123044 PS Literary Studies / Proseminar Literature (2018W)

“Always, everywhere, people have walked, veining the earth with paths, visible and invisible, symmetrical and meandering” (Thomas Clark). How, where and why do we walk? What is the relationship between walking and thinking? Walking and writing? Walking and trans(national)identity?
If the whys and wherefores of walking are multiple and diverse, this ancient practice has always been tied to a specific time, history and culture. We can walk for physical, intellectual or spiritual reasons; we can go on a pilgrimage, hike on a mountain, stroll in the city or wander aimlessly. According to Joseph Amato, walking belongs to the history of gesture; it is a language which can reveal a great deal about the walker’s identity and destinations, moods and feelings. From the beggar to the flâneur, the canon of Anglophone literature has from its very inception seamed into fiction a wide range of walks. In this course we will explore the metaphorical, symbolical and allegorical significance of walking and follow the gaits and footsteps of walking characters across different literary genres and contexts.

Participants will develop their practical skills in the critical analysis of literary texts and will be familiarized with some of the theoretical key concepts central to the study and interpretation of walking as cultural practice and semiotic function across different literary genres. In addition, participants will be introduced to the basic methods and techniques of academic writing: how to formulate an original research question, how to apply theoretical concepts to primary texts, how to structure an academic paper.