Archived Courses: Sommersemester 2022
Prof. Dr. Cecile Sandten
Content:
Accounts of asylum are, in many ways, acts of storytelling. The accounts of hardship and trauma in refugees' narratives, as well as their countries of origin (and their designation as 'safe' countries or otherwise) are the main bases on which their application for asylum is granted or revoked. Accounts by adult asylum seekers have to be differentiated from those by (un)accompanied minors who might remain silent about their origins and circumstances when questioned by authoritative figures or social workers.
Objectives:
In this seminar, students will read and discuss a selection of asylum narratives as well as short stories and poems by and watch a film about refugees. We will address issues such as transnational migration, mobility, and the pre-flight and flight experiences of asylum seekers. In doing so, we will explore in which ways the experiences of adults and (un)accompanied minors –including a range of traumatic situations in their country of origin, the death or persecution offamily members, war, forced recruitment and personal persecution – are depicted in these textualand visual narratives. In addition to the close readings of texts and films, students will gaininsights into various theories on citizenship, legal issues, and social and political approaches toasylum and refugeeism. Furthermore, they will learn the conceptual distinctions between literarygenres such as the short story, novel, life-writing, and graphic novel. An excursion to anappropriate venue will be on the agenda.
Requirements for credits:
Active participation in every session of the class is expected. A presentation or partner or grouppresentation of altogether 20 minutes (PVL; BA and SELAEn4) as well as a final term paper (10-12 pages; SELAEn4) are required for the module exam. The module 5.2 (BA_AA_6) will becompleted with an oral exam of 15 minutes (altogether 30 minutes: one topic from the researchcolloquium and one from this seminar).
Set texts:
- Cofler, Eoin, Andrew Donkin, Giovanni Gigano (2017): Illegal: A Graphic Novel. HodderChildren’s Books.
- Lombard, Jenny (2006): Drita, My Homegirl. New York/London: Puffin Books
- Naidoo, Beverley (2000): The Other Side of Truth. London: Harpertrophy
- Passarlay, Gulwali [with Nadene Ghouri] (2015): The Lightless Sky: My Journey to Safetyas a Child Refugee. London: Atlantic Books.
- Zephaniah, Benjamin (2001): Refugee Boy. London: Bloomsbury.
- Film: Winterbottom, Michael dir. (2007): In This World.
A reader with seminal material will be provided at the beginning of the semester.
Registration:
Please register via e-mail (lisa-marie.poehland@zlb.tu-chemnitz.de) with your name, semester, student ID and status (e.g. ERASMUS) by 28 March 2022.
Content:
Storytelling is an ancient form of entertainment and education – from the epics by the Greek poet Homer, the medieval sagas of gods and heroes to orally transmitted folk tales in a broad range of countries. For more than 100 years cinema has been the continuation of this tradition – on celluloid. Therefore, an educational program for children and young adults does not only include the studying of texts, but also films. Since 1996, the International Film Festival "SCHLINGEL" has provided a great forum for this task. It offers young viewers the opportunity to watch international, often independent films that would otherwise be unknown in German cinemas. The films, whose heroes are primarily children and young adults, tell exciting stories and convey profound messages that are both universal, and conversely, culturally specific. More than 160 films from a broad range of countries will be screened during the festival week. In addition, international guests (e.g. film directors, young actors) as well as an international jury will be present throughout the festival.
Objectives:
Since the Chair of English Literatures has a cooperation with the "SCHLINGEL" Film Festival, students of this seminar will be required to participate actively in support of the festival also at times outside the regular teaching period (08.10. – 15.10.2022). In this seminar, students will first be provided with hands-on material with regard to film analysis techniques that will help them to deepen their understanding of films and support them in the creation of educational material for children. Secondly, students of this seminar will learn how to translate the subtitles of a film as well as specific film presentation techniques that are required for the active participation in the film festival.
Prerequisites:
Students must have completed the first seminar pertaining to the MA-Modul 4, "Cultural Encounters".
Requirements for credits:
The format of this seminar will consist of oral presentations and discussions. Each student will give an oral presentation (approx. 15 minutes), and chair a session or prepare questions for discussion (PVL). Alternatively, students (especially native speakers of German) create a translation of English subtitles into German of one of the films screened at the festival. For the PL students will be engaged in hands-on activities during the SCHLINGEL Film Festival (e.g. support and participate in the festival).
Set texts:
A reader with seminal material will be provided.
Registration:
Please register via e-mail (lisa-marie.poehland@zlb.tu-chemnitz.de) with your name, student-ID, study programme, course title and semester by Monday, 28 March 2022.
Content:
From modernist examinations of the metropolis to the postmodernist devotion to the sociocultural construction of urban spaces, cultural and literary theories and practices of the last century have been committed to investigating “the urban condition”. The metropolitan imaginary has especially flourished in the genre of poetry, verse being perhaps more conducive to the fast-paced changes and permutations of city-life and the metropolitan’s palimpsestic spaces.
Objectives:
In this seminar, students will learn to investigate the ‘imaginative geography’ of cities as depicted in various poetries from around the globe. We will pay attention to the representation of place, space and cityscapes in poems on/from London, Mumbai, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York, or Johannesburg. Our critical readings of the poems will be informed by comparative modes from the disciplines of sociology, urban theory, postcolonial studies, the visual arts, music, film and gender studies, and we will pay special attention to issues of intertextuality and interculturality. If the situation allows, a literary city tour and other activities will round off our debates.
Prerequisites:
Masters students need to have successfully completed their BA in English.
Requirements for credits:
Regular attendance as well as reading and preparing the set texts for discussions is required and part of the Credit Points allocation. The format of this seminar will consist of oral presentations and discussions. Each student will give an oral report (approx. 20 minutes), chair a session or prepare questions for a discussion (PVL) and write a final term paper (15-18 pages) (PL) for the module exam; alternative assignment formats will be discussed during the semester. Students will be encouraged to also explore their own creative writing skills as part of the class assignment (PL) with a possible publication in our creative writing journal Turning Pages.
Set texts:
Barth, Adolf ([1988] 2005): London Poems. Reclam: Stuttgart (will be provided on OPAL).
Schunk, Ferdinand ([1991] 2006): New York Poems. Reclam: Stuttgart (will be provided on OPAL).
A reader with seminal material will be provided at the beginning of the semester.
Registration:
Please register via e-mail (lisa-marie.poehland@zlb.tu-chemnitz.de) with your name, semester, student ID and status (e.g. ERASMUS) by Monday, 28 March 2022.
Content:
The Research Colloquium is open to students who are preparing for their final oral and written exams. It is intended to give students a platform to present their projects and to raise questions and/or difficulties they may be facing at an early stage of their research. Further, students are encouraged to engage in critical discussions, and gain feedback from their peers concerning their research projects. We will also discuss a wide range of general topics and individual topics required for final exams.
Requirements for credits:
The format of this seminar consists of a close reading of texts, of discussions and thesis presentations. Each student will present an oral report (approx. 15 minutes) (PVL).
Set Texts/Required Reading:
A reader with seminal material will be provided at the beginning of the semester.
Registration:
Please register via e-mail (lisa-marie.poehland@zlb.tu-chemnitz.de) with your name, semester, student ID and status (e.g. ERASMUS) by Monday, 28 March 2022..
Content
This course aims to provide support for post-graduate students who are developing their dissertation ideas and first draft outlines. The focus of this seminar will be on research in English Literature (including close readings of secondary theoretical texts and primary texts, but also the students’ own written work). Post-graduate candidates who engage in interdisciplinary approaches and topics beyond English Literature are most welcome to participate to enhance the group’s interdisciplinary awareness.
Objectives
This seminar will also offer special supervision through individual counseling. Moreover, the seminar will support doctoral and post-doctoral candidates on a professional level, especially with regard to topics such as scholarly writing for publication, pedagogic issues of teaching at university level, as well as information on how to apply for positions in the job market. In addition, support to present their work at (international) conferences will be given, as well as information on careers and funding support for scholarship applications and opportunities for gaining key supplementary qualifications (in cooperation with the Forschungsakademie TUC).
Prerequisites
Participants must have completed a Magister or Master thesis graded at least 2,0.
Dr. Eike Kronshage
Content
This course provides an accessible introduction to the theories and methods in literary studies and its four pillars: author, text, reader, and context. We will engage in critical investigations of five influential theoretical approaches in our field: Marxism, Psychoanalysis, Gender and Queer Theory, New Criticism and Formalism, and Postcolonial Studies. For each of these five areas, there will be a discussion of a seminal theoretical text in the first week, followed by a hands-on session in the second week, in which we will use the theoretical/methodological framework to analyze a given literary text (a poem or a short story). In addition, the seminar will provide students with useful tools and methods to analyze literary texts (literary semantics, semiotics, rhetoric, corpus analysis, narratology and many others).N.B.: High reading load!
Objectives
Like all scientists, scholars of literature need methods in order to engage with their objects of study (i.e. literary texts). The methods and theories presented in this seminar will enable students to study literature from different perspectives and with greater precision than before. In other words, we will put the “Wissenschaft” into “Literaturwissenschaft”.
Prerequisites:
Successful completion of the lecture Introduction to the Study of Literatures in English. You are required to carefully study alternately a complex theoretical text and a short literary text (a poem, a collection of poems, a short story) from week to week, which results in a high reading load.
Requirements for Credit:
Active participation in every session of the class is expected (there will be regular in class reading quizzes).
PVL: Oral presentation (20 minutes) (see Studienordnung, p. 1349) or similar form of presentation. Students also must pass all in-class reading tests (B_AA_2 only).
PL (for B_AA_2/ERASMUS): Term paper (10-12 pages) (see Studienordnung, p. 1349).
PL (for SELAEn6, B_Pä_4): Final exam (Klausur).
Set texts:
A reader with seminal material will be provided at the beginning of the semester.
Tutorial:
The seminar will be accompanied by a weekly tutorial. Time and venue will be announced at thefirst meeting.
Registration:
Please register via e-mail (eike.kronshage@phil.tu-chemnitz.de) with your name, studyprogramme, semester and the title of this seminar by Monday, 28 March 2022.
Content
This course provides a broad survey of the diverse and fascinating cinematic oeuvre of British film director Alfred Hitchcock. We will be discussing films both from his early British years (The 39 Steps; Young and Inncocent; The Lady Vanishes), and from his successful career in Hollywood, like Rope, Dial M for Murder, The Birds, or Psycho. We will be tracing his development from a more realist filmmaker to his nascent postmodernism. In addition, we will investigate the brand “Hitchcock,” by analyzing both sequels and prequels to his film Psycho: Psycho II (1980; dir. Richard Franklin) and the TV series Bates Motel (2013-2015), as well as remakes of (Psycho; 1998; dir. Gus van Sant), films about (Hitchcock; 2012; dir. Sacha Gervasi), and films inspired by Psycho (Dressed to Kill; 1980; dir. Brian de Palma).
Objectives
Narrative cinema is all about storytelling. However, film as a hybrid media form uses different ways to tell its story than a literary text. Students will learn how to read films and their ways of storytelling. The seminar provides a basic introduction into film studies. Theories of intermediality will help students to grasp the differences to literary texts. Finally, we will be discussing theories of realism, modernism, and postmodernism (as a framework for this seminar).
Prerequisites:
Students must have successfully completed the Introduction to the Study of Literatures in English and the Kernmodul 2.3 English Literatures and Cultures I (does not apply to visiting students).
N.B. We will be discussing one film per week! All participants must be willing to watch a high number of (exciting) films (and to read scholarly texts about them). Please be warned that Hitchcock’s films are not for the faint-hearted.
Requirements for Credit:
Active participation in every session of the class is expected (there will be regular in class reading quizzes).
PVL: Oral presentation (30 minutes) or similar form of presentation. Students also must pass all in-class reading tests.
PL: Term paper (10-12 pages)
Set texts:
A reader with material will be provided at the beginning of the seminar.
Registration:
Please register via e-mail (eike.kronshage@phil.tu-chemnitz.de) with your name, studyprogramme, semester and the title of this seminar by Monday, 28 March 2022.
Dr. Mandy Beck
Content:
This course offers a survey of major writers and key issues in contemporary nature writing with a selection of different texts that range from poetry to prose, as well as from fictional to non-fictional accounts. Since there is a long tradition of nature writing in literature, the seminar will explore different notions and concepts of how nature and literature are intertwined (e.g. starting from the "sublime" in Romanticism and leading to the idea of "countermapping" in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries). Therefore, the seminar offers a discussion of a variety of authors who have essentially influenced the genre in the last couple of years, such as Roger Deakin, Robert McFarlane, Helen Mort, Nancy Campbell or Katherine Towers. Along with the reading of primary texts, the seminar will offer reflections on how environmental questions in literature can be approached from an ecocritical perspective and thus connect to current movements and activism (Ecofeminism, Eco-Marxism, Deep Ecology). To enhance the textual engagement, students are encouraged to participate in the events of the “Wir müssen reden! – Natur und Mensch im Dialog”-week, which will be organised together with the department of German Studies and will take place in the second half of the semester.
Objectives:
This course encourages students to develop a critical understanding of the recent history of nature writing in the face of environmental issues through the analysis of different literary and theoretical texts. In addition, students are made aware of ideas represented in contemporary literature, such as how the writer's background, experience and the historical, geographical, socio-cultural conditions of his/her country of origin shape his/her literary understanding of nature.
Prerequisites:
Students must have successfully completed the Introduction to the Study of Literatures in English and the Kernmodul 2.3 English Literatures and Cultures I (does not apply to visiting students).
Requirements for credits:
Close readings of primary, theoretical as well as secondary texts, discussions and oral presentations. For the PVL, each student can either do an oral presentation (approx. 20 minutes) or complete a written task (1500-2000 words), and write a substantial seminar paper (10-12 pages) for the PL.
Set texts:
The reader, number 70, is available at the Copyshop Dietze (Reichenhainer Str. 55).
Registration
Please register via OPAL until Monday, 28 March 2022.
Content:
“Genre” is a collective term for a sort of texts that have specific characteristics in common with regard to form, content, style, or even function. Apart from the major genres of poetry, narrative texts and drama, there are numerous subgenres (e.g. sonnets, short stories, comedies, etc.) or in-between genres (e.g. epic, dramatic monologue, novel in verse, dialogue novel, closet drama, etc.), but also other variations that escape clear-cut categories, because they challenge or reflect on generic conventions. The ambiguities of certain literary texts, especially from the twentieth century, are furthermore indicated by categories such as “metatheatre” (Lionel Abel) and “metafiction” (Linda Hutcheon), or self-reflexive literature in form of the “anti-novel”, the “anti-play” and experimental poetry. Therefore, this seminar deals with literary genres beyond the conventional classifications, in order to discuss the wide scope of literature's reinvention in the twentieth century.
In addition to a survey of the main genres and their core features, we will focus on texts that deviate from them, as Samuel Beckett's shorter plays Act Without Words I & II, What Where, Angela Carter's novel The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman, or poetry by Edwin Morgan, Stevie Smith and others. These readings will be enhanced by relevant theoretical texts on different genres, narratology, postmodern writings, experimentalism, gender and more.
Objectives:
This seminar seeks to re-evaluate the reliability of generic features of literary texts for a categorisation and analysis, thereby making students aware of the texts' playful engagement with common expectations towards genres. On top of that, various issues will be explored on the basis of theoretical/critical material, such as self-reflexiveness, experimental and subversive strategies.
Prerequisites:
In order to participate, students of English and American Studies need to have completed the
Kernmodul 2.3 English Literatures and Cultures I and 2.4 English Literatures and Cultures II successfully.
Requirements for credit:
Close readings of primary, theoretical as well as secondary texts, discussions and oral presentations. For the PVL, each student can either do an oral presentation (approx. 20 minutes) or complete a written task (1500-2000 words).
The module 5.2 will be completed with an oral exam of 30 minutes (one topic from this seminar and one topic from the research colloquium).
Set texts/Required Reading:
Please obtain the following book and use the ISBN number to make sure it is the correct edition:
Carter, Angela (2011 [1972]): The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman. London: Penguin. ISBN: 978-0141192390
In addition, a reader with texts for readings in class will be available at Copyshop Dietze (Reichenhainer Str. 55) at the beginning of the semester.
Registration:
Please register via OPAL until Monday, 28 March 2022.