Learning German in Preparation for Graduate School

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Gylippus
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Learning German in Preparation for Graduate School

Post by Gylippus »

For those of you currently in or already done with Graduate level work in Classical Studies and Philology, how much German did you need for research and examinations?

At the school which I am attending for undergrad they require a comprehensive reading exam for both a Masters and a PhD.

Just curious.

Didymus
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Post by Didymus »

Lots. Learn as much German as you can as early as you can if you are serious about scholarly research in Classics. The old joke is only too true: to be a Classicist, Greek and Latin are important, but German is essential.

timeodanaos
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Location: Hafnia, Denmark

Post by timeodanaos »

You can never learn too much German anyway. I am experiencing a sort of renaissance for myself after not having read any German literature for about a year, I find myself reading Goethe; oh the beauty! I am even having a hard time seeing how the ancients could ever measure.

After reading long, complicated German books on history and politics, it is liberating to be able to read something that enables every facet of every human feeling to be brought to life in one's soul. And even in a language that is second or third!

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