Back to selection
80507-01 - Colloquium: What Is Contemporary Literature and When Did It End? (1 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2026 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Philipp Schweighauser (ph.schweighauser@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Many members of our Doctoral Program “Literary Studies” are working on contemporary literature. But the phrase will mean different things to different researchers. For many, the earliest start of contemporary literature is the end of the Second World War in 1945. But over 80 years have passed since then and many literary scholars have proposed more recent staring dates for contemporary literature: 1989 (the fall of the Berlin wall), 1991 (the collapse of the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War), 2000 (the turn of the millennium) and, for American literature especially, September 11, 2001. Obviously, the contemporary is a continuously shifting category. But what happens with our engagement with literary texts when texts that are marketed as contemporary and discussed by other critics as contemporary no longer feel contemporary to us? What happens when the contemporary ends? We will read a number of key theoretical and literary-critical texts about both the periodization of ‘contemporary literature’ and the idea of ‘the contemporary’ more generally. The idea is to allow for a truly interphilological discussion that thrives on disciplinary differences. In other words, participants are very much encouraged to bring to the table discussions of the contemporary specific to their field. Of course, PhD candidates working on earlier periods who have an interest in (the) contemporary (literature) are very welcome too. The languages of this seminar are English and German. |
| Learning objectives | Participants reach an in-depth understanding of ‘the contemporary’ and ‘contemporary literature’ from an interphilological perspective. |
| Bibliography | No pre-course reading is required, but PhD candidates are asked to send ph.schweighauser@unibas.ch one or several pdfs of theoretical or literary-critical articles or book chapters from their own fields that they would be interested in discussing with colloquium members by September 5, 2026. We will read and discuss both texts provided by the instructor and texts submitted by the participants. |
| Admission requirements | This course is open to PhD candidates who are members of the Doctoral Program “Literary Studies.” |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Tuesday | 10.15-12.00 | Deutsches Seminar, Seminarraum 4 |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 15.09.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Deutsches Seminar, Seminarraum 4 |
| Tuesday 22.09.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Deutsches Seminar, Seminarraum 4 |
| Tuesday 29.09.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Deutsches Seminar, Seminarraum 4 |
| Tuesday 06.10.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Deutsches Seminar, Seminarraum 4 |
| Tuesday 13.10.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Deutsches Seminar, Seminarraum 4 |
| Tuesday 20.10.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Deutsches Seminar, Seminarraum 4 |
| Tuesday 27.10.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Deutsches Seminar, Seminarraum 4 |
| Tuesday 03.11.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Deutsches Seminar, Seminarraum 4 |
| Tuesday 10.11.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Deutsches Seminar, Seminarraum 4 |
| Tuesday 17.11.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Deutsches Seminar, Seminarraum 4 |
| Tuesday 24.11.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Deutsches Seminar, Seminarraum 4 |
| Tuesday 01.12.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Deutsches Seminar, Seminarraum 4 |
| Tuesday 08.12.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Deutsches Seminar, Seminarraum 4 |
| Tuesday 15.12.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Deutsches Seminar, Seminarraum 4 |
| Modules |
Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies: Recommendations (PhD subject: Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies) Doktorat Iberoromanische Literaturwissenschaft: Empfehlungen (PhD subject: Ibero-Romance Literature) Doktorat Italienische Literaturwissenschaft: Empfehlungen (PhD subject: Italian Literature) Doktorat Russistik: Empfehlungen (PhD subject: Russian Studies) Doktorat Slavistik: Empfehlungen (PhD subject: Slavic Studies) French Literature: Recommendations (PhD subject: French Literature) German Literature: Recommendations (PhD subject: German Literature) Literary Studies: Recommendations (PhD subject: Literary Studies) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | regular presence, active participation |
| 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 | Departement Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaften |