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| Semester | spring semester 2024 |
| Course frequency | Irregular |
| Lecturers | Philipp Schweighauser (ph.schweighauser@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | When N. Scott Momaday received the Pulitzer Prize for “House Made of Dawn” (1968) in 1969, this started the Native American Renaissance, triggering the emergence of a new generation of American Indian writers such as Leslie Marmon Silko, James Welch, Gerald Vizenor, Joy Harjo, and Simon Ortiz. This era was followed by the second Native American Renaissance represented by enormously successful writers such as Louise Erdrich and Sherman Alexie—writers that are read well beyond academia and well beyond an American Indian audience. In this course, we will read and discuss three fictions that may well be representative of a third flowering of Native American writing in the 21st century: Tommy Orange’s novel “There” (2018), Morgan Talty’s collection of connected stories “Night of the Living Rez” (2022), and Darcie Little Badge’s young adult fiction “Elatsoe” (2017). In discussing these fascinating works, we encounter Native American misfits trying to rob a powwow, tales of friendship and family on the reservation, asexuality, vampires, and so much more. |
| Learning objectives | Students engage with recent Native American fictions to explore the (literary-)historical contexts of these works, their fictional engagement with issues on and off the reservation, including the relationship between modernity and tradition, the continuing presence of American Indian myths, drug and alcohol abuse, and popular and other representations of ‘Indians.’ |
| Bibliography | The following three texts are available in the Labyrinth bookstore and need to be purchased and read before the beginning of the term: Tommy Orange’s “There There” (2018), Morgan Talty’s “Night of the Living Rez” (2022), and Darcie Little Badge’s “Elatsoe” (2017). We will start with There There. Further materials will be made available on ADAM. |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | This seminar is open only to MA students and PhD candidates. |
| Course application | Please register for this course on services.unibas.ch. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Wednesday | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 28.02.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 06.03.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 13.03.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 20.03.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 27.03.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 03.04.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 10.04.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 17.04.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 24.04.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | --, -- |
| Wednesday 01.05.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Tag der Arbeit |
| Wednesday 08.05.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 15.05.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 22.05.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 29.05.2024 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Modules |
Modul: Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Master's degree subject: English) Modul: Literatur- und kulturwissenschaftliche Forschung (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 | as often as necessary |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft |