Universität Wien

123422 SE Literary & Cultural Studies Seminar / BA Paper / MA British/Irish/New English (2011W)

Flann O'Brien

11.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 12 - Anglistik
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 18 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Tuesday 11.10. 10:05 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 18.10. 10:05 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 25.10. 10:05 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 08.11. 10:05 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 15.11. 10:05 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 22.11. 10:05 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 29.11. 10:05 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 06.12. 10:05 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 13.12. 10:05 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 10.01. 10:05 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 17.01. 10:05 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 24.01. 10:05 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 31.01. 10:05 - 12:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The Irish writer Flann O'Brien/Myles na gCopaleen/Brian O'Nolan (1911-1966), often praised as one of the funniest writers in the English language, has been a cult figure on the literary scene for some time. In the German-speaking countries he is best known through the translations of his work by Harry Rowohlt; the film version of his first novel, In Schwimmen-Zwei-Vögel (1997), directed by Kurt Palm, is one of the cult classics of Austrian cinema. Flann O'Brien, together with James Joyce and Samuel Beckett, makes up the "holy trinity" of (post-)modern Irish literature. His first novel At Swim-Two-Birds (1939) is a milestone in the history of "meta-fiction", i.e. self-reflexive novel-writing; The Third Policeman (a novel written around 1939/40, but not published until 1967) combines ludic and meta-fictional elements with the darker modes of the absurd and the grotesque. Over several decades, Flann O'Brien as Myles na gCopaleen wrote a celebrated column for The Irish Times under a variety of pseudonyms and in both languages, Irish and English. In 1941, he published An Béal Bocht/The Poor Mouth (1941), a satirical novel on romantic images of "Irish Ireland".
The recent "100 Myles: The International Flann O'Brien Centenary Conference" held at the Department of English made obvious the importance of this writer and the need for further study (see http://www.univie.ac.at/flannobrien2011/).

Assessment and permitted materials

Requirements for credit: regular attendance, active participation in class, PowerPoint presentation, research paper (20-25 pp.), written final test.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

It is the aim of this course to make students familiar with the work of one of the canonical writers of Irish Literature and introduce them to some of the main themes of Irish cultural history of the first half of the 20th century. Various 'aspects of the novel' as a basic literary genre will also be discussed.

Examination topics

Class discussion of selected texts, presentations on literary and historical background, student presentations on selected topics.
NB: Students wishing to register early and ready to take on one of the topics for oral presentations in October/early November are kindly asked to contact Prof. Huber via e-mail wern.huber@univie.ac.at ASAP.

Reading list

Required reading (preferably in these editions):
At Swim-Two-Birds (Penguin Modern Classics); The Third Policeman (Harper Perennial Modern Classics).
A customised anthology (containing additional texts) will be available at StudienServiceStelle from 15 September onwards. Additional material will be provided on an e-learning platform. Therefore, students should familiarise themselves in advance with the MOODLE platform. For introduction and self-guided tour, please see https://elearning.univie.ac.at/.
Students are also asked to study the conference website <http://www.univie.ac.at/flannobrien2011/>.

Association in the course directory

Studium: Diplom 343, UF 344, BA 612, MA 844;
Code/Modul: Diplom 322, 326/328, 336/338, 426/428, 436/438, 526/528, 536/538, 721-723, 821, UF 4.2.4-322, BA09.2, 10.2, MA4, MA6, MA7;
Lehrinhalt: 12-0265

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:33