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| Semester | spring semester 2024 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Daniel Ortiz (daniel.ortiz@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | The 1950s in the United States are popularly remembered as an era of peace, suburbia, and conformity, but they also saw a distinctive style of rebellion in the group of writers that became known as the Beat Generation. The term ‘beat’ had many meanings: being defeated or broken down; keeping upbeat and happy; the beats making up musical meter, especially jazz; even the beatific visions of a new religious consciousness. Most of all the Beats were a group of friends living, writing, and dying together. Our class will approach the Beats as a literary movement through reading three main works by its three central personalities: Allen Ginsberg’s "Howl and Other Poems", William S. Burroughs’ "Naked Lunch", and Jack Kerouac’s "On the Road". In addition we will read selections including minor Beats from the movement’s inception in New York, later contributors in San Francisco and other regions of America, and the involvement of women and African American writers. Throughout we will be concerned with a number of major themes: the possibilities and fate of the Beats as a counter-culture; the image of America and Americanness presented in their work; the liberatory and destructive potentials of drug use and free sexuality; physical and spiritual quests; left-wing and right-wing political allegiances; new developments in prose writing such as ‘spontaneous’ prose; and their relation with subsequent counter-cultures such as the Beatniks and the Hippies. |
| Learning objectives | Students will gain a familiarity with the major works of the Beats as well as their place within broader post-war American literature. |
| Bibliography | Please purchase the following texts in their respective editions, available at the Labyrinth Bookstore: - "Howl and Other Poems", Allen Ginsberg (City Lights). - "Naked Lunch", William S. Burroughs (Penguin). - "On the Road", Jack Kerouac (Penguin). All other texts will be uploaded 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 sign up via services.unibas.ch and by e-mail to daniel.ortiz@unibas.ch. Places are limited to 25. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Friday | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 01.03.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Friday 08.03.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Friday 15.03.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Friday 22.03.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Friday 29.03.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Ostern |
| Friday 05.04.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Friday 12.04.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Friday 19.04.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Friday 26.04.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Friday 03.05.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Friday 10.05.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Auffahrt |
| Friday 17.05.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Friday 24.05.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Friday 31.05.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Modules |
Modul: Advanced Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Bachelor's degree subject: English) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Besides attendance and active participation, students will write a short 500 word personal response to the readings (details will be announced in class on the syllabus). |
| 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 |