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| Semester | spring semester 2011 |
| Course frequency | Every 3rd spring sem |
| Lecturers | Philipp Schweighauser (ph.schweighauser@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | For generations of Americanists, 'real' American literature began only with Emerson, Whitman, Thoreau, Hawthorne, and Melville. More recently, critics have begun to point out the gender, ethnic, and regional biases of that selection and added Margaret Fuller, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Frances E. W. Harper, sentimental women poets, and the fireside poets to the list. This semester will take us from these writers--the representatives of a newly configured 'American Renaissance'--to Stephen Crane's naturalist dissection of urban and martial plight. Along the way, we will encounter some of the classics of American literary history (most prominently "Moby Dick" and "The Scarlet Letter"); the 'Dean' of American realism (William Dean Howells); Henry James; the rise to stardom and fall of Theodor Dreiser's Sister Carrie; and the shocking but intelligible brutality of the eponymous protagonist of Frank Norris's "Mc Teague." |
| Learning objectives | You are introduced to a formative period of American literary and cultural history. |
| Bibliography | The seventh edition of Volumes B and C (1820-1865; 1865-1914) of Baym, Nina, gen. ed., "The Norton Anthology of American Literature". New York: W. W. Norton, 2007 need to be ordered and purchased well before the beginning of the term (ISBN-13: 978-0-393-92740-5 + ISBN 13: 978-0-393-92741-2). If you plan to attend more than one part of this four-part lecture course, it makes sense to buy all volumes (A-B + C-E) of "The Norton Anthology of American Literature" (ISBN 13: 978-0-393-92993-5 + ISBN 13: 978-0-393-92994-2). You also need to bring along the handouts for each session, INCLUDING THE FIRST. They are available on the EVA server. |
| Comments | The lecture slides are made available on the Eva server. Note that, together with Nicole Sütterlin, I am also offering a BA/MA seminar "Transgressions: Interphilologische Perspektiven auf die deutsche und amerikanische Romantik" (27228-01) whose topic is closely related to this course. |
| Weblink | EVA server |
| Admission requirements | None |
| Course application | Not required |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Course auditors welcome |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|
No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Interphilologisches Angebot: Allgemeine Literaturwissenschaft (Bachelor's degree subject: Deutsche Philologie) Modul Allgemeine Literaturwissenschaft (Master's degree subject: German Literature) Modul Allgemeine Literaturwissenschaft (Master's degree subject: Modern German Literature) Modul English & American Literature (Master's degree subject: English) Modul Extending the View (Literary and Cultural Studies) (Bachelor's degree subject: Englisch) Modul Focusing on the Discipline (Literary and Cultural Studies) (Bachelor's degree subject: Englisch) Modul Learning about Literature and Culture (Ausbildung zur Lehrperson für die Sekundarstufe I) Modul Learning about Literature and Culture (Sek-I-Fach: Englisch) Modul Learning about Literature and Culture (Bachelor's degree subject: Englisch) Modul Neuere Deutsche Literaturwissenschaft I (Master's degree subject: German Language and Literature) Modul Refining Skills in Literature and Culture (Bachelor's degree subject: Englisch) Modul Research Skills in English Linguistics or Literature (Master's degree subject: English) |
| Assessment format | record of achievement |
| Assessment details | Written test (90 mins) toward the end of term |
| 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 | Englisches Seminar |