We will approach German American relations through dealing with contemporary literature. Novelists, famous authors in both countries, always expressed their political opinions. In many ways, they mirrored societies in their works, they described the effects of political events on their fellowmen; they raised their voices by picking up critical and sensitive issues: Literature is and has always been an expression of „zeitgeist“, the spirit of its times. Thereby, it has always had political implications. In this seminar we will explore how literature in the U.S. and Germany processes political events; how it shares different perspectives existing within society; how it reveals sensitive under currents of important events. We will find out which image contemporary German novels create on the U.S. and vice versa; we will learn about new American self–images in American novels and how they are perceived by German readers; we will understand how the September 11th events were processed and which kind of discussions were inspired by its literary workup. We will use works of literature as eye–openers to understanding the societies in which they were written; we will analyze and perceive how novels can foster German–American understanding.