Current Courses
Courses - Summer Term 2016
Courses English Literature(s) Summer 2016
Courses - Winter Term 2015/16
Prof. Dr. Cecile Sandten
Lecture
History of Literatures in English:
From the Renaissance to Romanticism
From the Renaissance to Romanticism
Wed., 09:15-10:45
(2/W021)
Content/Purpose:
Britain possesses a rich literary heritage. This lecture course (the second part for BA_3) will provide insights into the richness, diversity, and continuity of that tradition. The lecture will cover the history of English literature from the Renaissance to the Romantic period. The various schools and the historical periods that represent English literature include: Renaissance and Reformation Literature 1510-1620; Revolution and Restoration Literature 1620-1690; Eighteenth-Century Literature 1690-1780; and the Literature of the Romantic Period 1780-1830. Shakespeare, a towering figure of the English literary pantheon, will take the centre-stage. In addition, the writings of other major literary figures such as Donne, Milton, Behn, Defoe, Blake or Wordsworth will remain central to the lecture course.
Objectives:
Students will learn the biographical details, and the socio-cultural contexts in which the literatures were produced. In addition, students will be able to articulate the genealogical roots of literature and literary figures between various historical periods, and their succession and continuity to present times. Excursions to a selection of museums in Chemnitz will provide additional information on particular topics that the lecture course addresses.
Prerequisites:
Participants must have successfully completed module 2.3.
Requirements for credits/Type of Module Exam:
Regular attendance and active in-class participation will be expected. Students are expected to read the assigned texts for the lecture course. For the successful completion of this course there will be a 90-minute written exam at the end of the semester. BA_3 students must have successfully completed the lecture course of Module 2.3 English Literatures and Cultures I, History of Literatures in English: From Romanticism to the Present.
Registration:
There will be a list at the door of my office (Rh 39, room 214). Please register there.
Set Texts:
William Shakespeare: The History of King Lear (1605-1606)
William Shakespeare: The Tempest (1611)
Aphra Behn: Oroonoko, or the Royal Slave (1688)
Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe (1719)
In addition, a reader with seminal material will be provided at the beginning of the semester.
Seminar
Writing B(l)ack in the Union Jack
Wed., 11:30-13:00
(2/W021)
Content:
Due to its colonial legacy, today’s British society is characterized by complex social, cultural and racial encounters. By introducing students to the works of Black and Asian writers in Britain, this seminar offers historically informed literary and cultural contexts for an understanding of contemporary British multi-ethnic society. Dealing with literary representations of diasporic identities, students will engage with the questions of belonging, the search for identity, the concept of ‘home’ and the hybrid notion of living ‘in-between’ two cultures.
Objectives:
Focusing on Britain's diverse cultural heritage, we will explore a wide spectrum of literary and theoretical texts from a postcolonial perspective, ranging from Sam Selvon's novel The Lonely Londoners (1956), Buchi Emecheta's semi-autobiographical text Second-Class Citizen (1974), Hanif Kureishi's filmscript (and film) My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), Meera Syal's novel Anita and Me (1996), or Chris Cleave's more recent novel The Other Hand (2008) to short stories, poems and critical essays by selected authors. Thus, students will get an in-depth knowledge of the literary, cultural and socio-historical contexts in and against which Black and Asian British literature is written and read.
Prerequisite:
A completed BA in English.
Requirements for credit:
Active participation in every session of the class is expected. A presentation or partner or group presentation of 20 minutes (PVL) as well as a final term paper (15-18 pages) are required for the module exam.
Set texts:
Cleave, Chris (2008): The Other Hand. Sceptre.
Emecheta, Buchi (1974): Second-Class Citizen. Allison & Busby,London
Kureishi, Hanif (1985): My Beautiful Laundrette. Filmscript.
Selvon, Sam (1956): The Lonely Londoners. Longman
Syal, Meera (1996): Anita and Me. Flamingo.
A reader with selected poems, short stories and theoretical texts will be provided at the beginning of the semester.
Registration:
There will be a list at the door of my office (RH 39, room 214). Please register there.
Seminar
The Indian Summer of Sherlock Holmes
Fri., 09:15-10:45
(2/W021)
Content:
Typically, colonial detective fiction revolved around the adventures of “English Detectives” in ‘native’ lands. However, with the influence of postcolonialism and postmodernism, the genre of detective fiction has become a global literary (cultural) phenomenon. This seminar is designed to introduce students to how detective fiction is being appropriated and reapplied to the Indian context. Apart from intensive engagement with the source text, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, the seminar covers a selection of Indian Sherlock Holmes-rewrites including Jamyung Norbu’s The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes (1999) and Vithal Rajan’s Holmes of the Raj (2006).
Objectives:
Students will explore the ways in which Sherlock Holmes-“rewrites” hybridize the canon and challenge the metropolitan authority exerted by the archetypal figures of Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson. In addition, students will examine the cultural and political implications of postcolonial crime fiction in the Indian context. In particular, they will explore how the ‘comic undertones’ of the Indian “rewrites” dilute the cultural authority of canonic detective fictions.
Requirements for credits:
The format of this seminar will consist of oral presentations and discussions. Each student will present an oral report (approx. 20 minutes), chair a session or prepare questions for a discussion (PVL: MA_1, MA_3) and write a substantial seminar paper (15 – 18 pages; MA_1, PL) or take an oral exam (15 minutes; MA_3).
Texts/Required Reading:
Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1986.
Norbu, Jamyung. The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes, 1999.
Rajan, Vithal. Holmes of the Raj, 2006.
A Reader with relevant material will be provided at the beginning of the semester.
Registration:
There will be a list at the door of my office (RH 39, room 214). Please register there.
Colloquium
Research Colloquium
Tue., 12:00-13:30
(2/RH/39/233)
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, discussions and thesis presentations. Each student will present an oral report (approx. 15 minutes), chair a session or prepare questions for a discussion (PVL).
Set Texts/Required Reading:
A reader with seminal material will be provided at the beginning of the semester.
Registration:
There will be a list at the door of my office (Rh 39, room 214). Please register there.
Blockseminar
Doktoranden und Postdoc-Ausbildung
4-tägiges Blockseminar
4-tägiges Blockseminar
09:00-16:30
(2/RH39/022)
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.
Prerequisites:
Participants must have completed a Magister, Master or Doctoral thesis graded at least 2,0.
Annika Bauer
Lecture
History of Literatures in English:
Reading the Canon
Reading the Canon
Wed., 11:30 - 13:00
(1/273)
Content:
In this lecture course, we will delve into the diverse and invigorating canon of English literature. An overview of the English literary history from Renaissance to Romanticism will cover the periods and theories which represent English literature. Thus, the basis for an in-depth treatment of canonical poetical works from the Romantic period is set. Originating from the social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment, the artistic, literary and intellectual movement of Romanticism emphasised emotion over reason and the pastoral over the urban. Romantic poetry defied the norms of reason, order, and rationalism. Instead, nature and imagination became the source and centre of works of art revolving around imagery, subjectivity, spontaneity and the transcendental.
Objectives:
Students will initially gain insight into the cultural and socio-political contexts of the periods of English literatures leading up to Romanticism. The lecture will then focus on selected works by the canonical poets William Blake, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, John Keats and Percy B. Shelley. While being introduced to formal-aesthetic features of their poetry, students will also learn to interpret the poets’ literary works as response to the socio-cultural transformation(s) of the Romantic period. An excursion to the exhibition of paintings from the German Romantic period in the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz will visualise the socio-cultural and aesthetic concepts introduced in the lecture.
Prerequisites:
none
Requirements for credits/Type of Module Exam:
Regular attendance and active in-class participation will be expected. Students are expected to read the assigned texts for the lecture course. For the successful completion of this course, students will submit a short term paper (5 pages incl. Works Cited, no websites allowed) at the end of the semester.
Registration:
There will be a list at the door of my office (Rh 39, room 022). Please register there.
Set Texts:
A reader with selected poems and theoretical texts will be provided at the beginning of the semester.
Mandy Beck
Lecture
Introduction to the Study of Literatures in English
Tue., 11:30 - 13:00
(2/W017)
Content:
Conducting literary studies at university level, this lecture course will provide an accessible introduction to the fundamentals of literary analyses, such as terms, concepts and methods. A number of texts of different genres (i.e. poetry, drama and narrative fiction including examples from the so-called New English Literatures), covering a period from the 17th to 21st century, have been selected. Discussions in class and short assignments will emphasize close reading skills and the development of effective strategies for critical and analytical thinking. Moreover, this lecture will be paying attention to working and research techniques. To that end, you will all be exposed to the essential library and reference tools for serious literary research.
The lecture will be accompanied by a weekly tutorial (details will be announced at the beginning of the course).
Prerequisites:
none
Requirements for credits/Type of module exam:
Apart from regular attendance, active participation will be expected: as this lecture class also is a community, you are all asked to support that community also as part of your credit points. For the successful completion of the course there will be a 90-minute written exam at the end of the semester.
Required textbooks:
Ansgar und Vera Nünning (latest edition): Introduction to the Study of English and American Literature. Klett Verlag.
In addition, a reader will be provided at the beginning of the semester.
Registration:
There will be a list at the door of my office (Rh 39, room 213). Please register there.
Eike Kronshage
Seminar
Alfred Hitchcock: Narrative Cinema
Thu., 13:45-15:15
(2/W066)
Content:
This course intends to provide students with 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 (Rope; Strangers on a Train; Dial M for Murder; The Birds; Psycho; Frenzy).
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).
Prerequisites:
We will be discussing one film per week! All participants must be willing to watch a great 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 credits:
Regular attendance and active in-class participation. Term paper due at the end of the semester.
Set Texts:
As brief introduction, all students interested in participating might want to browse through the comprehensive Alfred Hitchcock Wiki: http://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Main_Page
Relevant chapters from the books by Slavoj Žižek (Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Lacan But Were Afraid to Ask Hitchcock) and François Truffaut (Hitchcock), as well as other reading material will be made available.
Registration:
Please use the list at the door of my office to register (Rh 39, room 215).
Tobias Schlosser
Seminar
Conceptualising the Supernatural in Canadian Literature
Tue., 13:45 - 15:15
(2/W066)
Content:
Despite the claim of Canadian settlers such as Susanna Moodie (1803–1885) who argued that Canada is too young for ghosts, contemporary Canadian writers have frequently depicted ghosts and other supernatural forces such as the cannibal spirit windigo in their writings. The idea of the seminar is to relate supernatural elements in contemporary Canadian fiction to categories such as identity, ethnicity, gender, immigration and exile in a (post-/neo-)colonial context, in order to be able to find new ways to approach supernatural occurrences in literature. Moreover, the course seeks to challenge and modify common concepts such as the Gothic and Magical Realism by discussing texts from authors of different cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, the reading and discussing of these texts will help students to enhance their intercultural awareness.
Objectives:
The primary objective of the course is to develop socio-cultural explanations for the depiction of supernatural occurrences in contemporary (post- /neo-)colonial fiction. By taking on board Native American concepts such as tricksters and windigos, and by looking closely at indigenous ways of storytelling, ‘Western’ concepts of explaining supernatural forces in literature will be challenged.
Prerequisites:
Masters students need to have successfully completed their BA in English.
Requirements for credits:
Apart from active participation, regular attendance is strongly recommended. For the successful completion of the course students are required to complete 4 out of 5 in-class assessments (PVL) and an oral exam (PL).
Set Texts:
Anderson-Dargatz, Gail (1998): The Cure for Death by Lightning. London: Virago.
Highway, Tomson (1998): Kiss of the Fur Queen. Toronto: Doubleday (or Anchor).
Chariandy, David (2007): Soucouyant. Vancouver: Arsenal.
In addition, a reader with seminal material will be provided at the beginning of the semester.
Registration:
There will be a list at the door of my office (Rh 39, room.007). Please register there.