This course examines German cinema against the backdrop of European film history. European films share common references points anchored in the cataclysms of two world wars, and have also negotiated analogous postwar transformations in family life, urbanization, the regional and the national, cultural identity, labour relations, post-socialist societies, and state security. A comparative approach enables examination of what binds German cinema to European cinema – shared histories and political concerns--as well as what is nationally unique and distinctive. By matching select films with readings from social theory, cultural studies, and film studies, we will compare and contrast these socio-historical concerns while also attending to the medium specificities of film style, aesthetics, and narrative form.