This course introduces students to contemporary Germany as a geographical, historical, political and cultural space, with the aim of developing the intercultural awareness that translation and interpreting require. It examines key stages of German history from 1871 to reunification, the federal political system and its institutions, the social market economy, education, migration, the media and cultural production. Particular emphasis is placed on culture-bound elements (Realia), the linguistic diversity of the German-speaking world and Greek–German relations. Teaching draws on authentic texts and audiovisual material and systematically links knowledge of the country to concrete translation problems.

The course aims to give students well-founded knowledge of contemporary Germany and to enable them to use it as a tool for understanding and translating German texts.
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
1. describe the main geographical, demographic and linguistic features of Germany and the German-speaking area (D-A-CH);
2. analyse the key stages of 19th- and 20th-century German history and their impact on today's culture of remembrance;
3. explain how the federal political system, the constitutional bodies and the party system function;
4. interpret social, economic and cultural phenomena in contemporary Germany on the basis of authentic sources;
5. identify culture-bound elements (Realia) and institutional terms in German texts and select well-founded strategies for rendering them into Greek;
6. critically assess stereotypes and representations of Germany in Greek public discourse, and vice versa;
7. search for, evaluate and use reliable digital sources to support translation decisions;
8. present a topic of current cultural or social relevance orally and in writing in German.
Generic skills: searching for, analysing and synthesising information using ICT; working in an international and multicultural environment; teamwork; critical thinking and self-reflection; respect for diversity.

Week 1 – Introduction: Landeskunde, culture and translation; the German-speaking area (D-A-CH). The concept of Realia; typologies of translation strategies.

Week 2 – Geography, federal states, regional identities and dialects. Maps and statistical data; place names and ethnonyms in Greek.

Week 3 – History I: from the founding of the Reich (1871) to the Weimar Republic. Primary sources of the period; historical terms and their established Greek renderings.

Week 4 – History II: National Socialism, the Second World War and the culture of remembrance (Erinnerungskultur). Memorials and commemorative speeches; terms such as Vergangenheitsbewältigung.

Week 5 – History III: two German states, 1989/90 and reunification. Documentaries and Ostalgie; FRG and GDR vocabulary.

Week 6 – The political system: the Basic Law, federalism and the constitutional bodies. The Grundgesetz; rendering institutional terms (Bundestag, Bundesrat, Bundesverfassungsgericht).

Week 7 – Parties, the electoral system and political discourse. Party manifestos and election posters; translating political slogans.

Week 8 – Economy and society: the social market economy, the Mittelstand, the welfare state and trade unions. Economic press; economic and social terms without a Greek equivalent.

Week 9 – Migration and multiculturalism: Gastarbeiter (including the Greek presence), integration and asylum. Testimonies and migrant narratives; the terminology of integration discourse.

Week 10 – Education, research and the media: dual vocational training, universities and public broadcasting. News from ARD, ZDF and DW; academic and vocational qualifications and their equivalents.

Week 11 – Cultural production: literature, philosophy, music and film. Text excerpts and films; cultural references in subtitling.

Week 12 – Germany in Europe and Greek–German relations. Greek and German press coverage of the crisis years; stereotypes and images of the "other".

Week 13 – Synthesis: Realia, translation strategies and review. Project presentations; exam preparation.

German and English

• Altmayer, C., Biebighäuser, K., Haberzettl, S. & Heine, A. (Hrsg.) (2021). Handbuch Deutsch als Fremd- und Zweitsprache: Kontexte – Themen – Methoden. Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler.
• Fulbrook, M. (2019). A Concise History of Germany (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Nord, C. (2009). Textanalyse und Übersetzen (4. Aufl.). Tübingen: Julius Groos.
• Rudzio, W. Das politische System der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Wiesbaden: Springer VS (latest edition).
• Schmidt, M. G. Das politische System Deutschlands. München: C.H. Beck (latest edition).
• Winkler, H. A. (2000). Der lange Weg nach Westen (2 Bde.). München: C.H. Beck.

Greek

• Fleischer, H. (2008). Οι πόλεμοι της μνήμης: Ο Β΄ Παγκόσμιος Πόλεμος στη δημόσια ιστορία. Αθήνα: Νεφέλη.
• Mazower, M. Στην Ελλάδα του Χίτλερ: Η εμπειρία της Κατοχής. Αθήνα: Αλεξάνδρεια.

Digital resources

• • Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, series Informationen zur politischen Bildung: bpb.de
  • Federal Foreign Office, Tatsachen über Deutschland: tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de
  • Deutsche Welle: dw.com/de

Teaching is face-to-face and combines short lectures with active, student-centred learning.

• Interactive lectures: each thematic unit presented with questions and discussion.
• Analysis of authentic material: press texts, political and institutional texts, audiovisual material.
• Translation workshops: identifying and rendering Realia and institutional terms in small groups.
• Group project: investigating a topic of contemporary Germany, with an oral presentation.
• Comparative approach: contrasting German and Greek institutions, practices and representations.
• Independent study: guided study and keeping a Realia portfolio.

ICT is used in teaching, in communication with students and as an object of critical use in translation research.

• eClass platform: course material, announcements, submission of projects and portfolios.
• Digital sources: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb.de), Deutsche Welle, ARD/ZDF Mediathek, Tatsachen über Deutschland.
• Language and terminology resources: DWDS, Duden online, IATE, corpora for checking term usage.
• Audiovisual material: documentaries, news broadcasts and films in class.
• Interactive tools: digital boards and polls (e.g. Padlet, Mentimeter) for collaborative activities.
• Critical use of machine translation and AI: comparing MT/AI renderings of Realia with human translations.

Group project with oral presentation