GERM-102A GERMAN CULTURE I (GERMAN CULTURE UNTIL 1871): http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/catalog/courses/GERM102A.html
Required reading for this course was this short volume by Wilhelm Gossmann: Deutsche Kultur Geschichte Im Grundruss. I still read it periodically, not only to keep my German reading skills, but also for brief review of the history of western civilization.