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| Semester | spring semester 2021 |
| Course frequency | Every 2nd spring sem |
| Lecturers | Philipp Schweighauser (ph.schweighauser@unibas.ch) |
| Content | When, testifying about Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, FBI Director James Comey said that "we remain that shining city on the hill, and they don't like it," he reiterated a belief that was first put into words in 1630, by the Puritan political leader and historian John Winthrop: that America is a shining "city upon a hill," a beacon of freedom that is admired and imitated but also watched by the whole world. Nine years earlier, presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama also tapped deep into the American past when he coined his campaign slogan "yes, we can," giving yet another twist to the can-do attitude celebrated in Benjamin Franklin's "Autobiography" (1771-1790). In this first part of my survey of American literary and cultural history, we will explore the origins of a multitude of topoi, beliefs, and myths that continue to shape how Americans see themselves today. Along the way, you will encounter Native American creation myths, Christopher Columbus's wonder and horror at the New World, the dissenting Puritan voice of Anne Hutchinson, J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur's reflections on not only the American melting pot but also slavery, and the cross-dressing heroine of Tabitha Tenney's "Female Quixotism" (1801). |
| Learning objectives | You are introduced to a formative period of American literary and cultural history. |
| Bibliography | Recommendations for moderate weekly readings are taken from the seventh, eighth or ninth edition of Volume A (Beginnings to 1820) of Nina Baym (gen. ed.), "The Norton Anthology of American Literature" (New York: W. W. Norton). Copies are available at the Labyrinth bookstore. If you plan to attend more than one part of this four-part lecture course and intend to do the recommended reading, it makes sense to buy all volumes (A-B + C-E) of "The Norton Anthology of American Literature" because this is the cheaper option. Make sure you bring along the handouts for each session, including the first. They are available on ADAM, contain the lecture slides, and will facilitate your note-taking. |
| Comments | This lecture is taught weekly via Zoom. Please note that any recording of the lecture is prohibited for copyright reasons. Should we return to offline, face-to-face teaching later in the term, the sessions will be streamed so that those students who wish to particpate from home will be able to do this. |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | None |
| Course application | Enrol on MOnA. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Tuesday | 14.15-16.00 | - Online Präsenz - |
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 02.03.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | --, -- |
| Tuesday 09.03.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | --, -- |
| Tuesday 16.03.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | --, -- |
| Tuesday 23.03.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | --, -- |
| Tuesday 30.03.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | --, -- |
| Tuesday 06.04.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | --, -- |
| Tuesday 13.04.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | --, -- |
| Tuesday 20.04.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | --, -- |
| Tuesday 27.04.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | --, -- |
| Tuesday 04.05.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | --, -- |
| Tuesday 11.05.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | --, -- |
| Tuesday 18.05.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | --, -- |
| Tuesday 25.05.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | --, -- |
| Tuesday 01.06.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | --, -- |
| 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: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Ancient Civilizations) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Nordic Philology) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Italian Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: German Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Spanish Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: French Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree program: Ancient Civilizations) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: English) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Latin Philology) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Nordic Philology) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: French Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Slavic Studies) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: German Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Spanish Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: English) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Italian Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: German Literature) Modul: Introduction to Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Bachelor's degree subject: English) Modul: Literaturgeschichte (Master's degree program: Literary Studies) |
| Assessment format | record of achievement |
| Assessment details | One essay of 1,000-1,500 words that provides an interpretation of one of the literary texts discussed by Philipp Schweighauser. The deadline for submission of the essay is July 1, 2021. Please submit as a .doc or .docx file. If you fail the essay, you can write a second essay on a new literary text. This option if available only to those who submitted an essay by the first deadline (July 1). The deadline for the second essay is August 30, 2021. |
| 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 |