Course Details in 2026/27 Session

Module Title	LH War in Peace: Writing the First World War in Germany, 1918-1939
School	Lan, Cult, Art Hist & Music
Department	Modern Languages
Module Code	09 30781
Module Lead	Dr Nicholas Martin
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 2
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	The module explores in detail narrative approaches to the experience and aftermath of the First World War adopted by four German-speaking writers (Erich Maria Remarque, Ernst Jünger, Walter Flex and Edlef Köppen). The prescribed texts offer a representative range of German perspectives on this cataclysmic and defining event in twentieth-century history. Areas of discussion will include the literary qualities and techniques of German war writing, the presentation of life and death at the front, military and civilian perceptions of the war, its political context, as well as the political and cultural significance of German literature on the First World War published during the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) and the early years of the Third Reich (1933–1939). As the module is part-delivered and part-discussed in German, students will exhibit enhanced proficiency in oral skills and in understanding spoken German.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: demonstrate a detailed knowledge and understanding of (German) narrative approaches to the First World War demonstrate an analytical grasp of the social and political context of debates in Germany about the First World War during the interwar period; demonstrate enhanced powers of oral presentation in German, textual analysis, academic discussion and essay writing.
Assessment	30781-01 : 3,500 word essay : Coursework (100%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: 3500-word essay in English (100%) Reassessment: Re-submission of failed component
Other
Reading List