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| Semester | spring semester 2012 |
| Course frequency | Irregular |
| Lecturers |
Werner Brönnimann (werner.broennimann@unibas.ch, Assessor)
Markus Marti-Cimitro (markus.marti@unibas.ch) |
| Content | While the seven deadly sins have lost their validity as a religious rule system in modernity, they arguably live on, having metamorphosed into diverse, sometimes rather discreet, social norms. As an example take sloth: laziness may no longer be considered a sin, but there are numerous social pressures that urge young and older individuals to forgo laid-back inactivity. It will be one of the course's tasks to examine why this should be so and to investigate the rhetoric and persuasion techniques that attempt to make people live their lives in what purports to be a desirable way. The seminar will therefore study gluttony, pride, envy, anger, sloth, greed, and lust both from a historical perspective (for example by reading texts by Langland and Chaucer) as well as from today's point of view, using materials from recent English and American writing as well as from sociological sources. Since the course is a cultural studies project it will attempt to synthesise further artistic expressions of the theme in art and film. |
| Learning objectives | Understanding the aims and methods of an interdisciplinary cultural studies project. Expanding students' knowledge of English and American literary history on the basis of a thematic focus. |
| Bibliography | Many thematically arranged short materials will make up the syllabus; authors studied will include Chaucer, Shakespeare, Marlowe, Rochester, Huxley and Updike. The texts will be made available to students in electronic form. |
| Admission requirements | Successful attendance of the first semester of a second-year proseminar in Literature and Culture Studies |
| Course application | Enrol by email to alex.van-lierde@unibas.ch indicating your 1st and 2nd choice proseminar. The first 18 to enrol are guaranteed a place in the course of their 1st choice; others may be shifted to one of the other courses on offer. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|
No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Modul Refining Skills in Literature and Culture (Bachelor's degree subject: Englisch) Modul Refining Skills in Literature and Culture for SLA teachers (Ausbildung zur Lehrperson für die Sekundarstufe I) Modul Refining Skills in Literature and Culture for SLA teachers (Sek-I-Fach: Englisch) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | One oral presentation; active participation; regular attendance |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| 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 |