Introductions to German Literature?

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velive
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Introductions to German Literature?

Postby velive » Fri Dec 02, 2022 12:29 am

Does anyone know what texts they use in universities for German literature students? I am looking for some texts like this which contain selections from German literature as well as a running vocabulary.

Using archive.org I have been able to find multiple texts like this for French and Spanish with no problem, but have had zero success with German.

To give you an idea of the sort of thing I am looking for, here are some examples of the Spanish equivalent:

https://archive.org/details/espanaensulitera00adam

https://archive.org/details/sendasliterarias0000dars

If anyone can point me toward some similar texts in German, it would be much appreciated!
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DaveAgain
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Re: Introductions to German Literature?

Postby DaveAgain » Fri Dec 02, 2022 2:07 am

I think what your looking for is sometimes called a "German reader".

Archive.org have one by Teach Yourself.

Herodotean has mentioned using a book "Deutschland - Grundwissen und mehr" (ISBN: 9782718199634 / 9782200623555) which I think would also fit.

The German/English bi-lingual texts thread might also be of interest.

EDIT
The German: Improving Reading Skills (Intermediate and Advanced) thread has some suggestions too.
Last edited by DaveAgain on Fri Dec 02, 2022 7:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Lawyer&Mom
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Re: Introductions to German Literature?

Postby Lawyer&Mom » Fri Dec 02, 2022 2:55 am

I studied German lit in Germany. And I never, ever saw a compilation like that. You can probably blame Reclam. They publish all the classics so affordably (those little yellow books!) that people just buy the whole text instead of relying on an excerpt.

I can recommend Dichter, Denker Und Erzahler: A German Reader... by Edith Ehrlich and Peter Heller. It’s aimed at language learners, so it doesn’t survey all of German lit, but it uses excerpts and it has a *complete* vocabulary list.

If you want a survey of German lit, I can recommend Yomb May, Epochen der deutschsprachigen Literatur: Reclam Kompaktwissen XL. This is straight history of lit, no readings. But lots of ideas if you are looking for things to read.
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Herodotean
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Re: Introductions to German Literature?

Postby Herodotean » Fri Dec 02, 2022 3:23 am

Something like this or this might fit the bill. I've seen similar things (usually published in the 60s or 70s) in various academic libraries, but the easiest way to find them is to investigate in person. I second Lawyer&Mom's recommendation of Ehrlich and Heller.
DaveAgain wrote:Herodean has mentioned using a book "Deutschland - Grundwissen und mehr" (ISBN: 9782718199634 / 9782200623555) which I think would also fit.
That book is worthwhile, but it isn't primarily about German literature. Most of it is written specifically for intermediate-advanced learners of German who want to know more about German history, politics, and culture. There are a few excerpts from authentic texts, but they're generally from the news or political documents, not literature.
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Re: Introductions to German Literature?

Postby louisianne » Fri Dec 23, 2022 3:05 pm

I have tried to read "Effi Briest" by Theodor Fontane, but it was too difficult for me. One friend of mine who studied German Philology, had to read for his studies. I think a film about the novel has recently been released on Netflix.
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