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74318-01 - Seminar: The US American Far Right and their Fiction(s) (3 CP)
| Semester | spring semester 2025 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Sofie Sabbioni (sofie.sabbioni@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Researchers agree that the globally linked Far Right of the 21st century has increasingly adopted a metapolitical approach as one of its main strategies, which means focusing on changing culture and discourse in order for the Right to rise up again. Given the renewed prevalence of far-right and neo-fascist politics around the world, most recently the re-election of Donald Trump, this strategy seems to have paid off. In this seminar, we focus on how in the US, the Far and Alt-Right have contributed to these results by analyzing their fictions and cultural strategies. What are the prevalent narratives – ranging from the great replacement conspiracy theory to the current anti-trans moral panic – and how are they shaped in novels by literary authors of the US Far Right such as Tito Perdue, Harold Covington, or Nick Cole? What does the US Far-Right book business look like? And how is all of that related to Trump and the GOP? These are some of the questions we will try to answer in this course. |
| Learning objectives | Students engage with the strategies of a metapolitical US Far Right and their fiction( text)s, in order to be able to recognize and deconstruct the prevalent narratives and dehumanizing politics they bring about. |
| Bibliography | The following three novels should be read before the beginning of the term (email the instructor to for scans of them): Tito Perdue’s “Reuben” (2014), Nick Cole’s “CTRL-ALT REVOLT!” (2016), and Tomislav Sunić’s “Titans are in Town” (2017). Other primary texts are Harold Covington’s “Freedom’s Sons” (2013) and Matthew Bracken’s “The Red Cliffs of Zerhoun” (2017). On the cultural strategies of the US Far and Alt-Right, see Ico Maly, “Metapolitics, Algorithms and Violence” (2024) and Hermansson et al., “The International Alt-Right” (2020). All theoretical and primary texts will be made available on ADAM. |
| Comments | In this seminar, you will be reading and discussing texts that contain racism, anti-Semitism, anti-queerness, misogyny, and descriptions of white supremacist violence. |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | Students must have completed their BA proseminar level. |
| Course application | Please register for this course on services.unibas.ch. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Thursday | 12.15-14.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday 20.02.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 27.02.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 06.03.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 13.03.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Fasnachstferien |
| Thursday 20.03.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 27.03.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 03.04.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 10.04.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 17.04.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Ostern |
| Thursday 24.04.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 01.05.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Tag der Arbeit |
| Thursday 08.05.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 15.05.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 22.05.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Thursday 29.05.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Auffahrt |
| Modules |
Modul: Advanced Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Bachelor's degree subject: English) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | regular attendance, active participation, small presentation |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft |