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| Semester | fall semester 2018 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Ridvan Askin (ridvan.askin@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Charles Olson is a pivotal figure in 20th century American poetry and poetics. A late modernist and proto-postmodernist, he helped shape postwar American writing through both his poetry and his essays. As the leading voice of the Black Mountain Poets he paved the way for the Beat Poets and the free-form experimentation of the latter half of the 20th century. We will devote ourselves to a close reading of his opus magnum, "The Maximus Poems", in its entirety. Published between 1953 and 1975, this dense, intense, and highly allusive epic series of poems negotiates between the old (ancient myth) and the new (the 20th century), the local (Gloucester) and the national (America), the particular (a city) and the universal (the cosmos), spanning and encompassing a wide array of themes ranging from the most mundane everyday observations to ruminations of metaphysical and cosmological scope. In addition to the close scrutiny of one of America's greatest poetic masterpieces of all time, we will also engage with Olson's poetological works, a crucial point of reference for several generations of poets to come. Finally, we will contextualize our reading of Olson by juxtaposing and comparing his poetry and poetics to select examples from the works of, among others, Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, and T. S. Eliot. |
| Learning objectives | Students taking this course will gain intimate knowledge of one of the most important works by one of the most iconic figures of 20th century American poetry. In addition to acquiring expertise in the analysis of poetry, students will also further refine their knowledge of modernist poetics and aesthetics. |
| Bibliography | Olson, Charles. "The Maximus Poems". Ed. George F. Butterick. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985 (Pbk.) Please purchase this specific edition before the first meeting. Additional material will be made available on ADAM. |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | This seminar is for BA students on the advanced level who have completed ALL three introductory modules (including the proseminar papers). |
| Course application | Please register by email to ridvan.askin@unibas.ch and do not forget to sign up via MOnA. Note that places are limited to 25. Once the course is fully booked, you will need to sign up for one of the department's alternative offerings. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|
No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Modul: Advanced Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Bachelor's degree subject: English) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Regular attendance, active participation, several short writing assignments |
| 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 |