbook that focuses on modern cultural history and diversity. Thought provoking short stories, poems, songs, memories, diaries, letters, interviews, photographs, and illustrations trace the course of German affairs, issues and ideas from the Cold War era through postmodern times. The objective, and guiding editorial principle behind this "Landeskunde" textbook is to intertwine the study of German literature and culture on the basis of integrated exercises as a springboard for conversation and composition activities.

Use: The readings of Rückblick follow historical lines, and explore the changing cultural landscapes of the last five decades. Each chapter forms an autonomous pedagogical unit, and can be treated independently.

The contents matter of each chapter can be taught as a self-contained unit within the broader context of the book. Succinct chapter introductions in both English and German, historical chronologies, "Landeskunde" maps and charts, notes about texts and authors, and other didactic tools make the chapter topics very accessible to students and teachers alike. The exercises for texts and images are designed to utilize only those materials presented in the individual units. Thus, both texts and images are self-contained and self-explanatory.

The literary selections in every chapter are accompanied by pre-reading, close reading, and post-reading exercises which emphasize comprehension, interpretation, and discussion skills. Introductory commentaries (Anmerkungen), illustrations, pre-reading vocabulary exercises and text scanning activities (Vorarbeit zum Lesen) prepare students for the readings. The texts are followed by close reading exercises, including comprehension checks and questions. Contents analysis, interpretation questions, discussion topics, and writing assignments round out the post-reading activities (Übungen zum Text).

For best results, it is recommended that instructors follow the methodological arrangement of the book, yet focus on those chapters which best suit the framework of their course, and the interests of their students. Likewise, the comprehension and conversation exercises available in each chapter involve a broad array of skill-building activities which can, and should, be used selectively.

For courses which feature a structural review component, Rückblick works best in conjunction with an intermediate level reference grammar, such as Moeller/Liedloff, Concise German Review Grammar, second edition (Houghton Mifflin).

Pedagogy: Rückblick offers a discussion oriented methodology which sharpens reading, conversation, and composition skills while deepening the understanding of central Europe's history and culture.

The practical length and the historical authenticity of the reading selections make them especially appealing for teaching current reading strategies such as text-scanning and skimming, pre-reading hypothesis-forming, identifying key vocabulary, using visual clues, etc. Structural comprehension is facilitated through intermediate level vocabulary work, communication, and interpretation exercises. The overall pedagogy of Rückblick rests on comprehension, discussion, and composition exercises based on individual and partner work, small group activities, guided role-playing situations, large group discussions, and personalized writing assignments.

The book's historical montage of texts and images encourages an interdisciplinary exploration of German Studies, while the authenticity of the materials provide the basis for cross-cultural insights into the diverse spectrum of daily life. By looking at the historical dialectic from many perspectives, Rückblick offers a flexible teaching tool to engage students in critical thinking and cross-cultural analysis and writing.

Feature: Rückblick is a "Landeskunde" textbook with a clear cultural and historical framework.

The conception of Rückblick is new, and designed to fill a gap in the relatively narrow range of intermediate to advanced readers and their methodologies. Most available textbooks group their reading materials around general topics and themes such as "society," "family life," "work," "environment," "the media," "women," "German unification," etc., without establishing direct conceptual links between the chapters.

Instead of these conventional theme clusters, Rückblick presents the development and diversity of German culture within clear historical and interdisciplinary parameters that validate experiences from all walks of life, including the voices of women and minorities.

The chapters are presented in an illuminating historical and comparative format. This arrangement highlights both the ruptures and continuities of post-war life, starting with Germany's role in Europe today, and ending with the country's division in the aftermath of World War II. The book's montage of literary and visual materials exposes students to high-brow and low-brow, mainstream and marginal cultures alike.

Feature: Rückblick invites students to explore the culture and civilization of the German speaking world from hindsight.

As the book's title suggests, the selections in Rückblick are arranged in reverse chronological order, beginning in 1994 and ending in 1945. This innovative approach - by looking back into history - allows students to start their inquiry within the more accessible world of the present, and proceed to the less familiar. Utilizing this inversion of the traditional chapter line-up, the readers' familiarity with what happened in recent times will enhance the comprehension of what preceded it in history. Thus, the more removed a topic may appear, the more insight the reader can bring to the investigation. This hindsight advantage helps the readers' interaction with the cultural and historical subject matter at hand, and contributes to the comprehension of the lessons of the past. The hindsight perspective also follows the mind's own fabric of remembrance, and thus more closely resembles the nature of human memory itself.

Starting with the present and moving back in time provides instructors with more options to approach the interdisciplinary field of German Studies. Since most of us know a lot more about today's affairs than about earlier periods in history, instructors and students alike can tap into a broader pool of expertise from the first day of class. This interdisciplinary background information can prove especially useful at the beginning of a discussion oriented "Landeskunde" course, when students and teachers know each other least.

Feature: Rückblick presents a wealth of illustrations with a twofold purpose: to highlight various aspects of modern civilization, and to introduce engaging visual clues for group discussions and conversations.

Each of the images illuminates a succinct cultural or historical aspect of an era. All visuals are followed by oral or written exercises (Redemittel) which encourage viewers to verbalize their interpretations, thoughts, or questions. These exercises and "Redemittel" are designed to generate group discussions without dictating particular "views", or intimidating students into "correct" modes of thinking. Instead of determining right or wrong answers, the emphasis is on determining what constitutes good and better interpretations and compositions.

Feature: Like exhibits in a "Zeitgeist" retrospective, the book's interdisciplinary texts and illustrations profile the major intellectual, artistic, political, and social trends in the German-speaking countries since 1945.

The broad-ranging exhibit of study materials contained in the book tracks the themes and tendencies that shaped the last 50 years of German civilization. Rückblick contains 21 chapters and more than 60 historical photographs and illustrations. The book is divided into seven parts, each focusing on a formative period of late modern cultural history.

Part I. Focus on the Present 1989-today

Part II. Postmodern Pluralism 1982-1989

Part III. The Culture of New Subjectivity 1974-1982

Part IV. Pop, Protest and Rebellion 1965-1974

Part V. Under a Divided Heaven 1955-1965

Part VI. Culture in the Atomic Age 1949-1955

Part VII. The Return to Life 1945-1949

Each part contains three chapters which illuminate the most important literary, cultural, and social developments of a particular historical period. Most of the chapters feature two texts with integrated illustrations, maps, and photographs to sketch the diverse panorama of popular and high-brow culture. The variety of literary forms and genres provides the reader with an interesting range of readings which vary in length and level of difficulty.

Sources: The materials in Rückblick have been assembled from literary, and interdisciplinary sources. Most have never been published in textbooks before.

Various libraries, museums, archives, and private collections have contributed materials, including the Archiv für Kunst und Geschichte, the Bundesarchiv in Koblenz, the Museum of Modern Art, the Archiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz, the Stadtarchiv München, the Bundesbildstelle Bonn, the Frauenmuseum in Bonn, the Museum für Deutsche Geschichte, and the Haus am Check-Point Charlie. Research for the realia in the contemporary chapters of the reader was made possible by a stipend from the Fulbright Commission, and a grant from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The support of these commissions, libraries, agencies, institutions, and foundations was greatly appreciated.

I would also like to express my gratitude to my wife Amy Lixl-Purcell, and to the following colleagues and critics who reviewed the manuscript, and provided many valuable suggestions: Pam Allen at Ohio State University, Leo Berg at California State Polytechnic University, Catherine Fraser at Indiana University in Bloomington, Anne-Katrin Gramberg at Auburn University, Robert Hoenig at the State University of New York in Buffalo, and Doreen Krueger at Concordia University, and Penelope Pynes at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Their advice was greatly appreciated.

For the reader's convenience, an index (Register), a selected bibliography (Ausgewählte Bibliographie) with an appendix containing over 40 recommended paper topics, and/or oral report assignments, and credit references (Quellennachweise) are listed at the end of the book.

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