Bachelor of Arts [B.A] [German] From Denison University

Whether developing the four basic skills of aural comprehension, speaking, reading and writing, or examining culture, civilization, and literature, the study of German at Denison, within the Department of Modern Languages, provides an exercise in cultural and linguistic concepts that opens new vistas on the?world.

Educated people spend their lives pursuing growth in political, social and intellectual freedom. One kind of intellectual freedom requires us to break away from the notion that our native language is the most natural and apt means of expressing the full range of human experience. An education can start with the discovery that all words are purely conventional devices. They are nonetheless tools that stir emotions, articulate ideas, and establish relationships with others. Learning another language contributes to our education by intimately exploring cultural and linguistic concepts that broaden our understanding of what it means to be human in today?s?world.

Our basic courses offer the opportunity to begin acquiring the skills and knowledge necessary for the eventual mastery of a language. When students take full advantage of that opportunity, they can use the target language in subsequent courses dealing with the culture and society. The Department emphasizes the use of the target language in most of its courses because it believes that students can best appreciate a culture from within its own mode of?expression.