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| Semester | spring semester 2009 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Franziska Gygax (franziska.gygax@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Letter writing has always played a crucial role in literary practices and in the age of e-mail it has even gained more prominence although the new medium has transformed the social transactions between writer and reader. Whether we read an e-mail letter or a letter in a novel the letter exchange is always embedded in specific cultural and social conditions, and often complex notions of desire are at work. In this course we will deal with a selection of twentieth-century American novels that incorporate letters in various ways or can be read as letters. In addition we will discuss the theoretical conditions of epistolary practices (e.g. absence/presence) and explore the meanings of the textual possibilities of letters. Apart from the (epistolary) novels we will also read letters by prominent American authors like Emily Dickinson and Ralph Waldo Emerson. |
| Learning objectives | Students will be introduced to the traditions of epistolarity, to contemporary debates of the genre, and to representative texts. |
| Bibliography | - Vladimir Nabokov, "Lolita" (Penguin); - Alice Walker, "The Color Purple" (Harcourt Brace); - Ana Castillo, "The Mixquiahuala Letters" (Anchor); - Jonathan Safran Foer, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" (Penguin) Books are on order at Labyrinth. Additional texts will be available on EVA. |
| Weblink | Will be announced. |
| 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 prior to the first meeting. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
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No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
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, group presentation |
| 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 | Englisches Seminar |