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| Semester | spring semester 2016 |
| Course frequency | Irregular |
| Lecturers | Philipp Schweighauser (ph.schweighauser@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Early American novels of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries have seen a fundamental re-evaluation since the publication of Jay Fliegelman's "Prodigals and Pilgrims" (1982) and Cathy N. Davidson's "Revolution and the Word" (1986). While earlier scholarship tended to disparage these texts as weak imitations of British models, contemporary critics are fascinated by their negotiations of central social and political issues of their time: democracy, slavery, gender inequality, the Indian wars, and the transition from a community-oriented republicanism to an individualist liberalism as the young nation's dominant ideology. Reading these texts as responses and contributions to debates surrounding those issues will allow us not only to situate the novels of Charles Brockden Brown, Susanna Rowson, and Hugh Henry Brackenridge both in U.S. history and U.S. literary history; it will also challenge us to ask more general questions concerning the relationship between literature and history. We will study and discuss one novel from each of the three major subgenres: the gothic novel (Brown's "Wieland"), the sentimental novel (Rowson's "Charlotte Temple"), and the picaresque novel (Brackenridge's "Modern Chivalry"). |
| Learning objectives | You are introduced to a formative period of American literary and cultural history and engage with some of the theoretical issues raised by historical approaches to literary texts. |
| Bibliography | All three literary texts need to be read before the beginning of the course. Susanna Rowson's "Charlotte Temple" (ed. Cathy N. Davidson, New York: Oxford University Press, 1987, ISBN 13: 978-0195042382) and Charles Brockden Brown's "Wieland" (ed. Jay Fliegelman. New York: Penguin, 1991, ISBN 13: 978-0140390797) need to be purchased in these editions. Get them at Labyrinth bookstore or order them early. Excerpts from Hugh Henry Brackenridge's "Modern Chivalry" are made available on ADAM. |
| Comments | Note that this seminar closely relates to my lecture course "American Literature Survey I/IV: Beginnings to Early Republic" (26014-01). However, attendance of the lecture is not a prerequisite for this seminar. |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | This seminar is open only to MA students and PhD candidates. |
| Course application | Please register on MOnA. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
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No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
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 Literaturgeschichte (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 and active participation |
| 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 |