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72933-01 - Seminar: Satires of Science 3 KP

Semester Herbstsemester 2024
Angebotsmuster einmalig
Dozierende Justin Begley (justin.begley@unibas.ch, BeurteilerIn)
Inhalt Since the early modern period, literary writers have played a pivotal role in facilitating the acceptance and denial of specific scientific ideas and burgeoning scientific consensuses. Beginning in the early seventeenth century and moving through to the late twentieth, this course will grapple with a range of fictional critiques of scientific ambitions and outcomes. It will ask whether scientific satires tended to further or stymie scientific development; whether they have more often been produced by (institutional) outsiders including women; what depth of knowledge literary writers have typically required to critique scientific discourses; and whether literary writers have more often aimed their criticisms at individual scientists (and their particular theories), scientific methodologies, or the scientific mindset.

The course will focus on eight significant texts that grapple with the promises and darker implications of scientific knowledge-making and innovation: Ben Jonson’s "The Alchemist" (1610), Margaret Cavendish’s "The Blazing World" (1666), Jonathan Swift’s "Gulliver’s Travels" (1726), John Hill’s "Lucina sine concubitu: A Letter Addressed to the Royal Society" (1750), Mary Shelley’s "Frankenstein" (1818), Samuel Butler’s "Erewhon: or, Over the Range" (1872), Edith Wharton’s 'The Descent of Man' (1919), and Kurt Vonnegut’s "Cat’s Cradle" (1963). It will cover topics including the ethics of vivisection, the viability of artificial reproduction and life extension, controversies surrounding evolution by natural selection, and the potential and threats of robots and AI, while asking what has made particular environments ripe for the production of scientific satires.
Lernziele Students will learn about the genre of satire and its subgenres, along with their shifting uses in forms such as plays, novels, and short stories. They will gain an understanding of the historical interplay between literary and scientific discourses. Students will also learn to situate literary works in their cultural and social contexts, while acquiring the ability to link the ideas in texts from different periods.
Literatur Ben Jonson, "The Alchemist" (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016).
Jonathan Swift, "Gulliver’s Travels" (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020)
Mary Shelley, "Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus: The 1818 Text" (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020)
Samuel Butler, "Erewhon" (Penguin Classics, 2006)
Kurt Vonnegut’s "Cat’s Cradle" (Penguin Classics, 2020)
Bemerkungen Maximum of 25 students.
Weblink ADAM

 

Teilnahmebedingungen This seminar is for BA students on the advanced level who have completed ALL three introductory modules (including the proseminar papers).
Unterrichtssprache Englisch
Einsatz digitaler Medien kein spezifischer Einsatz

 

Intervall Wochentag Zeit Raum
wöchentlich Montag 12.15-14.00 Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal

Einzeltermine

Datum Zeit Raum
Montag 16.09.2024 12.15-14.00 Uhr Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal
Montag 23.09.2024 12.15-14.00 Uhr Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal
Montag 30.09.2024 12.15-14.00 Uhr Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal
Montag 07.10.2024 12.15-14.00 Uhr Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal
Montag 14.10.2024 12.15-14.00 Uhr Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal
Montag 21.10.2024 12.15-14.00 Uhr Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal
Montag 28.10.2024 12.15-14.00 Uhr Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal
Montag 04.11.2024 12.15-14.00 Uhr Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal
Montag 11.11.2024 12.15-14.00 Uhr Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal
Montag 18.11.2024 12.15-14.00 Uhr Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal
Montag 25.11.2024 12.15-14.00 Uhr Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal
Montag 02.12.2024 12.15-14.00 Uhr Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal
Montag 09.12.2024 12.15-14.00 Uhr Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal
Montag 16.12.2024 12.15-14.00 Uhr Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal
Module Modul: Advanced Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Bachelor Studienfach: Englisch)
Leistungsüberprüfung Lehrveranst.-begleitend
Hinweise zur Leistungsüberprüfung Students will be assessed on the basis of active participation and one written assignment near the end of the term.
An-/Abmeldung zur Leistungsüberprüfung Anmelden: Belegen; Abmelden: nicht erforderlich
Wiederholungsprüfung keine Wiederholungsprüfung
Skala Pass / Fail
Wiederholtes Belegen nicht wiederholbar
Zuständige Fakultät Philosophisch-Historische Fakultät, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch
Anbietende Organisationseinheit Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft

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