Courses

Die Teilnahme an der &Üuml;berblicksvorlesung (in engl. Sprache) ist verbunden mit der Mitarbeit an einem der zwei angebotenen Proseminare, in denen ausgewählte Texte diskutiert werden (Beteiligung an einem Kurzreferat). Die ausgewählten Texte werden in einem Reader zusammengestellt, soweit sie nicht in der Shorter Norton Anthology of American Literature (6/7tth edition) enthalten sind. Der Erwerb dieser Anthologie ist unverzichtbare Voraussetzung für ein Studium der amerikanischen Literatur.

Das Seminar dient der Einübung von grundlegenden Techniken literaturwissenschaftlicher Analyse und Interpretation am Beispiel von exemplarischen Texten verschiedener Gattungen. Es steht in engem Bezug zu den in der Vorlesung Einführung in die Literaturwissenschaft" (52 538) erläuterten Konzepten und soll den Teilnehmern die Möglichkeit bieten, sich mit den in der Vorlesung erläuterten Theorien und Modellen aktiv, selbständig und v.a. in Bezug auf ein breites Spektrum von Beispielen auseinanderzusetzen. Zugleich wird es auch um Methoden und Techniken des wissenschaftlichen Arbeitens gehen. ('Wie halte ich ein Referat?'; Recherchestrategien, Umgang mit wissenschaftlichen Hilfsmitteln usw.).

Beginn: 25.10.05

Die Vorlesung will Studierende mit zentralen Problemen, Konzepten und Begriffen des Fachs bekanntmachen und einige Möglichkeiten aufzeigen, diese zu artikulieren und über sie nachzudenken. Am Anfang werden die Grundlagen der Zeichentheorie stehen; darauf aufbauend wird es darum gehen, was Literatur möglicherweise von anderen Weisen der Sprachverwendung unterscheidet, was Literatur ausmacht. Dazu gehören &Üuml;berlegungen zu Sprachfunktionen und zur poetischen Funkion im Besonderen ebenso wie zur Fiktionalität. Im Anschluss daran werden einzelne poetische Verfahrensweisen wie z.B. Metapher, Reim oder Parallelismus, charakteristische Züge erzählender Texte Perspektive/point of view, Erzählsituation etc. sowie strukturelle Besonderheiten des Dramas z.B. die Kommunikationssituation beschrieben und an Beispielen (aus der englischen Literatur) erläutert. Schließlich sollen auch Methoden und Techniken des wissenschaftlichen Arbeitens zumindest einführend erklärt werden. Zu Semesterbeginn wird ein Reader mit ausgewählten Texten zur Verfügung stehen. Wichtiges zur Erzähltheorie ist außerdem zusammengefasst in: Shlomith Rimmon-Kenan, Narrative Fiction: Contemporary Poetics, London: Methuen, 1989. Dieses Buch wird zur Anschaffung empfohlen.

Das Tutorium begleitet die Vorlesung "Einführung in die Literaturwissenschaft" (52 538).

Beginn: 9.11.05

Ziel des Seminars ist es, in die vielfältigen Aspekte der amerikanischen Kultur(en) sowie in die Möglichkeiten und Probleme ihrer Analyse und wissenschaftlichen Repräsentation in den American (Culture) Studies, Women's Studies und African-American Studies einzuführen. Anhand ausgewählter Texte sollen zentrale Vorstellungen des kulturellen Selbstverständnisses der USA (Puritan Errand, American Liberalism, American Dream) sowie einzelne Kulturkonzepte (national character; religious, regional. ethnis, racial and gender differences) im Kontext ihrer historischen und sozialen Bedingungen diskutiert werden.

This seminar focuses on Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) as a writer who occupies a central position in American literature: his work is deeply steeped in historical topics like the Puritan past and literary traditions like the gothic tale, yet at the same time it widely transcends these traditions, re-evaluates American history from a 19th century perspective and develops new modes of writing that have been influential for the development of psychological realism and modernist narrative irony and metafictionality. Two main perspectives will guide our reading of Hawthorne: (1) his cultural criticism, and (2) his narrative strategies. (1) In analyzing Hawthorne as a "cultural critic," the course will predominantly look at his concepts of the American nation which are projected onto his native New England soil. Both in the assessment of its Puritan roots (The Scarlet Letter) and of contemporary utopian ("socialist") communities (The Blithedale Romance), Hawthorne poses complex questions of identity and alterity, of community and individualism, of gender, of the links between history and fiction, art and life. (2) In analyzing Hawthorne's narrative strategies, we will pay attention to his use of imagery (tableaux, the picturesque, mirror images, symbolism) as well as to the narrators of his texts, to narrative modes, psychology and metafictional qualities. Requirements: Regular and active participation; thorough and critical preparation of the literature; one oral presentation and two written assignments (2 pp). Students should familiarize themselves with The Scarlet Letter prior to the beginning of classes. Course material: Students are requested to purchase annotated editions of The Scarlet Letter and The Blithedale Romance (e.g., Oxford Classics). A reader with tales ("Young Goodman Brown," "The Birthmark," "Rappaccini's Daughter," "Wakefield," and others) plus additional material will be ready at the beginning of the course.

Beginn: 26.10.05 (geändert)

ODER: 52 564

The course will offer an introduction to the work of Eugene O'Neill, one of the most prolific and technically versatile U.S.-American playwrights of the twentieth century. After first experimenting with dramatic forms derived from expressionism, O'Neill later attempted to integrate material from U.S.-American history with the spirit of Greek tragedy, while his final works tend towards the theater of the absurd. We will begin by investigating the cultural contexts in which modern American drama emerged with O'Neill as one of its most prominent voices. After analyzing some of his early works such as The Emperor Jones and The Hairy Ape, we will proceed to an interpretation of Mourning Becomes Electra and other plays from O'Neill's "middle period" and conclude with an examination of his final somber vision exemplified by The Iceman Cometh. Close readings of the texts will be supplemented by discussions of selected critics' approaches to his dramatic practice. Particular attention will be paid to the representation of gender, 'race,' and class in O'Neill's writing. Suggested Reading Eugene O'Neill, The Emperor Jones; The Hairy Ape

Beginn: 25.10.05

Designed as an introduction to American visual media and media culture, the course will examine the cultural contexts of the emergence of visual media and their major forms and functions in American society. Drawing on recent theories of media studies the class dis-cussion will especially focus on selected examples of TV fictions and (feature) films in an attempt to understand the character of visual media as cultural representations and signifying practices. Questions that will be of particular interest here are related to the themes, narrative forms and genres in American TV and movies as well as to the political and cultural impact of American media at home and abroad. More detailed information on the syllabus and bibliography/webliography will be available on the American Studies Homepage at the end of September.

Beginn: 25.10.05

The course discusses key concepts of literary and cultural analysis that have been crucial in understanding the specific dynamics of American culture and have been used as paradigms in interdisciplinary American cultural and literary studies. Following an introductory discussion of the concept of culture, the first part will focus on models of American culture and the dialectics between unity and diversity (dimensions of cultural difference): regionalism, melting pot/ethnicity, race/black culture, popular culture/mass culture. The second part will address questions of inter-/transdisciplinary culture studies: American Studies, Women's Studies/Gender Studies, Multiculturalism/Border Discourses/Postcolonialism. The seminar will be based on a reader of selected texts which will be deposited in our library and can be bought at Copy-Haus, Georgenstrasse/corner Universitätsstrasse at the beginning of the semester. Requirements: Regular attendance, in-class presentation, short essay.

Beginn: 26.10.05 (geändert)

Für Studierende aus dem Hauptgebäude: Mo, 17. Oktober 2005, 10-12, HG 2014a

Informationsveranstaltung für alle B.A.-Studierenden im 3. Semester. Diese Veranstaltung ist eine Pflichtveranstaltung zum Modul berufs(feld)bezogene Zusatzqualifikation (Praxismodul). Hier erfahren Sie, wie Sie Ihr Praxismodul erfolgreich gestalten können, welche Veranstaltungen Sie besuchen müssen und welche praktischen Tätigkeiten für Sie verpflichtend sind.

In diesem Workshop lernen Sie Berufsfelder für Sprach- und LiteraturwissenschaftlerInnen kennen und beschäftigen sich mit Fragen Ihrer persönlichen beruflichen Orientierung. Dieser Workshop ist für Sie einmalig und verpflichtend. Da die Teilnehmerzahlen jeweils begrenzt sind, erfolgt die Anmeldung in Ihrer Informationsveranstaltung zum Modul berufs(feld)bezogene Zusatzqualifikation am Semesterbeginn über Einschreiblisten.

Starting with a critical discussion of recent theories of culture and media the course will explore current developments and trends of the American (new) media landscape as well as the cultural contexts that they are grounded in. In an attempt to enhance the competences of reading media the course will introduce approaches to media analysis before investigating selected visual and digital representations in terms of major themes, images and narratives. Since the course will employ digital media as a tool of discussion inside and outside the classroom participants are required to demonstrate basic computer literacy. The final exam (MAP) will consist of either a paper (20 pages) or an oral exam. More detailed information on the syllabus and bibliography/webliography will be available on the American Studies Homepage at the end of September.

Beginn: 27.10.05

This seminar will survey the cultural, political, historical and aesthetic development of Canadian cinema from its beginning to the present-day. Emphasis will be placed on the relationship between cinema and national identity; the work of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), particularly with reference to the documentary and animation traditions; strategies of Canadian feature filmmakers to counter the hegemony of classic Hollywood cinema; and regionalism and federalism as motifs in Canadian cinema.

Beginn: 23.10.05

The seminar will introduce and discuss theories of cultural exchange, particularly from a transatlantic perspective. Historical issues such as the first contacts in the New World, European immigration, and the transatlantic slave trade will be discussed next to theoretical approaches to questions of cultural exchange, such as acculturation, transculturation, and hybridization. We will particularly focus on the "global" quality of American popular culture and related debates such as Americanization, Anti-Americanism, and "Cultural Imperialism." The syllabus will consist of cultural theory, but will also include literary and visual texts. Among other texts, we will read the following: Mary Rowlandson. Narrative of the Captivity of Mary Rowlandson (Norton Anthology) and James Fenimore Cooper. The Last Mohicans. It is recommended to read the texts before the semester starts.

Beginn: 27.10.05

This course will explore how the United States have been using cultural diplomacy as an effective tool of foreign policy. A brief historical survey will discuss the U.S. cultural influence in Europe from World War II throughout the Cold War to provide a basis for discussion. The course will examine current political goals of the U.S., their implementations through the Bush administration in general, and the role of the U.S. Mission Germany in particular. Texts will be provided (mission statements, policy texts, articles, etc.).

This course will go beyond the theoretical study of policy papers. It will acquaint students with a practical approach to cultural diplomacy by providing a closer study of events organized by the U.S. Embassy Cultural Section. Practitioners will lecture on their daily work in the Embassy. Students will prepare group projects in which they develop proposals for events dealing with current poltical, social, economic, and cultural issues (e.g. conferences, cultural festivals, a platform for international exchange of ideas within the framework of German/European-American relations).

Registration: Pl. submit your name, address, and e-mail directly to me (KohlM@state.gov) so you can be registered with security. Don't forget to bring your I.D. (Ausweis). Deadline for registration: October 14.

Course requirements: Your grade will be based upon

• a presentation in class (no longer than 20 minutes; quality of content, delivery, and support materials)
• a written project proposal

The course will be conducted in English. We will meet for double sessions on Friday afternoon, 14:30 to 17:30. Dates: October 21; November 4, 18; December 2, 9; January 6, 13, 20.

Beginn: 21.10.05

Das Kolloquium strebt eine Verbindung von erlerntem Methodenwissen und praktischen Anforderungen an. Hierzu werden zunächst die in den Praktika, dem Studium Generale und den Professional Fields erworbenen Erfahrungen und Kenntnisse erörtert und ausgewertet. In einem nächsten Schritt werden das im Studium erlernte Wissen und besonders die bereits bekannten literatur- und kulturwissenschaftlichen Methoden des Faches hinsichtlich ihrer Berufs(feld)qualifizierung befragt. Es werden auch Akteure aus der Praxis einbezogen. Zu Beginn des Semesters wird ein Reader zum Erwerb bereit gestellt.

Beginn: 26.10.05

Die Vorlesung will Studierende mit zentralen Problemen, Konzepten und Begriffen des Fachs bekanntmachen und einige Möglichkeiten aufzeigen, diese zu artikulieren und über sie nachzudenken. Am Anfang werden die Grundlagen der Zeichentheorie stehen; darauf aufbauend wird es darum gehen, was Literatur möglicherweise von anderen Weisen der Sprachverwendung unterscheidet, was Literatur ausmacht. Dazu gehören &Üuml;berlegungen zu Sprachfunktionen und zur poetischen Funkion im Besonderen ebenso wie zur Fiktionalität. Im Anschluss daran werden einzelne poetische Verfahrensweisen wie z.B. Metapher, Reim oder Parallelismus, charakteristische Züge erzählender Texte Perspektive/point of view, Erzählsituation etc. sowie strukturelle Besonderheiten des Dramas z.B. die Kommunikationssituation beschrieben und an Beispielen (aus der englischen Literatur) erläutert. Schließlich sollen auch Methoden und Techniken des wissenschaftlichen Arbeitens zumindest einführend erklärt werden. Zu Semesterbeginn wird ein Reader mit ausgewählten Texten zur Verfügung stehen. Wichtiges zur Erzähltheorie ist außerdem zusammengefasst in: Shlomith Rimmon-Kenan, Narrative Fiction: Contemporary Poetics, London: Methuen, 1989. Dieses Buch wird zur Anschaffung empfohlen.

Das Seminar dient der Einübung von grundlegenden Techniken literaturwissenschaftlicher Analyse und Interpretation am Beispiel von exemplarischen Texten verschiedener Gattungen. Es steht in engem Bezug zu den in der Vorlesung "Einführung in die Literaturwissenschaft (Anglistik)" erläuterten Konzepten und soll den Teilnehmern die Möglichkeit bieten, sich mit den in der Vorlesung erläuterten Theorien und Modellen aktiv, selbständig und v.a. in bezug auf ein breites Spektrum von Beispielen auseinanderzusetzen. Zugleich wird es auch um Methoden und Techniken des wissenschaftlichen Arbeitens gehen. ('Wie halte ich ein Referat?'; Recherchestrategien, Umgang mit wissenschaftlichen Hilfsmitteln usw.). Die Lehrveranstaltungen finden vorrangig in englischer Sprache statt.

Das Seminar dient der Einübung von grundlegenden Techniken literaturwissenschaftlicher Analyse und Interpretation am Beispiel von exemplarischen Texten verschiedener Gattungen. Es steht in engem Bezug zu den in der Vorlesung "Einführung in die Literaturwissenschaft (Anglistik)" erläuterten Konzepten und soll den Teilnehmern die Möglichkeit bieten, sich mit den in der Vorlesung erläuterten Theorien und Modellen aktiv, selbständig und v.a. in bezug auf ein breites Spektrum von Beispielen auseinanderzusetzen. Zugleich wird es auch um Methoden und Techniken des wissenschaftlichen Arbeitens gehen. ('Wie halte ich ein Referat?'; Recherchestrategien, Umgang mit wissenschaftlichen Hilfsmitteln usw.). Die Lehrveranstaltungen finden vorrangig in englischer Sprache statt.

Das Seminar dient der Einübung von grundlegenden Techniken literaturwissenschaftlicher Analyse und Interpretation am Beispiel von exemplarischen Texten verschiedener Gattungen. Es steht in engem Bezug zu den in der Vorlesung Einführung in die Literaturwissenschaft" (52 538) erläuterten Konzepten und soll den Teilnehmern die Möglichkeit bieten, sich mit den in der Vorlesung erläuterten Theorien und Modellen aktiv, selbständig und v.a. in Bezug auf ein breites Spektrum von Beispielen auseinanderzusetzen. Zugleich wird es auch um Methoden und Techniken des wissenschaftlichen Arbeitens gehen. ('Wie halte ich ein Referat?'; Recherchestrategien, Umgang mit wissenschaftlichen Hilfsmitteln usw.).

Beginn: 25.10.05

Das Tutorium begleitet die Vorlesung "Einführung in die Literaturwissenschaft" (52 538).

Beginn: 9.11.05

Ziel des Seminars ist es, in die vielfältigen Aspekte der amerikanischen Kultur(en) sowie in die Möglichkeiten und Probleme ihrer Analyse und wissenschaftlichen Repräsentation in den American (Culture) Studies, Women's Studies und African-American Studies einzuführen. Anhand ausgewählter Texte sollen zentrale Vorstellungen des kulturellen Selbstverständnisses der USA (Puritan Errand, American Liberalism, American Dream) sowie einzelne Kulturkonzepte (national character; religious, regional. ethnis, racial and gender differences) im Kontext ihrer historischen und sozialen Bedingungen diskutiert werden.

The lecture offers a survey of British cultural history from the Early Modern period to World War II. We will examine essential aspects of the social, economic and political development of Britain and investigate how it shaped the specific nature of British culture in a broad sense.

According to Raymond Williams, culture is one of the most complicated words in the English language. Even though the word had been used before, it is only at the turn of the 19th century that the concept was developing in English towards some of its modern senses when it came to designate a whole and distinctive way of life. The emergence of culture as a concept also signifies the recognition of the separation of certain moral and intellectual activities from the impetus of modern industrial society. While the emphasis on culture became a sort of court of human appeal to curb the worst effects of Utilitarianism, at the same time, however, Matthew Arnold advocated culture in order to oppose the demands for more political democracy of his day. The seminar will introduce students to the problem of concept formation and its inherent politics. We will study a number of texts by Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Matthew Arnold, JohnRuskin, William Morris and others who contributed to the formation of the concept of culture. A reader with the texts will be available at the beginning of term.

Dieser Kurs beschäftigt sich mit Utopien in englischen Texten. Thomas Morus, Michel de Montaigne, William Shakespeare, Jonathan Swift, Mary Wollstonecraft und andere werden mit ihren Texten Grundlage für unsere Seminardiskussion sein. Die Studenten bilden Teams, stellen in Kolloquien passagenweise die Gesamttexte vor und offerieren damit eine Diskussionsgrundlage. Die Seminarsprache wird Englisch sein. Weitere Informationen erfolgen im ersten Seminar.

Beginn:27.10.05

Die Teilnahme an der &Üuml;berblicksvorlesung (in engl. Sprache) ist verbunden mit der Mitarbeit an einem der zwei angebotenen Proseminare, in denen ausgewählte Texte diskutiert werden (Beteiligung an einem Kurzreferat). Die ausgewählten Texte werden in einem Reader zusammengestellt, soweit sie nicht in der Shorter Norton Anthology of American Literature (6/7tth edition) enthalten sind. Der Erwerb dieser Anthologie ist unverzichtbare Voraussetzung für ein Studium der amerikanischen Literatur.

Genre und Gender in Classical Hollywood Bestimmte Film-Genres ziehen ein weibliches Publikum an (Romantic Comedy), andere ein eher männliches (Actionmovies). Ebenso sind Helden- und Starkonstruktionen, Sehkonventionen und Filmdramaturgie geschlechtlich codiert. Das Seminar wird an Beispielen klassischer Hollywood-Genres wie Western, film noir, Melodrama und Horror eine Einführung in Filmanalyse, feministische Filmtheorie und Genre-Kritik geben. Wegen des Medieneinsatzes hat das Seminar eine strikt begrenzte TeilnahmerInnenzahl. Freien Zugang haben (mit Anmeldung!) Studierende des BA Studiengangs, die das Modul 8 absolvieren müssen. Anmeldungen bis 15. September bei gabriele.dietze@rz.hu-berlin.de Literatur: David Bordwell et. al, Classical Hollywood Cinema, New York 1985; Sue Tornham (ed.), Feminist Film Theory, New York 1999, Stephen Neal, Genre und Hollywood, New York 2000

Beginn: 25.10.05

Although announced dead by many theorists and critics, class, and the working class in particular, have recently come under renewed critical investigation, especially in relation to its intersections with race and gender issues. In the wake of such reinvigoration, this seminar will attempt to trace the significance of class and the presence of the working class in contemporary British culture. Drawing on, among others, Raymond Williams and the British cultural studies tradition, we shall be studying cultural presentations of lives and experiences of working class people in literature and film since the 1980s, e.g., Pat Barker's Liza's England, James Kelman's The Busconductor Hines as well as films by Mike Leigh and Ken Loach. Seminar participants are required to be in possession of their own copies of Liza's England (Virago) and The Busconductor Hines (Phoenix). Further material will be made available as master copies by the beginning of term.

An Essay, or 'attempt' in the proper sense of the word, presents a train of thought. The relative openness and flexibility of the form of the Essay accomodates divers purposes and styles. The sometimes playful, discursive, informal and also intimate reflexions presented in the Essay may account for its popularity throughout literary history. Although the Essay has flourished from the 15th century onwards, it has been largely and unduly neglected by literary scholarship. In this course we will explore the form of the Essay in a diachronic approach, which will take its starting point in Early Modern England, including Essays by European predecessors and contemporaries (Bacon, Montaigne). A further main focus of interest will be the development of the art of Essay writing in the 17th and 18th centuries (Dryden, Pope, Addison, Johnson, Coleridge). Finally, we will study Essays from the beginning of the 20th century (Woolf, Eliot, Huxley) and also look at contemporary Essays (Rushdie). Although this is strictly not a course in Essay writing, our close-readings and detailed textual analyses are set out to familiarize students with techniques of Essay writing and will give them the opportunity to write essayistic texts themselves. A reader will be made available at the beginning of the semester.

This course will provide an introduction into literary and cultural theory. Apart from gaining a more general overview, we will be concerned with detailed textual analysis. We will start with the New Criticism, and study some of the dominant schools, trends and tendencies in Anglo-American criticism throughout the 20th Century. Students should be prepared to present one theoretical approach in class and read about 30-50 pages per week. A reader will be made available at the beginning of the semester.

The conspicuous proliferation of Holocaust imagery and discourse in American culture since the 1970ies is a phenomenon that has been both acclaimed and subjected to severe controversy. The seminar thus focuses on two questions: 1. What are the meanings of the Holocaust for American culture as a whole and American literary history in the 20th century in particular? 2. How has the Holocaust influenced theoretical debates on central binarisms of literary studies such as representation vs. the fictive, witness/testimony vs. memory, the aesthetic vs. the ethical? These questions will be explored through the reading of both fictional texts (one novel, short stories, films, cartoons), theoretical articles (e.g. LaCapra, Hartman, Lang) and excerpts from political-sociological studies (e.g. Novick, Finkelstein, Cole). With respect to the literary texts, the focus will be on writers of the second and third generations after those who survived the Holocaust or were living when it happened. The course material will be made available in a reader at the beginning of the semester. Requirements: regular attendance, active class participation, one oral report.

Beginn: 21.10.05

This seminar focuses on Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) as a writer who occupies a central position in American literature: his work is deeply steeped in historical topics like the Puritan past and literary traditions like the gothic tale, yet at the same time it widely transcends these traditions, re-evaluates American history from a 19th century perspective and develops new modes of writing that have been influential for the development of psychological realism and modernist narrative irony and metafictionality. Two main perspectives will guide our reading of Hawthorne: (1) his cultural criticism, and (2) his narrative strategies. (1) In analyzing Hawthorne as a "cultural critic," the course will predominantly look at his concepts of the American nation which are projected onto his native New England soil. Both in the assessment of its Puritan roots (The Scarlet Letter) and of contemporary utopian ("socialist") communities (The Blithedale Romance), Hawthorne poses complex questions of identity and alterity, of community and individualism, of gender, of the links between history and fiction, art and life. (2) In analyzing Hawthorne's narrative strategies, we will pay attention to his use of imagery (tableaux, the picturesque, mirror images, symbolism) as well as to the narrators of his texts, to narrative modes, psychology and metafictional qualities. Requirements: Regular and active participation; thorough and critical preparation of the literature; one oral presentation and two written assignments (2 pp). Students should familiarize themselves with The Scarlet Letter prior to the beginning of classes. Course material: Students are requested to purchase annotated editions of The Scarlet Letter and The Blithedale Romance (e.g., Oxford Classics). A reader with tales ("Young Goodman Brown," "The Birthmark," "Rappaccini's Daughter," "Wakefield," and others) plus additional material will be ready at the beginning of the course.

Beginn: 26.10.05 (geändert)

The course will offer an introduction to the work of Eugene O'Neill, one of the most prolific and technically versatile U.S.-American playwrights of the twentieth century. After first experimenting with dramatic forms derived from expressionism, O'Neill later attempted to integrate material from U.S.-American history with the spirit of Greek tragedy, while his final works tend towards the theater of the absurd. We will begin by investigating the cultural contexts in which modern American drama emerged with O'Neill as one of its most prominent voices. After analyzing some of his early works such as The Emperor Jones and The Hairy Ape, we will proceed to an interpretation of Mourning Becomes Electra and other plays from O'Neill's "middle period" and conclude with an examination of his final somber vision exemplified by The Iceman Cometh. Close readings of the texts will be supplemented by discussions of selected critics' approaches to his dramatic practice. Particular attention will be paid to the representation of gender, 'race,' and class in O'Neill's writing. Suggested Reading Eugene O'Neill, The Emperor Jones; The Hairy Ape

Beginn: 25.10.05

The conspicuous proliferation of Holocaust imagery and discourse in American culture since the 1970ies is a phenomenon that has been both acclaimed and subjected to severe controversy. The seminar thus focuses on two questions: 1. What are the meanings of the Holocaust for American culture as a whole and American literary history in the 20th century in particular? 2. How has the Holocaust influenced theoretical debates on central binarisms of literary studies such as representation vs. the fictive, witness/testimony vs. memory, the aesthetic vs. the ethical? These questions will be explored through the reading of both fictional texts (one novel, short stories, films, cartoons), theoretical articles (e.g. LaCapra, Hartman, Lang) and excerpts from political-sociological studies (e.g. Novick, Finkelstein, Cole). With respect to the literary texts, the focus will be on writers of the second and third generations after those who survived the Holocaust or were living when it happened. The course material will be made available in a reader at the beginning of the semester. Requirements: regular attendance, active class participation, one oral report.

Beginn: 21.10.05

Der Motivkomplex Weiblichkeit und Tod hat eine lange Tradition in der westlichen Literatur- und Kulturgeschichte: Er reicht von der Antike über das Mittelalter bis hin zur (Post)Moderne. In den unterschiedlichen Epochen, Medien und Genres erfährt er jedoch die unterschiedlichsten Ausprägungen und wird vor allem in Zeiten kultureller Umbrüche imaginiert, was sich zugleich als eine Reaktion auf die Neuorganisation von Wissen liest, die immer auch eine Verschiebung geschlechtsspezifischer Macht- und Herrschaftsverhältnisse nach sich zieht. Im Seminar wollen wir daher den Motivkomplex Tod und Weiblichkeit in Hinblick auf den Zusammenhang von Genre, Gender und Medien diskutieren sowie den Fragen nachgehen, welche Funktionen Darstellungen von Tod und Weiblichkeit haben und in welcher Beziehung der Motivkomplex zu gesellschaftlichen Macht- und Herrschaftsverhältnissen steht?

Beginn: 27.10.05

Based upon a closer look at the cultural and literary contexts of the 1960s that in many ways informed non-fiction writing as a reaction to the notion of the proclaimed death of the author resp. the novel and critical movements such as deconstruction - both of which were directed at destabilizing the "truth" of fiction - the course will explore the particular nature of the American non-fiction novel. The discussion will focus on the hybrid character of non-fiction representing facts of history in an attempt to create new forms of fiction, and investigate the specific ways in which the contact zones between fact and fiction are negotiated and constructed in selected texts by authors such as Truman Capote, Norman Mailer and Tom Wolfe. Course requirements include regular class attendance, a presentation in class as well as a final paper (25 pages). More detailed information on the syllabus and bibliography/webliography will be available on the American Studies Homepage at the end of September.

Beginn: 25.10.05

The course focuses on the intersections between politics and aesthetics in the 1930s. The economic hardships engendered by the Great Depression affected many artists' perceptions of their role as intellectuals, their choice of subject matter, and arguably their creative styles as well. The New Deal Government's uncommonly active cultural policy also had a noticeable impact on the decade's cultural production in areas such as the theater or photography, for instance. At the same time, Modernism's emphasis on formal innovation continued to inform literature and the arts. In the course of the semester, we will discuss the Federal Arts Project, the Federal Theater Project, and the photography sponsored by the Farm Security Administration, as well as novels by John Dos Passos, Nathanael West, John Steinbeck, Tess Slesinger, Meridel le Sueur, and Zora Neale Hurston, plays by Eugene O'Neill and others, and popular literature such as detective fiction. Requirements for a Leistungsschein include an oral presentation, a written term paper, and active participation in class discussion. Recommended Reading: Shulman, Robert. Voices of Persuasion: Politics of Representation in 1930s America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Cooney, Terry A. Balancing Acts: American Thought and Culture in the 1930s. New York: Twayne, 1995. Rabinowitz, Paula. Labor and Desire: Women's Revolutionary Fiction in Depression America. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1991.

Beginn: 27.10.05

Particularly after 9/11, the public and political debates in the United States have vehemently demonstrated that religion and faith continue to be constitutive sources for understanding and interpreting American society. While some critics describe the most recent increase in religious rhetoric in American politics as well as the growth of religious organizations as having a powerful impact on American culture and society on a hitherto unknown scale, others explain this new religious wave as a manifestation of yet another "Great awakening", a movement that has occurred time and again throughout American history, and thus as a phenomenon that will eventually loose momentum. By exploring the major historical and cultural foundations as well as manifestations of religion the United States the course will discuss the nature, function and the impact of religious thought and practice on the self-definition of America and their repercussions on current American politics and culture both domestic and international. Course requirements include regular class attendance, a presentation as well as a final paper (25 pages). More detailed information on the syllabus and bibliography/webliography will be available on the American Studies Homepage at the end of September.

Beginn: 27.10.05

Despite its ubiquity in contemporary public discourse, sport has rarely been investigated in cultural studies. The course will analyze sports as a discourse central to the construction of gender, 'race'/ethnicity, class, and national identity in U.S.-American culture from the late nineteenth to the early twenty-first century. We will examine the representation of sports in literary texts such as Don De Lillo's Underworld and Paul Beatty's White Boy Shuffle as well as the cultural significance of televised and broadcast sports events. Topics to be discussed include Theodore Roosevelt, bodybuilding, and the emergence of "passionate masculinity", the "New Woman" and the bicycle, sports and Jewish identity, racism and boxing, the role of sports in higher education, and sports and homophobia. Recommended Reading: Varda Burstyn, The Rites of Men: Manhood, Politics, and the Culture of Sport (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999)

Beginn: 25.10.05

The course focuses on the intersections between politics and aesthetics in the 1930s. The economic hardships engendered by the Great Depression affected many artists' perceptions of their role as intellectuals, their choice of subject matter, and arguably their creative styles as well. The New Deal Government's uncommonly active cultural policy also had a noticeable impact on the decade's cultural production in areas such as the theater or photography, for instance. At the same time, Modernism's emphasis on formal innovation continued to inform literature and the arts. In the course of the semester, we will discuss the Federal Arts Project, the Federal Theater Project, and the photography sponsored by the Farm Security Administration, as well as novels by John Dos Passos, Nathanael West, John Steinbeck, Tess Slesinger, Meridel le Sueur, and Zora Neale Hurston, plays by Eugene O'Neill and others, and popular literature such as detective fiction. Requirements for a Leistungsschein include an oral presentation, a written term paper, and active participation in class discussion. Recommended Reading: Shulman, Robert. Voices of Persuasion: Politics of Representation in 1930s America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Cooney, Terry A. Balancing Acts: American Thought and Culture in the 1930s. New York: Twayne, 1995. Rabinowitz, Paula. Labor and Desire: Women's Revolutionary Fiction in Depression America. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1991.

Beginn: 27.10.05

Das Seminar beschäftigt sich mit zweierlei Diskursformationen, 1. Mit ‚Krankheiten' in denen sich soziale Konflikte oder Disziplinierungsdruck Ausdruck verschaffen oder 2. mit ‚pathologischen' Reaktionsformen hegemonialer Strukturen (Massenhysterien) auf unerwünschte Subjekte. Es wird dabei um weibliche und männliche (shellshock) Hysterie bis zum Ende des 1. Weltkrieges gehen, einen ‚Rape-Lynching-Komplex' in den USA des frühen 20. Jahrhunderts, AIDS, ‚Multiple Persönlichkeitsstörung' und Schönheitswahn im 21. Jahrhundert. Begrenzte Teilnehmerzahl: Anmeldung bis 1. Oktober gabriele.dietze@rz.hu-berlin.de Literatur: Susan Sontag, Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and its Metaphors, New York 2001; Elaine Showalter, Hystories, New York, 1998; Kathy Davis, Dubious Equalities and Embodied Differences: Cultural Studies on Cosmetic Surgery, Berkeley 2003

Das Kolloquium richtet sich an Studierende, die an ihrer Magisterarbeit oder ihrer Dissertation arbeiten und daran interessiert sind, Entwürfe für ihre Arbeiten oder auch einzelne Kapitel in der Gruppe zu besprechen. Auch theoretische Texte, die für einzelne Arbeiten zentral sind, können gemeinsam gelesen und diskutiert werden.

Beginn: 28.10.05

Dieses Examenskolloquium richtet sich an Genderstudierende und AmerikanistInnen, die eine Magisterarbeit mit einem Gender-Schwerpunkt schreiben oder planen. Das Kolloquium bietet Hilfestellung bei Themenfindung, Expose, Strukturierung und Methodenfragen

Beginn: 27. 10.05

Das Kolloquium "Toolbox: Theories and Methods For Your Final Paper" orientiert sich an den Bedürfnissen von Studierenden in der Examensphase: Es verbindet eine systematische Wiederholung theoretischer literatur- und kulturwissenschaftlicher Kenntnisse mit dem Training zentraler Fähigkeiten und Fertigkeiten für das Verfassen einer längeren wissenschaftlichen Arbeit sowie mit der Vermittlung von Strategien zur Selbstorganisation und Motivation während des Forschungs- und Schreibprozesses. Es bietet Studierenden, die in der Abschlussphase ihres Studiums vielfach unter Isolation und Mangel an Zusammenarbeit leiden, die Möglichkeit des wissenschaftlichen und persönlichen Austausch mit KommilitonInnen, bzw. ermöglicht angehenden DoktorandInnen, frühzeitig fachbereichsinterne und interdisziplinäre Netzwerke zu bilden. Weiterhin werden Präsentations- und Kommentartechniken vermittelt und erprobt, mittels derer sich die Studierenden auf die Teilnahme an Konferenzen und Symposien vorbereiten können.

Ziel des PT ist es, einen Einblick in die vielseitige Kultur der verschiedenen Latino communities in den USA jenseits des ‚mainstream' zu erlangen. Erster Analyseschwerpunkt des Semesters wird dabei die Rolle der Latinos in der Entstehungsgeschichte und Gegenwart des HipHop sein. Dabei interessieren besonders die unterschiedlichen Konstruktionsmodelle von race (der anglo-/hispanophonen Gesellschaft) sowie intrakulturelle Konflikte wie 'Pan-ethnische' Allianzen oder der interne Rassismus innerhalb der Latino Community, bzw. der Afroamerikanischen Gemeinde gegenüber. Der zweite Schwerpunkt des Semesters liegt in der Beschäftigung mit der Repräsentation von Latinos im U.S. Film einerseits, sowie andererseits mit Filmen, die aus der Latino Community heraus entstanden sind. Das letzte Drittel des Semesters wird der Textproduktion eines 'project paper' gewidmet sein, welches anschließend veröffentlicht werden soll.

•   Symposium Web Site