Fachbereich 7

Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft


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American Modernisms: Forms and Contexts


DozentIn: Jatin Wagle

Veranstaltungstyp: Seminar

Ort: 41/E08

Zeiten: Do. 14:00 - 16:00 (wöchentlich)

Beschreibung: This is a course in American Studies which aims at exploring the multifarious contexts and conceptual underpinnings of early twentieth century literary modernism. Viewed as a complex and ambivalent response to technological and cosmopolitan modernity as well as the social politics that defined the American experience in this era, modernism resists straightforward definitions. In this seminar, we will examine three of its prominent characterizations, namely, modernism as a cultural response to a specific period within American history, as an intense preoccupation with the literary form, and as a transatlantic intellectual project. After tackling contextual and critical readings pertaining to the subject, we will turn to both poetic and narrative texts for close reading and contextual analysis.
We will take up the following literary texts as primary readings:
T. S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” (1919) (A copy will be made available on Stud.IP).
Nella Larsen, _Passing_ (1929)
William Faulkner, _The Sound and the Fury_ (1929) [Recommended edition: Norton Critical edition, ISBN: 978-0393912692 (2014 reprint) or ISBN: 978-0393964813].
In order to take and enjoy this class, you should be willing to read, analyze, and discuss historical and analytical texts, as well as poetry and narrative fiction. Please note that this course can be taken as either a Literary Studies or a Cultural Studies course. Furthermore, this seminar is recommended for fourth and fifth semester students of English and American Studies, as it builds on students’ sound awareness and understanding of critical approaches to the study of literature.
As part of your assigned work in this seminar, all the course participants would need to carefully prepare the reading(s) allotted for a session, develop points of discussion, and respond to the reading(s) via annotations. Our weekly, in-person meetings will be assisted by expert groups/session presenters.
While posting your comments, remarks and questions on digital, collaborative platforms used in this course, please keep in mind that you are communicating and interacting within an academic context. Therefore, your online contributions are expected to articulate informed and well-grounded views that are germane to the course contents, i.e., considered reflections based on analyses and/or scholarly readings.
We will review our progress, revisit and amend the course schedule, our strategies of classroom interaction as well as the seminar contents on a periodic basis. Readings will be made available in a “Readings” folder via links or as pdfs under the “Files” tab.
This course shares requirements and guidelines with other American Studies courses taught at IfAA. The “American Studies Tool Kit” in the Stud.IP “Files” section outlines these requirements and guidelines. Please see the “Guidelines for Seminar Papers” for information on the formal requirements for the final paper. The “Grading Rubric” is used in the grading and feedback process and will enable you to better judge your own paper even before handing it in. Please check the course webpages on Stud.IP regularly for updates, announcements, and changes.
Prerequisites for participation: ANG-B1 module.


zur Veranstaltung in Stud.IP