Fachbereich 7

Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft


Navigation und Suche der Universität Osnabrück


Hauptinhalt

Topinformationen

Fleeing Thoughts: Intellectuals in Exile


DozentIn: Jatin Wagle

Veranstaltungstyp: Seminar

Ort: 41/E07

Zeiten: Mo. 16:00 - 18:00 (wöchentlich)

Beschreibung: Edward Said, in his essay on “Traveling Theory,” speaks about the movements of critical ideas across places and times, and how they tend to lose their potency through their journeys, especially if they are received without sufficient regard to their own “worldliness,” i.e., their immersion in the specific contexts of their inception. Apart from the circulation of critical thought, Said has also addressed the thorny question of the migrant movements of critical intellectuals. He cites Theodor W. Adorno as an exemplary émigré figure since he refused to tailor his thought to suit the institutional demands of his exile in the United States and yet remained intellectually productive. This course in American Studies seeks to explore the politics of intellectual transfer while exploring the transatlantic travels of Critical Theory [Kritische Theorie]. In particular, it aims to revisit Said’s claims about the worldliness of theories and the otherworldliness of émigré intellectuals such as Adorno, as we map the complicated journeys of Critical Theory and theorists from the Weimar Republic to the United States in the 1930s and 1940s, until its remigration to the Federal Republic in the 1950s.
This seminar will take up a very challenging selection of theoretical and analytical texts that demand careful preparation and thoughtful discussion. Please note that this seminar is recommended for advanced master’s students since it builds upon their awareness and understanding of the advanced concepts and theories in literary and cultural studies.
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 “Examination Requirements” 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 paper even before handing it in. Please check the course webpages on Stud.IP regularly for updates, announcements, and changes.
As part of your assigned work in this seminar, all 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 on Google Docs. If you have queries or doubts, they should also be raised on the digital, collaborative tools. The due dates for your contributions will be mentioned in the syllabus wiki. Our weekly, in-person meetings will be assisted by expert groups.
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.


zur Veranstaltung in Stud.IP