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76495-01 - Research seminar: The Middle Passage in Anglophone Literatures and Cultures (4 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2025 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Ana Sobral (ana.sobral@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Literary critic Gordon Collier noted that "the Atlantic Ocean has, in the minds of many among the descendants of slaves, become a gigantic submarine graveyard". This image of a "gigantic graveyard" harks back to the traumatic experience of the 'Middle Passage', i.e., crossing the Atlantic after being brutally captured for enforced slave labour in the colonies of the Americas. In this seminar we will look at first-hand depictions, retellings and evocations of the Middle Passage in African, US-American and Caribbean literature, music and film. We will start with testimonials of captured and enslaved people such as the autobiography of Olaudah Equiano from 1789, and move through different moments in the cultural history of Afro-Caribbeans and African Americans. We will look both at historical documents and artistic, literary, musical and cinematic transformations of that experience. Finally, we will discuss the double effect of the Middle Passage as both a destructive and creative event that is at the basis of all Afro cultures in the so-called 'New World'. |
| Learning objectives | Students will gain in-depth knowledge of the mechanisms and consequences of the Transatlantic Slave Trade as well as key knowledge about the African origins of much of Caribbean and US-American cultures. |
| Bibliography | Please purchase the novel "Feeding the Ghosts" by Fred D'Aguiar, and "The Year of Return" by Ivana Akwotowaa Ofori. All theoretical and additional primary texts will be made available on ADAM |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | This research seminar is open only to MA and PhD students. |
| 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 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday 18.09.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 25.09.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 02.10.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 09.10.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 16.10.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 23.10.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 30.10.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 06.11.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 13.11.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 20.11.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 27.11.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 04.12.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 11.12.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Thursday 18.12.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Modules |
Modul: Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Master's degree subject: English) Modul: Literatur- und kulturwissenschaftliche Forschung (Master's degree program: Literary Studies) Modul: Literaturgeschichte (Master's degree program: Literary Studies) Modul: Research in Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Master's degree subject: English) Module: Fields: Media and Imagination (Master's degree program: African Studies) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | oral presentation, written assignments |
| 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 |