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| Semester | fall semester 2008 |
| Course frequency | Irregular |
| Lecturers | Franziska Gygax (franziska.gygax@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | American Transcendentalism (ca. 1830 - ca. 1850) was a literary, philosophical, and a social reform movement that has had and still has a strong influence on American culture. It is not easy to define the positions, ideas, and goals of this movement because the Transcendentalists were a heterogeneous group of intellectuals and writers. They all shared their resistance against rigid thoughts and religious doctrines and quite radically questioned dominant social conventions and cultural traditions. Their writings deal with alternative ways of (American) life (e.g. Henry David Thoreaus Walden), with progressive notions of the self (e.g. Ralph Waldo Emersons "Self-Reliance"), and a postulation of womens rights (e.g. Margaret Fullers "Woman in the Nineteenth Century"). |
| Learning objectives | Students will be introduced to the causes and origins of this influential movement and we will explore the different positions on literary and cultural renewal in the writings by Emerson, Fuller, and Thoreau. |
| Bibliography | "Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller: Selected Works". Ed. John Carlos Rowe. New Riverside Editions (2003). Ordered at Labyrinth bookshop. |
| Comments | Theoretical texts and additional primary texts will be available on the EVA server. |
| Weblink | EVA |
| Admission requirements | Open to students students who have completed their 2nd year (including the paper) in Literature and Culture Studies. |
| Course application | Please register via e-mail to franziska.gygax(a)unibas.ch pior to the first meeting. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Course auditors welcome |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
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No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Interphilologische Lehrveranstaltungen für die Slavistik (Master's degree subject: Slavic Studies) Interphilologisches Angebot: Allgemeine Literaturwissenschaft (Bachelor's degree subject: Deutsche Philologie) Modul Allgemeine Literaturwissenschaft (Master's degree subject: German Literature) Modul Allgemeine Literaturwissenschaft (Master's degree subject: Modern German Literature) Modul English & American Literature (Master's degree subject: English) Modul Extending the View (Literary and Cultural Studies) (Bachelor's degree subject: Englisch) Modul Focusing on the Discipline (Literary and Cultural Studies) (Bachelor's degree subject: Englisch) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Regular attendance, active participation, presentation |
| 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 | Englisches Seminar |