Universität Wien
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123425 SE Literary & Cultural Studies Seminar / BA Paper / MA American/North American Lit./Studies (2017S)

Re-reading the American Renaissance

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. 20 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

First session=MARCH 14!!!!
May 9, 10-4 SYMPOSIUM with guest lectures, mandatory to attend!
no session in the last week of the semester

  • Tuesday 14.03. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 21.03. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 28.03. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 04.04. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 25.04. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 02.05. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 09.05. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 16.05. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 23.05. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 30.05. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 13.06. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 20.06. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 27.06. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The American Renaissance, referring to a period in American (or rather: New England) Literature so termed by F.O. Matthiessen in 1941 which ran from about 1830 to around the Civil War, has been a major category in the canonization of romanticist and transcendentalist writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Herman Melville. Matthiessen argues that all of these writers, heretofore little acknowledged, shared a devotion to "the possibilities of democracy." At the time of World War II and its Cold War aftermath, this interpretation recalled the literary nationalism of the mid-19th century, calling for a unique American literary style to distinguish it from British literature. In this class, we will re-examine core texts of the period regarding their alleged democratic values on the one hand, but on the other also try to find approaches to make these texts speak to prevalent issues of our own times. In order to do so, we will address a variety of critical perspectives on these texts, from feminism to race criticism and environmental studies. In addition, the process of canon-formation will be critically assessed.

Methods: text discussions, lecture elements, single/pair/group work

Assessment and permitted materials

1) written assignments: response paper; posting question for discussion on each text (by Monday 6 p.m., Moodle Forum)
2) presentation: research, audience-oriented 15-minute academic presentation (incl. slides & handout)
3) seminar/BA paper

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Grading Scheme:
ACTIVE Participation (discussions, questions via email, response paper) 25%
Presentations 25%
Seminar Paper 50%

Examination topics

Reading list

Available at Facultas soon:
Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Herman Melville, Moby Dick
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin
All other primary and secondary texts will be available via Moodle.

Association in the course directory

Studium: UF 344, BA 612, MA 844;
Code/Modul: UF 4.2.4-322, BA09.2, 10.2, MA5, MA6, MA7;
Lehrinhalt: 12-0406

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:33