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28846-01 - Lecture: American Literature Survey III/IV: Naturalism and Modernism (2 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2026 |
| Course frequency | Irregular |
| Lecturers | Philipp Schweighauser (ph.schweighauser@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | The beginnings of European modernism reach back to the late nineteenth century and the poetry of Charles Baudelaire, but most of the texts which are central to modernist literature as we know it today were written between 1914 and 1945, the years which mark the beginning of the First and the ending of the Second World War. In the United States, too, these years saw a spectacular flowering of literary experimentation that produced works whose innovative force every succeeding generation of writers has to contend with: Gertrude Stein's difficult and ingenious mixture of prose and poetry; the radical politics and equally radical aesthetics of John Dos Passos's "Manhattan Transfer" and "U.S.A." trilogy; the African-American modernism of the Harlem Renaissance; the succinctness of Hemingway's 'hard style' as well as the powerful long sentences of William Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury;" the very different poetics of Ezra Pound's "The Cantos" and T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" on the one hand and Wallace Stevens's "Anecdote of the Jar" and William Carlos Williams's "The Red Wheelbarrow" on the other; and Djuna Barnes's dark and daring exploration of alternative sexualities in "Nightwood." We will work our way toward this defining period of American literary history by beginning with naturalist works such as Stephen Crane's "The Red Badge of Courage," which can be read both as radicalizations of realist modes of writing and proto-modernist literary experiments. |
| Learning objectives | You are introduced to a formative period of American literary and cultural history. |
| Bibliography | Recommendations for moderate weekly readings are taken from the seventh, eighth, ninth or tenth edition of Volumes C and D (1865-1914; 1914-1945) of Nina Baym (gen. ed.), "The Norton Anthology of American Literature" (New York: W. W. Norton). Copies are available at the Labyrinth bookstore. If you plan to attend more than one part of this four-part lecture course and intend to do the recommended reading, it makes sense to buy all volumes (A-B + C-E) of "The Norton Anthology of American Literature" because this is the cheaper option. Make sure you bring along the handouts for each session, including the first. They are available on ADAM, contain the lecture slides, and will facilitate your note-taking. |
| Comments | The syllabus and lecture slides are made available on ADAM. |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | None |
| Course application | Please register for this course on services.unibas.ch. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Course auditors welcome |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Wednesday | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 16.09.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Wednesday 23.09.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Wednesday 30.09.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Wednesday 07.10.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Wednesday 14.10.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Wednesday 21.10.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Wednesday 28.10.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Wednesday 04.11.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Wednesday 11.11.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Wednesday 18.11.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Wednesday 25.11.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Wednesday 02.12.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Wednesday 09.12.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Wednesday 16.12.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Modules |
Modul: Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Master's degree subject: English) Modul: Koordinaten der Kreativität (Master's degree program: Cultural Techniques) Modul: Kulturtechnische Dimensionen (Master's degree program: Cultural Techniques) Modul: Literaturgeschichte (Master's degree program: Literary Studies) Module: Advanced Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Bachelor's degree subject: English) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies BA (Bachelor's degree subject: English) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Ancient Civilizations) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies BA (Bachelor's degree subject: German Language and Literature) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies BA (Bachelor's degree subject: French Language and Literature) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Spanish Language and Literature) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Italian Language and Literature (Start of studies before 01.08.2026)) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies BA (Bachelor's degree program: Ancient Civilizations) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Nordic Philology) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Italian Language and Literature) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies BA (Bachelor's Studies - Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies MA (Master's degree subject: Slavic Studies) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies MA (Master's degree subject: English) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies MA (Master's degree subject: German Language and Literature) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies MA (Master's degree subject: French Language and Literature) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies MA (Master's degree subject: Spanish Language and Literature) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies MA (Master's degree subject: Italian Language and Literature) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies MA (Master's degree subject: German Literature) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies MA (Master's degree subject: Latin Philology) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies MA (Master's degree subject: Nordic Philology) Module: Interphilology: Literary and Cultural Studies MA (Master's Studies - Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences) Module: Introduction to Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Bachelor's degree subject: English) |
| Assessment format | record of achievement |
| Assessment details | Written test (90 mins) toward the end of term. The test is based on the lectures; the recommended weekly readings are not part of it. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | one repetition, repetition counts |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | as often as necessary |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft |