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| Semester | fall semester 2022 |
| Course frequency | Irregular |
| Lecturers | Philipp Schweighauser (ph.schweighauser@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | In the developing field of twenty-first-century U.S. literature, climate fictions are a prominent presence. Most often, these fictions acknowledge that climate change is caused by human activity. This is the case for two of the novels we will read and discuss: Omar El Akkad's "American War", which envisions a second American civil war after the North passes a law outlawing the use of fossil fuels, and Barbara Kingsolver's "Flight Behaviour", which tells the story of a poor young woman from the Appalachians who strikes upon millions of monarch butterflies in the valley behind her home—butterflies that left their Mexican habitat due to climate change. The third novel on our list, best-selling novelist Michael Crichton’s "State of Fear", is a thriller in which environmental activists are the villains and the scientific consensus on climate change is challenged. |
| Learning objectives | In-depth engagement with three substantial climate fictions |
| Bibliography | Omar El Akkad's "American War", Barbara Kingsolver's "Flight Behaviour", and Michael Crichton's "State of Fear" need to be read before the beginning of the term. We will start our discussion with Kingsolver. Additional texts will be made available on ADAM. |
| Comments | This course closely relates to Philipp Schweighauser's lecture course "American Literature Survey IV/IV: Postmodernism and Contemporary" (30496-01). |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | This seminar is open only to MA students. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Tuesday | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 107 |
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 20.09.2022 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 107 |
| Tuesday 27.09.2022 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 107 |
| Tuesday 04.10.2022 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 107 |
| Tuesday 11.10.2022 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 107 |
| Tuesday 18.10.2022 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 107 |
| Tuesday 25.10.2022 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 107 |
| Tuesday 01.11.2022 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 107 |
| Tuesday 08.11.2022 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 107 |
| Tuesday 15.11.2022 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 107 |
| Tuesday 22.11.2022 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 107 |
| Tuesday 29.11.2022 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 107 |
| Tuesday 06.12.2022 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 107 |
| Tuesday 13.12.2022 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 107 |
| Tuesday 20.12.2022 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 107 |
| 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 and 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 |