Courses - Summer Term 2016

Prof. Dr. Cecile Sandten

Examenskolloquium (BA) (271432-104)

Erasmus

Wednesday 11:30 – 13:00, 2RH/39/233 First Meeting: 06.04.2016

Content:

The research colloquium is open to students who are preparing for their final oral and written BA exams. It is intended to give students a platform to present their research projects and to raise questions and/or difficulties they may be facing at an early stage. 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 on their research topic (approx. 15 minutes), chair a session or prepare questions for a discussion (PVL). The module 5.2 will be completed with an oral exam of 30 minutes (one topic taken from the research colloquium and one from the seminar 5.2 “English Literatures and Cultures”).

Set Texts/Required Reading:

A reader with seminal material will be provided at the beginning of the semester.

Registration:

There will be a list on the door of my office (Rh 39, room 214). Please register there.

S: Asylum Accounts

B_AA_6; B_EU_6, SELAEn4, Erasmus

Wednesday, 9:15-10:45, 2/W021 First meeting: 06.04.2016

Content:

Accounts of asylum are, in many ways, acts of storytelling. The accounts of hardship and trauma in the 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 poems by and films about adult and child refugees (with a focus on Britain). 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 of family members, war, forced recruitment and personal persecution - are depicted in these textual and visual narratives. In addition to the close readings of texts and films, students will gain insights into various theories on citizenship. Furthermore, they will learn the conceptual distinctions between literary genres such as the autobiography, travelogue, and other forms of life-writing.

Requirements for credits:

Close readings of primary, theoretical as well as secondary texts, discussions and oral presentations. Each student will do an oral presentation (approx. 15 minutes), chair a session or prepare questions for discussion (PVL). The module 5.2 will be completed with a 30-minute oral exam (on one topic from the Research Colloquium and one from this seminar). Students in Primary Teacher Education will write a term paper based on the primary texts, at least one theoretical concept, and formal aspects (genre, form, narrative situation, literary devices, etc.) that are covered in the lecture course "Introduction to the Study of Literatures in English" (12 pages, or 3500 words). In addition to the regular seminar sessions, we will have two extra-curricular workshop days with two classes (grades 5 and 7) from the Oberschule Altendorf, Chemnitz.

Set Texts/Required Reading:

Cleave, Chris (2008): Little Bee. New York: Sceptre

Cleave, Chris (2008): The Other Hand. New York: Sceptre

Zephaniah, Benjamin (2001): Refugee Boy. London: Bloomsbury

Naidoo, Beverley (2000): The Other Side of Truth. London: Harpertrophy

Lombard, Jenny (2006): Drita, My Homegirl. New York/London: Puffin Books

A reader with seminal material will be provided at the beginning of the semester.

Registration:

There will be a list on the door of my office (Rh 39, room 214). Please register there.

S: Schlingel: International Film Festival for Children and Young Adults

(Cultural Representations in/and Practice) (271432-103)

Friday, 9:15-10:45, 2/W035 First meeting: 08.04.2016

With excursions /+ Blockveranstaltung im August/September/Oktober

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 programme 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 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 130 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 entered into a cooperation with the "Schlingel" Film Festival this year (26.09. – 02.10.2016), students of this seminar will be required to participate actively in support of the festival also at times outside the regular teaching period. You will first be provided with hands-on material with regard to film analysis techniques that will help you to deepen your understanding of films and support you in the creation of educational material for children. Secondly, you will learn specific presentation, voice-over, interview and/or other 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). For the PL students will be engaged in hands-on activities during the Schlingel Film Festival (e.g. support and participate in the Festival, translate films, write and present film reviews, introduce films to the audience, chair Q&A sessions, provide / speak the voice-over text, or write festival reports).

Set Texts/Required Reading:

A Reader with seminal material will be provided.

Registration:

There will be a list on the door of my office (Rh 39, room 214). Please register there.

S: Master Examenskolloquium

Tuesday, 9:15 – 10:45, 2 RH/233 First Meeting: 05.04.2016

Content:

The research colloquium is open to Master students who are preparing for their final written exams. It is intended to give students a platform to present their research projects and to raise questions and/or difficulties they may be facing while writing. 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 oral reports on their research topic (approx. 15 minutes).

Set Texts/Required Reading:

Seminal material will be provided at the beginning of the semester.

Registration:

There will be a list on the door of my office (Rh 39, room 214). Please register there.

Doctoral Colloquium/Doktoranden und Postdoc-Ausbildung

4-tägiges Blockseminar jeweils, 9:00-16.30 Uhr

The meetings will be arranged in due course.

Raum: RH 233 or 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 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. 

Requirements for credits:

In order to participate, doctoral and post-doctoral candidates are requested to hand in a title, an outline and/or a chapter from their research one week prior to the first meeting.

Set Texts/Required Reading:

Close readings of secondary theoretical texts and primary texts, but also the students’ own written work provided in due course.

Registration:

With Prof. Dr. Cecile Sandten

Annika Bauer

S: Orientalism and the Postcolonial Exotic

(Wahlmodul: Postcolonial Theories and Literatures)

M_Erasmus

Wednesday, 8:45-10:45, 3/B101 (only 8 sessions!) First Meeting: 6.04.2016

Final Meeting: 1.06.2016

Content:

Edward Said’s seminal work Orientalism (first published 1978) is often regarded to represent the starting point of Postcolonial Studies. His discussion of the relationship between power and knowledge outlines how former colonisers redefine large parts of South-East Asia and North Africa as “oriental”. Thus it pinpoints the central question of Postcolonial Studies about appropriation and re-appropriation of structures of representation. Graham Huggan’s theory of the Postcolonial Exotic (2001) takes up the issue of power relations influencing the act of representation by investigating postcolonial literatures as cultural commodity. He raises an intriguing question about the purposefulness of re-affirming and re-appropriating stereotypes by, e.g., Asian and African artists and authors on the one hand, and Western publishers on the other hand to appeal to a broad and largely Western readership/audience.

Objectives:

In this seminar, students will engage in close readings and discussions about power relations represented in postcolonial literature. The set texts provide literary examples from Nigeria and India. The novels will allow an analysis of characters being alienated from their own culture due to a Western influence as well as raise the question if stereotypes are applied in order to appeal to a larger (Western) readership. The aim of the seminar is to critically examine the issue of Orientalism historically and outline its importance for contemporary postcolonial literature.

Requirements for credits:

Each student will give an oral presentation (approx. 20 minutes; PVL). For the PL, students’ regular participation in both Annika Bauer’s and Mala Pandurang’s seminar as well as a written report about the seminars (3 pages) are required.

Set Texts/Required Reading:

Abani, Chris. GraceLand. London: Picador, 2005.

Singh, Khushwant. Delhi: A Novel. New Delhi: Penguin, 1990.

A reader incl. secondary material will be provided in the beginning of the semester.

Registration:

There will be a list on the door of my office (Rh 39, room 008). Please register there.

Mandy Beck

S: Experimental Poetry and Creative Writing

B_AA_4, B_EE_2, B_EuKA_4, B_EuSA_4, B_EuWA_4, M_EG_4, Erasmus

Thursday, 9:15-10:45; 2/W065 First meeting: 07.04.2016

Content:

This course provides a conflation of two broad and multifaceted fields. On the one hand, it offers an overview of experimental poetry, including forms of concrete poetry, visual poetry, abstract poetry and sound poetry over several different literary periods. And on the other hand, it introduces “creative writing” as an academic discipline that has now become highly professionalized. This seminar is thus not only addressed to BA_4 students, but is open to interested students from all semesters and programs, who would like to know more about non-canonical and non-traditional forms of poetry as well as writing creatively through various tasks and reflections.

Objectives:

By looking at texts by George Herbert, Edith Sitwell, T.S. Eliot, Anne Sexton, Adrienne Rich, to Bob Cobbing and others, students will explore different forms of experimenting with the genre of poetry. On the basis of a close engagement with the poems and lively discussions, students will furthermore be encouraged to write their own texts and become acquainted with techniques of creative writing.

Prerequisites:

In order to participate, students of Anglistik/Amerikanistik need to have completed the lecture course “Introduction to the Study of Literatures in English” successfully.

Requirements for Credit:

The format of this seminar will consist of creative writing exercises, games, discussions and contributions in and out of class. Each student will present an oral report (approx. 15 minutes) or present their poems in a poetry slam, and write a substantial seminar paper (12-15 pages) or small compilation of poems.

Set Texts

A Reader with seminal material will be provided at the beginning of the semester.

Eike Kronshage

S: The Novels of the Brontë Sisters

B_AA_4, B_EE_2, B_EG_4 B_EuKA_4, B_EuSA_4, B_EuWA_4, Erasmus

Tuesday, 13:45-15:15, 2/W066 First meeting: 05.04.2016

Content:

In the history of the English novel, the year 1847 has gone down as an "annus mirabilis", a miraculous year. Aside from the publication of such remarkable canonical texts as Dickens's Dombey and Son or Thackeray's Vanity Fair, the year also witnessed the (pseudonymous) publication of three novels by the hitherto unknown Brontë sisters, Charlotte (Jane Eyre), Anne (Agnes Grey), and Emily (Wuthering Heights). In this seminar, we will read those three novels, as well as some of the Brontë sisters' juvenilia. The biographical background to the Brontë family will be provided by brief excerpts from Elizabeth Gaskell's 1857 biography, The Life of Charlotte Brontë. In addition, we will discuss two recent film versions of the novels, Cary Fukunaga's Jane Eyre (2011) and Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights (2011), as well as a BBC radio production of Agnes Grey (dir. Nandita Ghose, 1997).

Objectives:

You will become acquainted with three canonical Victorian writers and their exceptional work. In addition, the seminar offers valuable insights into the Victorian age and its predominant literary form, the realist novel. Due to the narratological complexity of the novels, especially Wuthering Heights, the seminar offers an excellent opportunity to apply and deepen your narratological knowledge from the lecture "Introduction to the Study of Literatures in English". Additionally, the comparison of novels and film/radio adaptations will offer insight into questions of intermediality.

Prerequisites:

Students must have successfully completed the lecture course "Introduction to the Study of Literatures in English" (does not apply to visiting students, e.g. ERASMUS).

Requirements for credits:

Students must read all three novels and participate in classroom discussions. Two brief written assignments during the semester will count as PVL, a substantial seminar paper (12-15 pages) as PL.

Set texts:

Please obtain the novels in the (inexpensive) editions mentioned below. No other editions allowed!

Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre. Ed. Stevie Davies. (Penguin Edition)
[ISBN 978-0141441146]
Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights. Ed. Pauline Nester (Penguin Edition)
[ISBN 978-0141439556]
Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey. Ed. Angeline Goreau. (Penguin Edition)
[978-0140432107

Registration:

By e-mail: eike.kronshage@phil.tu-chemnitz.de. Required information: Your name, semester, and status (e.g. ERASMUS).

Tobias Schlosser

S: Theories and Methods (271432-102)

B_AA_2, Erasmus

Thursday, 13:45-15:15, 2/D201 First Meeting: 07.04.2016

Content:

This course provides an accessible introduction to the theories and methods in literary studies. Some of the major theoretical movements covered by the course include, but are not restricted to: New Criticism, Structuralism, Marxism, Psychoanalysis, Feminism, New Historical and Cultural Criticism, Postmodernism, Postcolonialism and Ecocriticism. Through a close reading of the novel Green Grass, Running Water (1993) by (Native) Canadian writer Thomas King, the course provides a literary platform to explore the diverse socio-political contexts of the theories and methods involved. Not least of all, through the examination of a Native American/Canadian perspective, the course seeks to challenge established theories and methods as well as to enhance students’ intercultural awareness.

Objectives:

Students will be able to identify the major theoretical movements of twentieth century literature, including the empirical contexts that underpin them. Furthermore, students will be able to apply respective theories and methods to literary texts.

Prerequisites:

Successful completion of “Introduction to the Study of Literatures in English”.

Requirements for Credit:

Active participation and regular attendance is expected; a 20-minute oral presentation (PVL) and a term paper (PL).

Set Texts:

King, Thomas (1993): Green Grass, Running Water. New York / Toronto / London / Sydney / Auckland: Bantam Books.

A Reader with seminal material will be will be provided at the beginning of the semester.

Registration

There will be a list on the door of my office (Rh 39, room 007). Please register there.

Prof. Mala Pandurang (Mumbai)

S: Discourse of Violence in Fiction by Writers of the South Asian Diaspora

M_Erasmus

Blockseminar (3 weeks: 2 sessions of 3 hours each per week)

Tuesdays: 10, 17, 24 May, 9:15-13:00 First Meeting: 10.05.2016

Wednesdays: 11, 18, 25 May, 13:45-17:00

2/RH39/233 or 733

Content:

The term 'diaspora writing' broadly refers to literary responses to the experiences of migration. Critical analyses of diasporic narratives, therefore, tend to foreground tropes of identity in the context of geo-cultural dislocation. This course will offer a different perspective on fiction by writers of the South Asian diaspora. Rather than specifically focusing on issues of hybridity and 'belongingness', we will study fiction concerned with incidents of contemporary violence such as ethnic conflict, civil war, religious fundamentalism, violence against women and children, caste politics, violation of human rights by the State etc. The novels selected for study are multi-located in 'home' territories (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan) as well as host nations (USA, UK, Canada etc.). It will be interesting to explore how writers of the South Asian diaspora relate their core concerns on aggrandizing acts of violence, to the inescapable interface of local, national and global politics.

Other issues for debate will include the ethical function of the narrative, the role of the writer as a 'conscience' activist, narrative strategies employed to elicit the reader's empathy, and postcolonial contexts of production.

If we are to effectively theorize strategies of resistance to varied manifestations of violence, we must spend time in understanding the ideology of non-violence. We will, therefore, discuss excerpts from socio-philosophers like Mahatma Gandhi, Rajmohan Gandhi and Amartya Sen, as well as from non-fictional texts by Amitav Ghosh (The Imam and the Indian), Amitava Kumar (My Husband the Fanatic) and Vikram Seth (Double Lives).

Set Texts/Required Reading:

Mosquitoes by Roma Tearne (Sri Lanka)
Thousand Faces of the Sun by Khaled Hosseini (Afghanistan)
Can You Hear the Nightbird Call by Anita Rau Badami (India)
The year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota (India)

Requirements for credits:

Registration:

There will be a list on Annika Bauer’s office door (Rh 39, room 008). Please register there.