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| Semester | spring semester 2014 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Ridvan Askin (ridvan.askin@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | We will read and discuss a selection of novels and shorter fiction published since the 70s by US and Canadian authors such as Michael Ondaatje, Ana Castillo, David Foster Wallace, Colson Whitehead, Lydia Davis, and Alice Munro, winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature. In doing so, we will place these works in relation to different cultural and poetic traditions, from African-American to Chicana Literature, from realist and modernist to postmodernist and altermodernist fiction. The course thus provides a snapshot of the diversity of the contemporary scene highlighting some of its most distinguished practitioners while at the same time revisiting, elaborating on, and introducing terms and critical tools relevant to the current debate. |
| Learning objectives | Students exercise and expand the range of skills they have acquired in the first year. A more informed engagement with primary and critical texts will enable them to write their proseminar paper at the end of the summer term and to make an informed decision regarding their further course of studies. They will become familiar with the diversity and richness of contemporary North-American fiction and the different traditions it avails itself of as well as the respective scholarly discourse. |
| Bibliography | Michael Ondaatje, "The Collected Works of Billy the Kid" (1970); Ana Castillo, "The Mixquiahuala Letters" (1986); Colson Whitehead, "The Intuitionist" (1999); Lydia Davis, "The Cows" (2011). Any edition will do. Shorter primary texts and additional critical material will be made available on the ISIS course server. |
| Comments | Since this is a reading intensive course, it is advisable to start reading well before the term begins. |
| Weblink | ISIS |
| Admission requirements | Old BA curriculum (2005): This course may only be taken after successfully completing the first semester of a second-year proseminar in Literature and Culture Studies. New BA curriculum (2013): It is strongly recommended that this course be taken after successfully completing the "Introduction I + II" literature proseminars. |
| Course application | Students are required to register on ISIS. Please note that places are limited and that once this particular course is fully booked you will have to sign up for one of the alternative options. |
| 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 and active participation including a group 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 |