| Semester | fall semester 2015 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Franziska Gygax (franziska.gygax@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | With the "affective turn" affects, emotions, and feelings in literary and cultural texts are being explored and theorized, and the fields of affect studies and theories of emotions have become part of critical theory today. Affect can refer to a cognitive phenomenon, to an emotional experience, or to empathy, all of which are at work when reading a narrative, be it fictional or autobiographical. This course will address the specific ways in which emotions are represented in life writing texts on the one hand and the ways in which a reader's empathy is triggered on the other hand. Furthermore, relying on Lauren Berlant's influential work in affect studies, the complex interface between the private and the public will be discussed. |
| Learning objectives | In this course students will be introduced to a range of very different autobiographies that are representative of a specific way of life writing (e.g. slave narrative, AIDS memoir, graphic memoir) and to crucial theoretical texts from the field of affect studies, theories of emotions, and cognitive poetics. |
| Bibliography | - Harriet Jacobs, "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Woman" - Philip Roth, "Patrimony" - Paul Monette, "Borrowed Time" - Joan Didion, "Blue Nights" - Marisa Acocella Marchetto, "Cancer Vixen" Additional texts will be available on ADAM. "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Woman", "Patrimony", and "Borrowed Time" must be read before the beginning of the course. |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | For MA students |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|
No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Doktorat Anglophone Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaft: Empfehlungen (PhD subject: Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies) Doktorat Französische Literaturwissenschaft: Empfehlungen (PhD subject: French Literature) Modul Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Master's degree subject: English) Modul English & American Literature (Master's degree subject: English (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) Modul Literatur- und kulturwissenschaftliche Forschung (Master's degree program: Literary Studies) Modul Literaturtheorie (Master's degree program: Literary Studies) Modul Research in Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Master's degree subject: English) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Regular attendance, 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 | Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft |