Back
| Semester | fall semester 2013 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Daniela Keller (daniela.keller@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | The title of this proseminar is inspired by Christopher Isherwood's stay in Berlin in the early thirties that produced his novels "Mr Norris Changes Trains" (1935) and "Goodbye to Berlin" (1939), published as "Berlin Stories" in the US or "The Berlin Novels" in the UK. Isherwood, W.H. Auden and Stephen Spender formed a literary group that dared to enter a space that earlier generations, still remembering WWI, had considered to be 'enemy territory' (Sullam 148). The adventure of going abroad was not only a rebellious reaction towards their parents: before the rise of the Nazis, Berlin also offered them sexual and literary liberties that England did not (Thacker, 2012). Auden said of himself: "I am one of those - there are not many of us - who fell in love with the German language. [...] Berlin was an unexplored city and might turn out to be fun" (Encounter, 1963). Isherwood's stories of Berlin were published in the late thirties and were, hence, unaffected by the events of WWII. We will be looking at what the drastic interruption of WWII and the construction of the Wall provoked in British literary production. Together with Isherwood, Sybille Bedford and John Le Carré, we will discover a seemingly 'unattractive' place and set their accounts of Berlin, such as Isherwood's "snapshots" (Sullam 156), into historical and topographical context. |
| Learning objectives | Students will be made familiar with memory theory and studies of literary space. |
| Bibliography | Please purchase and read: - Isherwood, Christopher. "The Berlin Novels". 1935. London: Vintage Books, 1999. - Bedford, Sybille. "A Legacy". 1956. London: Penguin, 2005. - Le Carré, John. "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold". 1963. London: Penguin, 2010. Further material will be made available on ISIS. |
| Comments | It is recommended that participants do the readings before the beginning of term. Apart from the general course requirements, they might also be asked to do written assignments. |
| Weblink | ISIS |
| Admission requirements | Old BA curriculum (2005): This course may only be taken after successful completion of the first-year module "Learning about Literature". New BA curriculum (2013): It is strongly recommended that this course is taken only after the successful completion of the "Introduction I + II: Literary Studies" proseminars. |
| 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 4 courses (35012, 35014, 35017) 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 Introduction to Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Bachelor's degree subject: English) Modul Refining Skills in Literature and Culture (Bachelor's degree subject: English (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Regular attendance, active participation, presentation |
| 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 |