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| Semester | spring semester 2019 |
| Course frequency | Irregular |
| Lecturers | Christiane Schlote (christiane.schlote@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | In his well-known essay 'Writing American Fiction' (1961), Philip Roth expresses his envy of the power of American reality which outdoes any writer's "meagre imagination" almost daily. More than fifty years later and in view of a globalised and increasingly complex information society public desire for 'authenticity' and factuality has grown evermore and cultural representations are successfully marked (and marketed) by their documentary aesthetics, as can be witnessed in a variety of documentary films, factual TV and docu-fiction. In this lecture, we will approach the frequently invoked 'documentary turn' and the increasingly blurred boundaries between fact and fiction on two levels: on the one hand, we will problematise traditional notions of the fiction/nonfiction divide, authorial intention and conventional concepts of 'authenticity', 'reality' and the politics of representation. On the other hand, we will discuss the role of the documentary in representations (literature, theatre/drama, visual arts, etc.) in postcolonial, transnational and diasporic contexts. This includes phenomena such as literary hoaxes, mockumentaries and parody journalism and hybrid genres in postcolonial creative non-fiction (e.g., life writing, testimonio, travel writing, memoirs, etc.). Texts will include works by Truman Capote, Peter Carey, Frank McCourt, Nelson Mandela, Rigoberta Menchú, Vikram Seth and Anna Deavere Smith. |
| Learning objectives | This lecture introduces students to documentary genres and media and reexamines discourses of subjectivity, fictionality and authenticity in postcolonial, transnational and diasporic texts and contexts. |
| Bibliography | Theoretical and primary texts will be made available on ADAM. |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | None |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Course auditors welcome |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
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No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Modul: Advanced Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Bachelor's degree subject: English) Modul: Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Master's degree subject: English) Modul: Fields: Knowledge Production and Transfer (Master's degree program: African Studies) Modul: Fields: Media and Imagination (Master's degree program: African Studies) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: English) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Nordic Philology) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: German Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree program: Ancient Civilizations) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: French Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Spanish Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Italian Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Ancient Civilizations) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: German Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: English) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Slavic Studies) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Latin Philology) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Italian Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: German Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: French Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Spanish Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Nordic Philology) Modul: Introduction to Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Bachelor's degree subject: English) Modul: Literatur im Zusammenspiel der Künste und Medien (Master's degree program: Literary Studies) |
| Assessment format | record of achievement |
| Assessment details | Regular and active participation, reading assignments, written test (90 mins) toward the end of term |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | one repetition, repetition counts |
| 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 |