Prof. Dr. Vera Nünning Lehrveranstaltungen

Vorlesung
Overview of Key Concepts of the Study of Culture

• Mittwoch 14:00 – 16:00, HS 14

This series of lectures is designed as an introduction to central themes and methods of cultural analysis on the basis of current and historical theories of culture. Students will learn about, among others, cultural ‘Ways of Worldmaking’ (Goodman) and cultural memory, cultural semiotics, theoretical models of culture and their interpretations, culture as performance, visual culture, and many other interesting and important aspects of cultural studies. An additional emphasis will be on the combination of theory and the potential application of cultural studies in your further studies.Thus, pertinent examples from British and American cultural history - such as Elizabethan courtly culture, Washington's Commonplace Book, 18^th-century consumer culture, or the British Empire and Orientalism - will be constant points of reference.


Proseminar Kulturwissenschaft
Introduction to the Study of British Culture

• Dienstag 11:00–13:00, 114

"History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are." (David McCullough)Have you always been fascinated by the tales about Henry VIII and his six wives? Do you always get the Queen Elizabeths mixed up? This is the course for you! The seminar aims at providing a rough framework of crucial periods in British history and a set of categories which you can use to continue the study of British culture on your own. We will explore developments in a variety of fields ranging from social history to the history of mentalities, which will also help you with your studies of the literature of the time.

In addition to important general aspects of (past and present) cultures, we will examine examples taken from three interesting periods in British cultural history: We will start with the Tudors–from Henry VIII to Elizabeth as the ‘Virgin Queen’ –continue with a study of key issues of the late 18^th century, and then look at important social developments in the wake of the Industrial Revolution.

We will also study excerpts from historical sources, which will be made available in the ‘Handapparat’.


Hauptseminar Literaturwissenschaft
Beginnings: A New Look at the Development of British Novels from the 18^th to the 21^st Century

• Mittwoch 11:00–13:00, 333

In this Hauptseminar, we will be dealing with three different, though related topics. First, we will explore the importance of beginnings: Why are the beginnings of stories (including those we tell every day) important? What are their implications or the meaning of the whole story? Second, we will be concerned with the significance of style: What are the particularities of different styles, and how are they related to the meaning of the story? Third, we will try to gain insight into the development of British novels: reading closely the beginnings of selected novels published during the last four centuries, we will try to reconstruct major turns in the development of British fiction.

This seminar is research oriented; it can also be useful for future teachers who need to be able to extract a lot of meaning from brief texts. The beginnings of a number of British novels will be available in the Handapparat. In the first session, we will discuss which additional beginnings of novels we want to explore.
 

Colloquium for PhD Students

• Dienstag 14:00 – 16:00, 115

This seminar is intended for doctorate students of English and American Studies in the field of Literary Science. Here, basic problems that arise when writing a dissertation, as well as selected theories and topics will be discussed.

Dieses Seminar richtet sich an Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden der anglistischen und amerikanistischen Literaturwissenschaft. Im Mittelpunkt stehen die Diskussion grundlegender Probleme, die sich beim Verfassen einer literaturwissenschaftlichen Dissertation ergeben, sowie ausgewählte Theorien (etwa feministische Narratologie) und Themen.

Vorlesung
Overview of Key Concepts of the Study of Culture

• Tuesday 9:15 -10:45, HS 14

Mit Dr. Löffler, Priv.-Doz. Dr. Peterfy, Priv.-Doz. Dr. Rupp
This series of lectures is designed as an introduction to central themes and methods of cultural analysis on the basis of current and historical theories of culture. Students will learn about, among others, cultural ‘Ways of Worldmaking’ (Goodman) and cultural memory, cultural semiotics, theoretical models of culture and their interpretations, culture as performance, visual culture, and many other interesting and important aspects of cultural studies. An additional emphasis will be on the combination of theory and the potential application of cultural studies in your further studies.Thus, pertinent examples from British and American cultural history -such as Elizabethan courtly culture, Washington's Commonplace Book, 18^th-century consumer culture, or the British Empire and Orientalism -will be constant points of reference.


Vorlesung
British Culture from the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Century

• Mittwoch 11:15–12:45, HS 04

Why is Queen Elizabeth II on the Canadian 20$ note? And on all Australian coins? Why was Henry VIII so important, even though he had so many of his wives killed? British culture is as fascinating as it is complex the aim of this lecture is to introduce you to important developments and central characteristics of British culture and ask which frameworks can be useful to contextualize important events and persons.

The lecture was instigated by the Fachschaft and is meant as a kind of companion lecture to the “Overview of Key Concepts of the Study of Culture.” In this lecture, we will proceed chronologically, and explore developments in a variety of fields ranging from social history to the history of mentalities. We will begin with the Tudors and try to understand this complex and contradictory period, which set the course for future developments. The six wives of Henry VIII do play a role in this context, but brief biographies and stories about important persons and major events will be mainly used to exemplify larger developments and contexts. In a similar vein, the execution of Charles I, the founding of the Commonwealth and the establishment of a consumer culture as well as the Industrial Revolution will be explored in order to illuminate key aspects of British culture throughout the centuries. Needless to say, major developments in British literature will be mentioned, too, though it remains up to you to explore this field in more depth.


Hauptseminar Literaturwissenschaft
Contemporary British Novels and the Dissemination of Values

• Dienstag 11:15 - 12:45, 115

Contemporary discourses abound with discussion about values. Different values are evaluated and used for the justification of contradictory policies: in many ways, values are linked to some of the most pressing questions of our time.

In literary studies, the question of which values are inherent in contemporary works is usually more or less marginalized; it even seems a little outdated. However, since psychologists have found out that fictional narratives can change our ways of thinking as well as our attitudes, the question of which values texts disseminate is not just an academic matter. Particularly teachers (at school and at universities) might profit from being aware of the persuasive power of fiction, and from asking which values are presented in literary works. This is not a simple question, since there are no ready-made answers or methods. We will use literary and psychological approaches in order to understand which values are disseminated in which works.

All of you should read Ian McEwan, The Children Act (2014); and Tom Franklin, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter (2010). London: Pan Books 2014. We will decide in the first session which additional two British novels from the eighteenth (and nineteenth) century we want to discuss.

Colloquium for PhD Students
 

• Dienstag 14:00 – 16:00, 115

This seminar is intended for doctorate students of English and American Studies in the field of Literary Science. Here, basic problems that arise when writing a dissertation, as well as selected theories and topics will be discussed.

Dieses Seminar richtet sich an Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden der anglistischen und amerikanistischen Literaturwissenschaft. Im Mittelpunkt stehen die Diskussion grundlegender Probleme, die sich beim Verfassen einer literaturwissenschaftlichen Dissertation ergeben, sowie ausgewählte Theorien (etwa feministische Narratologie) und Themen.

Vorlesung
Overview of Key Concepts of the Study of Culture

• Tuesday 9:15 -10:45, HS 14

Mit Dr. Löffler, Priv.-Doz. Dr. Peterfy, Priv.-Doz. Dr. Rupp
This series of lectures is designed as an introduction to central themes and methods of cultural analysis on the basis of current and historical theories of culture. Students will learn about, among others, cultural ‘Ways of Worldmaking’ (Goodman) and cultural memory, cultural semiotics, theoretical models of culture and their interpretations, culture as performance, visual culture, and many other interesting and important aspects of cultural studies. An additional emphasis will be on the combination of theory and the potential application of cultural studies in your further studies.Thus, pertinent examples from British and American cultural history - such as Elizabethan courtly culture, Washington's Commonplace Book, 18^th-century consumer culture, or the British Empire and Orientalism - will be constant points of reference.
 

Vorlesung
Overview of Key Concepts of the Study of Culture

• Tuesday 9:15 -10:45, HS 14

Mit Dr. Löffler, Priv.-Doz. Dr. Peterfy, Priv.-Doz. Dr. Rupp
This series of lectures is designed as an introduction to central themes and methods of cultural analysis on the basis of current and historical theories of culture. Students will learn about, among others, cultural ‘Ways of Worldmaking’ (Goodman) and cultural memory, cultural semiotics, theoretical models of culture and their interpretations, culture as performance, visual culture, and many other interesting and important aspects of cultural studies. An additional emphasis will be on the combination of theory and the potential application of cultural studies in your further studies.Thus, pertinent examples from British and American cultural history -such as Elizabethan courtly culture, Washington's Commonplace Book, 18^th-century consumer culture, or the British Empire and Orientalism -will be constant points of reference.


Hauptseminar
Cultural Ways of Worldmaking

• Mittwoch 16:00 – 18:00, 112

The world we live in is created by our ways of dealing with the environment and negotiating social problems and cultural norms. While we cannot construct our worlds ex nihilo, we can influence them by the way we respond to and shape realities and decide which courses we want to take. However, we are not the only actors in this play: policy makers, the social media, and algorithms (‘big data’) shape our surrounding and induce us to make particular choices. The fundamental – though often unnoticed – changes of our life styles and the world we live in also involve literature “in the age of amazon”.

In this seminar, we will try to gain insight into the mechanisms and processes that shape our contemporary ways of worldmaking. Since literary works are unique in not only showing, but also reflecting on cultural ways of worldmaking, we will focus on contemporary novels, exploring both the ways in which narrative fictions create literary worlds and how they reflect upon worldmaking at large. We will also look at other discourses, media and factual narratives, in order to analyze their respective ways of worldmaking.

The first novel which we will discuss is Dave Eggers, The Circle (2013). In the first session, we will discuss which additional novels we want to read.


Proseminar Kulturwissenschaft
Introduction to the Study of British Culture

• Mittwoch 11:00 – 13:00, 116

“The further backwards you look, the further forward you can see.” (Winston Churchill)

Have you always been fascinated by the tales about Henry VIII and his six wives? Do you always get the Queen Elizabeths mixed up? This is the course for you! The seminar aims at providing a rough framework of crucial periods in British history and a set of categories you can use in order to continue the study of British culture on your own. We will explore developments in a variety of fields ranging from social history to the history of mentalities, which will also help you with your studies of the literature of the time.

In addition to important general aspects of (past and present) cultures, we will examine examples taken from three interesting periods in British cultural history: We will start with the Tudors – from Henry VIII to Elizabeth as the “Virgin Queen” – continue with a study of key issues of the late 18^th century, and then look at important social developments in the wake of the Industrial Revolution.

We will also study excerpts of historical sources, which will be made available in the “Handapparat”.


Colloquium for PhD Students
 

• Dienstag 14:00 – 16:00, 115

This seminar is intended for doctorate students of English and American Studies in the field of Literary Science. Here, basic problems that arise when writing a dissertation, as well as selected theories and topics will be discussed.

Dieses Seminar richtet sich an Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden der anglistischen und amerikanistischen Literaturwissenschaft. Im Mittelpunkt stehen die Diskussion grundlegender Probleme, die sich beim Verfassen einer literaturwissenschaftlichen Dissertation ergeben, sowie ausgewählte Theorien (etwa feministische Narratologie) und Themen.
 

Vorlesung
Overview of Key Concepts of the Study of Culture

• Tuesday 9:15 -10:45, HS 15

This series of lectures is designed as an introduction to central themes and methods of cultural analysis on the basis of current and historical theories of culture. Students will learn about, among others, cultural ‘Ways of Worldmaking’ (Goodman) and cultural memory, cultural semiotics, theoretical models of culture and their interpretations, culture as performance, visual culture, and many other interesting and important aspects of cultural studies. An additional emphasis will be on the combination of theory and the potential application of cultural studies in your further studies. Thus, pertinent examples from British and American cultural history -such as Elizabethan courtly culture, Washington's Commonplace Book, 18^th-century consumer culture, or the British Empire and Orientalism -will be constant points of reference.

Vorlesung
Introduction to Literary Studies

• Montag 11:15 - 12:45, HS 15

This course of lectures will serve as an introduction to the study of literatures in English. Addressing key concepts and critical tools relevant to the analysis and interpretation of literary texts, we will discuss structural aspects of the major genres (drama, prose, poetry), explore different schools of literary and cultural theory, and survey basic categories of literary historiography. This class will be taught in English, and it will conclude with a written exam. Course requirements (for B.A. students): regular attendance of lecture course (1 credit point) and tutorials (1 credit point), preparation/homework (2 credit points), final test (1 credit point). Apart from the lecture course, please note that you are required to attend a 45-minute tutorial per week where advanced students will go over the lecture's central issues and make you familiar with the relevant research tools. Registration for your tutorial is online before the start of the semester — times will be posted on the department's homepage: www.as.uni-hd.de
Texts: Our main texts are Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband (1895) and Nick Hornby's Juliet, Naked (2009) — you are expected to have read these by the start of the semester. Further texts will be made available at the start of the semester. Background and introductory reading: Vera and Ansgar Nünning, An Introduction to the Study of English and American Literature (Klett).

Proseminar Kulturwissenschaft
Introduction to the Study of British Culture

• Dienstag 11:15–12:45, 112

"History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are." (David McCullough)

Have you always been fascinated by the tales about Henry VIII and his six wives? Do you always get the Queen Elizabeths mixed up? This is the course for you! The seminar aims at providing a rough framework of crucial periods in British history and a set of categories which you can use to continue the study of British culture on your own. We will explore developments in a variety of fields ranging from social history to the history of mentalities, which will also help you with your studies of the literature of the time.
In addition to important general aspects of (past and present) cultures, we will examine examples taken from three interesting periods in British cultural history: e will start with the Tudors – from Henry VIII to Elizabeth as the ‘Virgin Queen’ – continue with a study of key issues of the late 18^th century, and then look at important social developments in the wake of the Industrial Revolution.
We will also study excerpts of historical sources, which will be made available in the ‘Handapparat’.

Proseminar Literaturwissenschaft
Dealing with Different Points of View: Multiperspectivity in British Fiction

• Mittwoch 11:15–12:45, 110

"‘I don’t want to understand you,’ I say tiredly. ‘I wish you would not speak at all." (Sarah Waters, Fingersmith)
In order to communicate and act successfully, we have to negotiate different points of view. This negotiation is anything but easy, especially in tricky situations.
In fiction, we also have to grapple with different points of view, with different characters pursuing different goals. This process is often quite complex: we have to understand the relationships between the characters and the values they embody. We also have to decide which characters to believe, and how to relate, weight and evaluate the characters and narrators.
There are a host of different ways to represent and deal with multiperspectivity, and in this seminar we will discuss novels which can provide insight into a problem that is arguably crucial not only to the understanding of fiction but also to our own lives.
Texts:

• Sarah Waters, Fingersmith (2002),
• Ian McEwan, Enduring Love< (1997),
• Mark Haddon, The Red House (2013).

In the first session we will discuss which additional novel we want to read.

Vorlesung
Overview of British Novels II: From the 1760ies to the 1850ies

• Montag 11:15–12:45, 110

In this lecture, we will trace the development and diversification of British novels throughout a period of a hundred years, beginning with the first Gothic novels, which were published from 1765 onwards, and ending with the social novels (as well as bildungsromane) in the late 1840s and 1850s. We will follow the fascinating development of nearly all the important ways of writing narrative prose and many subgenres, which were either established or which underwent crucial changes within this time span — just think of The Castle of Otranto vs. Frankenstein! Since many major developments are closely connected to cultural changes, we will take these into consideration, too, and look at the intersections between literature and culture, for instance at the importance of the culture of sensibility in the late 18 th century and the consequences of the Industrial Revolution in the 19 th century. The main focus, however, is on literary tendencies, on the emergence of (popular) genres, on the attribution of (didactic) functions to literature, and on the works of major authors.

Vorlesung
Overview of Key Concepts of the Study of Culture

• Tuesday 9:15 -10:45, HS 14

Mit Dr. Löffler, Priv.-Doz. Dr. Peterfy, Priv.-Doz. Dr. Rupp
This series of lectures is designed as an introduction to central themes and methods of cultural analysis on the basis of current and historical theories of culture. Students will learn about, among others, cultural ‘Ways of Worldmaking’ (Goodman) and cultural memory, cultural semiotics, theoretical models of culture and their interpretations, culture as performance, visual culture, and many other interesting and important aspects of cultural studies. An additional emphasis will be on the combination of theory and the potential application of cultural studies in your further studies.Thus, pertinent examples from British and American cultural history -such as Elizabethan courtly culture, Washington's Commonplace Book, 18^th-century consumer culture, or the British Empire and Orientalism -will be constant points of reference.

Hauptseminar Literaturwissenschaft
Unreliable Narration in Literature and Other Discourses

• Dienstag 11:15 - 12:45, 112

What happens when we cannot trust a narrator who tells us his tale? On the one hand, deciding what is true or not seems to be surprisingly easy as far as fictional texts are concerned: We certainly know that a murderer who thinks that he can hear the beating of his dead victim’s heart or a maniac who is in love with a dummy are unreliable. But is it as easy as that? What are the clues which allow us to decide whether a narrator is reliable or not? Why do we believe a narrator who tells a tale involving ghosts and fairies even though we know these do not exist? And what about the many cases in which it is quite difficult to determine whether we can trust a narrator or not? What is more, does it still make sense to talk about ‘unreliable’ narrators when we know that nobody can tell ‘the truth’ in an objective way? In this seminar, we will ask what unreliable narration means and what the criteria for determining unreliability are. Moreover, we will ask what functions unreliable narrators can fulfil. And I hope, of course, that the seminar will provide some help with regard to the unreliable narrators you encounter in your ‘real life'! Course requirements: In addition to regular attendance and active class participation (1 credit point) and preparation/homework time (3 credit points), participants will be expected to give an oral presentation (plus a handout) (1 credit point) and write a ‘Hauptseminararbeit’ (3 credit points) if they want to receive a ‘Hauptseminarschein'.


Texts: Edgar Allen Poe, “Tell-Tale Heart” (1843). Robert Browning, “My Last Duchess” (1842). Zoe Heller, Notes on a Scandal (2003). Nick Hornby, A Long Way Down (2005), plus other works of several discourses which we will decide upon in the first session (there are so many interesting ones!)


Proseminar Kulturwissenschaft
Introduction to the Study of British Culture

• Montag 14:15 – 15:45, 112

What happens when we cannot trust a narrator who tells us his tale? On the one hand, deciding what is true or not seems to be surprisingly easy as far as fictional texts are concerned: We certainly know that a murderer who thinks that he can hear the beating of his dead victim’s heart or a maniac who is in love with a dummy are unreliable. But is it as easy as that? What are the clues which allow us to decide whether a narrator is reliable or not? Why do we believe a narrator who tells a tale involving ghosts and fairies even though we know these do not exist? And what about the many cases in which it is quite difficult to determine whether we can trust a narrator or not? What is more, does it still make sense to talk about ‘unreliable’ narrators when we know that nobody can tell ‘the truth’ in an objective way? In this seminar, we will ask what unreliable narration means and what the criteria for determining unreliability are. Moreover, we will ask what functions unreliable narrators can fulfil. And I hope, of course, that the seminar will provide some help with regard to the unreliable narrators you encounter in your ‘real life'! Course requirements: In addition to regular attendance and active class participation (1 credit point) and preparation/homework time (3 credit points), participants will be expected to give an oral presentation (plus a handout) (1 credit point) and write a ‘Hauptseminararbeit’ (3 credit points) if they want to receive a ‘Hauptseminarschein'.

Examenskolloquium
 

• Mittwoch 11:15 - 12:45, 116

In diesem Kolloquium wird Wissen vermittelt, das für die Examensvorbereitung (für Magister- und Lehramtskandidaten) von Relevanz ist. Es wird – jeweils anhand von konkreten Beispielen – erörtert, was relevante Fragestellungen für Abschlussarbeiten sind und wie diese aufgebaut sein sollten, welche Themen sich für mündliche Prüfungen eignen, wie man sich auf mündliche und schriftliche Prüfungen vorbereitet, und welches ‚Überblickswissen’ eine notwendige Voraussetzung für mündliche Examina darstellt. Da eine gute Vorbereitung für eine Prüfung bereits mit der Auswahl von Lehrveranstaltungen im Hauptstudium beginnt, sind auch Teilnehmer und Teilnehmerinnen willkommen, die noch nicht alle Scheine erworben haben.

Oberseminar
 

• Dienstag 14:00 – 16:00, 112 2st.

Dieses Seminar richtet sich an Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden der anglistischen und amerikanistischen Literaturwissenschaft. Im Mittelpunkt stehen die Diskussion grundlegender Probleme, die sich beim Verfassen einer literaturwissenschaftlichen Dissertation ergeben, sowie ausgewählte Theorien und Themen.
 

Vorlesung
Overview of British Novels I: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century

• Mittwoch 09:15 - 10:45, 110

Most of you will have heard that Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe (1719) is the first English novel. Recent research suggests, however, that this is not quite true: The development of the novel was a long process to which many factors contributed –such as the development of journalism; travel literature; spiritual autobiographies (all of which you can trace in Robinson Crusoe), and, above all, cultural factors like the ‘rise’ of the middling ranks and the new position of women. In this lecture, we will trace the beginnings of the novel in the seventeenth century, look at related genres and important books such as John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, and follow the fascinating development of a host of important ways of writing narrative prose and subgenres (like the ‘Gothic novel’), which were already established by the end of the eighteenth century. In accordance with the recent research that has been dubbed ‘The New Eighteenth Century’, we will also take into account the influence of cultural tendencies (‘history of mentalities’), and the contributions of women writers.

Vorlesung
Overview of Key Concepts of the Study of Culture

• Tuesday 9:15 -10:45, HS 14

Mit Dr. Löffler, Priv.-Doz. Dr. Peterfy, Priv.-Doz. Dr. Rupp This series of lectures is designed as an introduction to central themes and methods of cultural analysis on the basis of current and historical theories of culture. Students will learn about, among others, cultural ‘Ways of Worldmaking’ (Goodman) and cultural memory, cultural semiotics, theoretical models of culture and their interpretations, culture as performance, visual culture, and many other interesting and important aspects of cultural studies. An additional emphasis will be on the combination of theory and the potential application of cultural studies in your further studies.Thus, pertinent examples from British and American cultural history -such as Elizabethan courtly culture, Washington's Commonplace Book, 18^th-century consumer culture, or the British Empire and Orientalism -will be constant points of reference.

Hauptseminar Literaturwissenschaft
British Novels of the 21^st Century

• Dienstag 11:15 - 12:45, 112

British novels of the 21^st century do not only draw a wide popular readership, they are also of academic interest. After fifteen years in the new millennium, it may be time to look at recent developments in British fiction and try to gauge the most important tendencies and innovations. In this course, we will analyse five very readable, popular, and widely praised novels which belong to different subgenres and feature different topics as well as modes of writing. The major aims of this seminar are to explore new developments in the field of British fiction, and to enable the students to deal with and write papers on novels which have not yet become the topic of ‘secondary literature.’ Most of the works which we will discuss cannot only fruitfully be read in schools, they can also be the topic of a wide range of innovative MA theses or Zulassungsarbeiten.


Texts: Ian McEwan, The Children Act (2014). Justin Cartwright, Other People’s Money (2011). Mark Haddon, The Red House (2012). Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall (2009). Nick Hornby, Funny Girl (2014)


Examenskolloquium
 

• Mittwoch 11:15 - 12:45, 116

In diesem Kolloquium wird Wissen vermittelt, das für die Examensvorbereitung (für Magister- und Lehramtskandidaten) von Relevanz ist. Es wird – jeweils anhand von konkreten Beispielen – erörtert, was relevante Fragestellungen für Abschlussarbeiten sind und wie diese aufgebaut sein sollten, welche Themen sich für mündliche Prüfungen eignen, wie man sich auf mündliche und schriftliche Prüfungen vorbereitet, und welches ‚Überblickswissen’ eine notwendige Voraussetzung für mündliche Examina darstellt. Da eine gute Vorbereitung für eine Prüfung bereits mit der Auswahl von Lehrveranstaltungen im Hauptstudium beginnt, sind auch Teilnehmer und Teilnehmerinnen willkommen, die noch nicht alle Scheine erworben haben.

Oberseminar
 

• Dienstag 14:00 – 16:00, 112 2st.

Dieses Seminar richtet sich an Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden der anglistischen und amerikanistischen Literaturwissenschaft. Im Mittelpunkt stehen die Diskussion grundlegender Probleme, die sich beim Verfassen einer literaturwissenschaftlichen Dissertation ergeben, sowie ausgewählte Theorien und Themen.

Vorlesung
Everything you’ve always wanted to know about narrative and narrative theory – and why they matter!

• Dienstag 11:15 - 12:45, 110

Most students prefer the reading or viewing of narratives to that of reading lyrical poetry. However, many of them are hard put when asked the seemingly simple question of what a narrative is, and how the form of narratives shapes the meaning of texts. And though narratological categories can help one to interpret literary texts and go beyond rather vaguely defined close readings, theoretical studies often present these categories in such a devious and complex way that one does not want to come to know them in the first place. In this lecture I will try to introduce you to the study of narrative and to the most important narratological categories in an understandable and enjoyable manner. I will, moreover, only spend very few sessions with theories; instead, I will show how one can employ narratology in order to interpret literary texts. The emphasis will be on the discussion of selected works and genres from five centuries of British (and American) literary history.

Hauptseminar Literaturwissenschaft
The Other Virginia Woolf: Her Essays and Shorter Fiction

• Mittwoch 09:15 - 10:45, 113

Virginia Woolf is, without doubt, one of the most important modernist novelists. However, the success of her modernist fiction (above all, of Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse) has led scholars to neglect not only her other fictional works, but also her essays. This is unfortunate, since both the essays and short stories are not only more readable than her novels, they can also serve to illuminate important aspects of her fiction. In addition, they offer a lot of knowledge not only about aesthetics and the art of essay writing, but also about British literary and cultural history. In this course, we will not only deal with those famous three essays which end up on many reading lists for oral exams, but we will go beyond the well-known (and incorrect) image of Woolf as an elitist modernist, and do research on an as yet largely unknown side of Woolf. Since her shorter fiction is not only short, but also easier to understand than her novels, students of education will also become familiar with a few brief stories which could well be discussed in schools, too.


Texts: Virginia Woolf, Common Reader I and II; Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own; Virginia Woolf, Shorter Fiction


Examenskolloquium
 

• Montag 11:15 - 12:45, 113

In diesem Kolloquium wird Wissen vermittelt, das für die Examensvorbereitung (für Magister- und Lehramtskandidaten) von Relevanz ist. Es wird – jeweils anhand von konkreten Beispielen – erörtert, was relevante Fragestellungen für Abschlussarbeiten sind und wie diese aufgebaut sein sollten, welche Themen sich für mündliche Prüfungen eignen, wie man sich auf mündliche und schriftliche Prüfungen vorbereitet, und welches ‚Überblickswissen’ eine notwendige Voraussetzung für mündliche Examina darstellt. Da eine gute Vorbereitung für eine Prüfung bereits mit der Auswahl von Lehrveranstaltungen im Hauptstudium beginnt, sind auch Teilnehmer und Teilnehmerinnen willkommen, die noch nicht alle Scheine erworben haben.

Oberseminar
 

• Dienstag 14:00 – 16:00, 112 2st.

Dieses Seminar richtet sich an Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden der anglistischen und amerikanistischen Literaturwissenschaft. Im Mittelpunkt stehen die Diskussion grundlegender Probleme, die sich beim Verfassen einer literaturwissenschaftlichen Dissertation ergeben, sowie ausgewählte Theorien und Themen.

Vorlesung
Einführung Literaturwissenschaft

• Montag 11:15 - 12:45, HS 15

This course of lectures will serve as an introduction to the study of literatures in English. Addressing key concepts and critical tools relevant to the analysis and interpretation of literary texts, we will discuss structural aspects of the major genres (drama, prose, poetry), explore different schools of literary and cultural theory, and survey basic categories of literary historiography. This class will be taught in English, and it will conclude with a written exam. Course requirements (for B.A. students): regular attendance of lecture course (1 credit point) and tutorials (1 credit point), preparation/homework (2 credit points), final test (1 credit point). Apart from the lecture course, please note that you are required to attend a 45-minute tutorial per week where advanced students will go over the lecture's central issues and make you familiar with the relevant research tools. Registration for your tutorial is online before the start of the semester — times will be posted on the department's homepage: www.as.uni-hd.de

Texts: Our main texts are Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband (1895) and Nick Hornby's Juliet, Naked (2009) — you are expected to have read these by the start of the semester. Further texts will be made available at the start of the semester. Background and introductory reading: Vera and Ansgar Nünning, An Introduction to the Study of English and American Literature (Klett).


Hauptseminar Literaturwissenschaft
Gothic Fiction in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century

• Mittwoch 11:15 - 12:45, 116

Vampires are back – but many of the 21^st century incarnations of Dracula have lost their disconcerting power; some have even become domesticated in a way that would not have been thought possible at the time when Bram Stoker wrote the great classic which captured the popular imagination for decades. Today, it seems that gothic fiction is just another kind of popular fiction, commodified and commercialised, spreading conservative values and fulfilling adolescents’ desires. However, in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, Gothic fiction was not only innovative and (partly) subversive, it also expressed ideas and fears that ran counter to the mainstream, and / or negotiated fears that derived from social changes the results of which could not be fathomed at the time. In this course, we will look at Gothic novels, starting with Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, from two perspectives: First, we will relate the works to the cultural imaginary and ask how they relate to popular concerns of the time of production. Second, we will look at their form and the modes of narration and ask in how far this corresponds to the development of literary genres and styles of writing throughout the envisaged 150 years.


Texts: Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto (1764/65). Matthew Lewis, The Monk (1796). Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (1818). Mary Elizabeth Baddon, Lady Audley’s Secret (1862). Bram Stoker, Dracula (1897).


Examenskolloquium
 

• Montag 14:15 - 15:45, 116

In diesem Kolloquium wird Wissen vermittelt, das für die Examensvorbereitung (für Magister- und Lehramtskandidaten) von Relevanz ist. Es wird – jeweils anhand von konkreten Beispielen – erörtert, was relevante Fragestellungen für Abschlussarbeiten sind und wie diese aufgebaut sein sollten, welche Themen sich für mündliche Prüfungen eignen, wie man sich auf mündliche und schriftliche Prüfungen vorbereitet, und welches ‚Überblickswissen’ eine notwendige Voraussetzung für mündliche Examina darstellt. Da eine gute Vorbereitung für eine Prüfung bereits mit der Auswahl von Lehrveranstaltungen im Hauptstudium beginnt, sind auch Teilnehmer und Teilnehmerinnen willkommen, die noch nicht alle Scheine erworben haben.

Oberseminar
 

• Dienstag 14:00 – 16:00, 116 2st.

Dieses Seminar richtet sich an Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden der anglistischen und amerikanistischen Literaturwissenschaft. Im Mittelpunkt stehen die Diskussion grundlegender Probleme, die sich beim Verfassen einer literaturwissenschaftlichen Dissertation ergeben, sowie ausgewählte Theorien und Themen.
 

Vorlesung
British Literature from the Renaissance to the Present: An Overview

• Dienstag 11:15 -12:45, 110

Any student of English Studies should have at least a rough overview of the major periods of British literature, their major authors and respective works, as well as their most important characteristics and subgenres. This will not only contribute to the success of one’s studies, but, almost as importantly, will make choosing the topics of one’s classes —and of the final exams —a good deal easier. This lecture is meant to provide an overview of British literature from the Renaissance to the beginnings of the 21stcentury. Since many major developments are closely connected to cultural changes, we will take these into consideration, too, and look at the intersections between literature and culture. This concerns factors as diverse as the importance of magnates and courtly culture in the sixteenth century or the influence of major publications, for instance Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species or the publications of Sigmund Freud. The main focus, however, is on literary tendencies, on the emergence and hierarchy of (popular) genres, on the attribution of (didactic) functions to literature, and on the works of major authors. The discussion of each period will begin with a brief overview of cultural developments and then proceed to provide a brief discussion of the major features of writings held to be representative of the epoch. This will then be exemplified and elaborated by the interpretation of the works of important (and seemingly unimportant and unrepresentative!) authors.

Hauptseminar Literaturwissenschaft
The Persuasive Power of Fiction

• Mittwoch 9:15 – 10:45, 116 2st.

A large body of psychological research has demonstrated that reading stories changes readers’ beliefs, their attitudes and even their personality traits. At first sight, these results seem to be surprising: who would have thought that a simple story can induce North American students to believe that, for instance, eating chocolate helps you lose weight or that brushing your teeth is bad for your gums? This is exactly what studies have found, however, and it has been demonstrated that fictional stories are at least as persuasive as factual ones. It has not been analysed as yet, however, by what means fictional stories influence readers’ minds. Which features of fiction contribute to this process? Which narrative conventions and aesthetic devices can arguably be connected with the persuasive power of fiction? And to what extent did these devices change throughout the centuries? This seminar will attempt to provide provisional answers to these questions. We will pursue questions which are of great importance for future teachers: If reading fiction has a lasting impact on readers’ minds, one had better choose the stories one reads in classes very carefully. The course is also research-oriented; many of the questions we will ask have not been answered as yet. We will be working on three selected novels, as well as excerpts from novels of the eighteenth, nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first century. A master copy of the excerpts will be provided at the beginning of the semester.


Texts: Niels B. Leander, “To Begin with the Beginning: Birth, Origin and Narrative Inception.” Narrative Beginnings: Theories and Practices. Ed. Brian Richardson. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 2008, 15-28.


Examenskolloquium
 

• Mittwoch 11:15 - 12:45, 112

In diesem Kolloquium wird Wissen vermittelt, das für die Examensvorbereitung (für Magister- und Lehramtskandidaten) von Relevanz ist. Es wird – jeweils anhand von konkreten Beispielen – erörtert, was relevante Fragestellungen für Abschlussarbeiten sind und wie diese aufgebaut sein sollten, welche Themen sich für mündliche Prüfungen eignen, wie man sich auf mündliche und schriftliche Prüfungen vorbereitet, und welches ‚Überblickswissen’ eine notwendige Voraussetzung für mündliche Examina darstellt. Da eine gute Vorbereitung für eine Prüfung bereits mit der Auswahl von Lehrveranstaltungen im Hauptstudium beginnt, sind auch Teilnehmer und Teilnehmerinnen willkommen, die noch nicht alle Scheine erworben haben.

Oberseminar
 

• Dienstag 14:00 – 16:00, 116 2st.

Dieses Seminar richtet sich an Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden der anglistischen und amerikanistischen Literaturwissenschaft. Im Mittelpunkt stehen die Diskussion grundlegender Probleme, die sich beim Verfassen einer literaturwissenschaftlichen Dissertation ergeben, sowie ausgewählte Theorien und Themen.
 

Vorlesung
The Contemporary British Novel

• Dienstag 11:00 – 13:00, 110 2st.

Though the British contemporary novel is a field that is rarely taken up in lectures, there is a host of interesting authors who are not only worthy of scholarly attention, but who are also popular with a wide reading audience in Britain and beyond. It is, of course, next to impossible to detect and identify developments which only began a short time ago; but even though I am conscious of this difficulty, I will try to give an overview of British novels published during the last twenty or thirty years. The lecture will begin with a general overview, and then focus on particular genres and authors; most of the classes will also discuss at least one novel in greater detail in order to exemplify some representative or innovative features of contemporary British fiction. Moreover, we will not concentrate on ‘high literature’, but also devote a session each to genres like crime fiction or pop-novels, for instance by Nick Hornby.

Hauptseminar Literaturwissenschaft
‚Beginnings’: The Importance of Origins (of Novels) and Style

• Mittwoch 9:00 – 11:00, 116 2st.

In this Hauptseminar, we will be dealing with two different, though related topics. First, we will explore the importance of beginnings: in how far does the choice of a beginning of a narrative also encapsulate the way it will develop and the meaning that will be assigned to it? Secondly, we will be concerned with style: by close readings of the beginnings of a number of novels published during the last four centuries, we will try to describe the particularities of the style of the beginning of each novel as well as to construct some major developments in narrative styles (and preferences) throughout the centuries. As a preparation, please read the fascinating article by Niels B. Leander (see below). And be sure that you know at least the basics as far as the analysis of narrative texts is concerned – at least the most important categories of narratology, and the most important rhetorical figures. Master copies will be provided at the beginning of the semester.


Texts: Niels B. Leander, “To Begin with the Beginning: Birth, Origin and Narrative Inception.” Narrative Beginnings: Theories and Practices. Ed. Brian Richardson. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 2008, 15-28.


Examenskolloquium
 

• Mittwoch 11:00 – 13:00, 116 2st.

In diesem Kolloquium wird Wissen vermittelt, das für die Examensvorbereitung (für Magister- und Lehramtskandidaten) von Relevanz ist. Es wird – jeweils anhand von konkreten Beispielen – erörtert, was relevante Fragestellungen für Abschlussarbeiten sind und wie diese aufgebaut sein sollten, welche Themen sich für mündliche Prüfungen eignen, wie man sich auf mündliche und schriftliche Prüfungen vorbereitet, und welches ‚Überblickswissen’ eine notwendige Voraussetzung für mündliche Examina darstellt. Da eine gute Vorbereitung für eine Prüfung bereits mit der Auswahl von Lehrveranstaltungen im Hauptstudium beginnt, sind auch Teilnehmer und Teilnehmerinnen willkommen, die noch nicht alle Scheine erworben haben.

Oberseminar
 

• Dienstag 14:00 – 16:00, 116 2st.

Dieses Seminar richtet sich an Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden der anglistischen und amerikanistischen Literaturwissenschaft. Im Mittelpunkt stehen die Diskussion grundlegender Probleme, die sich beim Verfassen einer literaturwissenschaftlichen Dissertation ergeben, sowie ausgewählte Theorien und Themen.
 

Aufgrund eines Forschungssemesters an der Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz keine Lehrveranstaltungen.

Vorlesung
Introduction to the Study of English Literature

• Montag 11:00 – 13:00, Heuscheuer II 2st.

This course of lectures will serve as an introduction to the study of literatures in English. Addressing key concepts and critical tools relevant to the analysis and interpretation of literary texts, we will discuss structural aspects of the major genres (drama, prose, poetry), explore different schools of literary and cultural theory, and survey basic categories of literary historiography. There will be a compulsory tutorial where advanced students will go over the lecture’s central issues and make you familiar with the relevant research tools. This class will be taught in English, and it will conclude with a written exam.

Hauptseminar Literaturwissenschaft
Multiperspectivity in Contemporary British Novels

• Mittwoch 11:00 – 13:00 115 2st.

Every interpretation of a novel has to deal with the problem of multiperspectivity: usually, there is more than one character present – even Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe had his Friday – and it has to be determined what the relations between the different perspectives of characters and narrators are. We have to decide which characters hold views we approve of and therefore embody positive values (and why that is so), and which ones are being implicitly criticized. In contemporary novels, the problem is even more pressing, since we are usually dealing with a large number of characters with widely divergent points of view, values and personality traits. Quite often, we do not even know which characters or narrators we can trust. The Hauptseminar will tackle those questions with regard to a few contemporary novels covering a broad spectrum of forms of multiperspectivity. The time for such a discussion seems propitious, since two recently published theoretical studies on multiperspectivity open up new perspectives of research: we will therefore take into account these new approaches and see which ways of dealing with multiperspectivity are most promising.


Texts: Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections (2001); Ian McEwan, Enduring Love (1997); Meera Syal, Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee (1999)


Examenskolloquium
 

• Montag 14:00 – 16:00, 115 2st.

In diesem Kolloquium wird Wissen vermittelt, das für die Examensvorbereitung (für Magister- und Lehramtskandidaten) von Relevanz ist. Es wird – jeweils anhand von konkreten Beispielen – erörtert, was relevante Fragestellungen für Abschlussarbeiten sind und wie diese aufgebaut sein sollten, welche Themen sich für mündliche Prüfungen eignen, wie man sich auf mündliche und schriftliche Prüfungen vorbereitet, und welches ‚Überblickswissen’ eine notwendige Voraussetzung für mündliche Examina darstellt. Da eine gute Vorbereitung für eine Prüfung bereits mit der Auswahl von Lehrveranstaltungen im Hauptstudium beginnt, sind auch Teilnehmer und Teilnehmerinnen willkommen, die noch nicht alle Scheine erworben haben.

Oberseminar
 

• Blockveranstalung

Dieses Seminar richtet sich an Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden der anglistischen und amerikanistischen Literaturwissenschaft. Im Mittelpunkt stehen die Diskussion grundlegender Probleme, die sich beim Verfassen einer literaturwissenschaftlichen Dissertation ergeben, sowie ausgewählte Theorien und Themen.

Aufgrund eines Forschungssemesters an der Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz keine Lehrveranstaltungen

Vorlesung
Introduction to the Study of English Literatures

• Montag 11:00 – 13:00 HEU 2st.

This course of lectures will serve as an introduction to the study of literatures in English. Addressing key concepts and critical tools relevant to the analysis and interpretation of literary texts, we will discuss structural aspects of the major genres (drama, prose, poetry), explore different schools of literary and cultural theory, and survey basic categories of literary historiography. There will be a compulsory tutorial where advanced students will go over the lecture’s central issues and make you familiar with the relevant research tools. This class will be taught in English, and it will conclude with a written exam.

Hauptseminar Literaturwissenschaft
Unreliable Narration

• Mittwoch 11:00 – 13:00 115 2st.

What happens when we cannot trust a narrator who tells us his tale? On the one hand, deciding what is true or not seems to be surprisingly easy as far as fictional texts are concerned: We certainly know that a murderer who thinks that he can hear the beating of his dead victim’s heart or a maniac who is in love with a dummy are unreliable. But is it as easy as that? What are the cues which allow us to decide whether a narrator is reliable or not? Why do we believe a narrator who tells a tale involving ghosts and fairies even though we know that these do not exist? And what about the many cases in which it is quite difficult to determine whether we can trust a narrator or not? What is more, does it still make sense to talk about ‘unreliable’ narrators when we know that nobody can tell ‘the truth’ in an objective way? In the seminar, we will ask what unreliable narration means and what the criteria for determining unreliability are. Moreover, we will ask what functions unreliable narrators can fulfil. And I hope, of course, that the seminar will provide some help with regard to the unreliable narrators you encounter in your ‘real life’!


Texts: Edgar Allen Poe, “Tell-Tale Heart” (1843); Robert Browning, “My Last Duchess” (1842); Kazuo Ishiguro, Remains of the Day (1989); Zoё Heller, Notes on a Scandal (2003); Ian McEwan, Enduring Love (1997); Nick Hornby, A Long Way Down (2005). Maria Edgeworth, Castle Rackrent (1800); Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights (1847); William M. Thackeray, The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq. (1844); Guy Burt, The Dandelion Clock (1999), Angela Carter, Wise Children (1991).

Hauptseminar Literaturwissenschaft
The Value of Literature

• Mittwoch 09:00 – 11:00 115 2st.

What is literature for? And what are ‚good books’? What functions do they serve? We will ask these and related questions in the seminar – but we will not discuss them mainly on a theoretical basis. Rather, we will look at a number of works of art which have been – and are – held to be ‘classics’, and analyse them closely, always keeping their possible functions and advantages in mind. We will also discuss a few prefaces of renowned novels (e. g. by Samuel Richardson and Oscar Wilde), and see what their authors thought about the value of literature. In order to participate in a scholarly discussion (instead of just talking about the ‘contents’ of the works) you will have to be familiar with the most important methods of interpretations. Please make sure you know the concepts of narratology BEFORE the beginning of the seminar in order to participate in this course. For further preparation, please see A. & V. Nünning (eds.), Methoden der literatur- und kulturwissenschaftlichen Textanalyse. Ansätze, Grundlagen, Modellanalysen, Stuttgart, Weimar: Metzler, 2010.

Texts: Texts to be discussed in Class: Oliver Goldsmith, The Vicar of Wakefield (1766); Maria Edgeworth, Castle Rackrent (1800); Benjamin Disrali, Sybil, (1845), Virginia Woolf, “The Mark on the Wall” (1917); Andrea Levy, Small Island (2004). Some additional (excerpts from) texts will be provided later on.


Examenskolloquium

• Mittwoch 11:00 – 13:00 115 2st.

In diesem Kolloquium wird Wissen vermittelt, das für die Examensvorbereitung (für Magister- und Lehramtskandidaten) von Relevanz ist. Es wird – jeweils anhand von konkreten Beispielen – erörtert, was relevante Fragestellungen für Abschlussarbeiten sind und wie diese aufgebaut sein sollten, welche Themen sich für mündliche Prüfungen eignen, wie man sich auf mündliche und schriftliche Prüfungen vorbereitet, und welches ‚Überblickswissen’ eine notwendige Voraussetzung für mündliche Examina darstellt. Da eine gute Vorbereitung für eine Prüfung bereits mit der Auswahl von Lehrveranstaltungen im Hauptstudium beginnt, sind auch Teilnehmer und Teilnehmerinnen willkommen, die noch nicht alle Scheine erworben haben.

Hauptseminar Literaturwissenschaft
Literature and Empathy: British Fiction from Victorianism to Modernism

• Wednesday 09:15 – 10:45 116 2hrs.

In this seminar, we will be concerned with the question in how far the reading of fictional texts can serve to develop key cognitive faculties. We will proceed from the thesis that reading literature activates synapses that are important for social cognition; and we will focus on the development of understanding and empathy for others (arguably among the key faculties that help us to survive and get on in human societies).
We will begin by getting a more thorough understanding of the terms ‘empathy’ and ‘sympathy’, and ask in what way literature might help to develop these faculties. Then we will closely analyse three important novels of the 19^th and early 20th century and try to understand how these works conduce us to understand and evaluate the cognitive and emotional processes of literary characters.

Texts: Required Reading: George Eliot, Middlemarch (1871); Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D’Urbervilles (1891); Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse (1927).

A good introduction to the topic is Suzanne Keen, Empathy and the Novel. Oxford: OUP, 2007; for the more philosophical minded among you, it might pay to look at Karsten Stueber, Rediscovering Empathy. Agency, Folk Psychology, and the Human Sciences. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 2006.


Examenskolloquium

• Mittwoch 11:15 – 12:45 116 2st.

In diesem Kolloquium wird Wissen vermittelt, das für die Examensvorbereitung (für Magister- und Lehramtskandidaten) von Relevanz ist. Es wird – jeweils anhand von konkreten Beispielen – erörtert, was relevante Fragestellungen für Abschlussarbeiten sind und wie diese aufgebaut sein sollten, welche Themen sich für mündliche Prüfungen eignen, wie man sich auf mündliche und schriftliche Prüfungen vorbereitet, und welches ‚Überblickswissen’ eine notwendige Voraussetzung für mündliche Examina darstellt. Da eine gute Vorbereitung für eine Prüfung bereits mit der Auswahl von Lehrveranstaltungen im Hauptstudium beginnt, sind auch Teilnehmer und Teilnehmerinnen willkommen, die noch nicht alle Scheine erworben haben.

Aufgrund eines Forschungssemesters hält Frau Nünning im Wintersemester 2009/10 keine Lehrveranstaltungen

Literature and Memory: Individual and Collective Memory in British Novels after the Second World War
Dienstag 09:15 – 10:45 112 2 hrs.
Memory studies are burgeoning both in Europe and the U.S. In this interdisciplinary venture, disciplines such as the neurosciences, psychology, history, and the study of the arts are prominent. In this seminar, however, we will try to make ourselves familiar with the most important concepts of the study of memory and explore the role of literature in this context.
In what ways does literature represent the workings and functions of memory? Is it only by way of content or are specific narrative conventions important as well? What is the function of narrative as far as the construction of memory and identity is concerned? Are some subgenres more apt to explore the workings of memory than others? And what is the relation between individual and collective memory? We will be particularly (but not only!) concerned with the following novels, which should be read before the seminar begins:
Registration: For registration, please select and shortly comment on three passages from Remains of the Day that are particularly typical of Stevens in terms of (conscious or unconscious) self-characterisation. You should compose a short essay of 1500-2000 characters, which has to be submitted by February 16th 2009 to the following address: Vera.Nuenning@urz.uni-heidelberg.de.
Texts: Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day (1989); Jane Urquhart, The Underpainter (1997); Julian Barnes, England, England (1998); Michael Frayn, Spies (2002); Sarah Paretsky, Blacklist (2003).
Course requirements: In addition to regular attendance and active class participation (1 CP) and preparation/homework time (3 CP), participants will be expected to make an oral presentation (plus a handout) (1 CP) and write a ‘Hauptseminararbeit’ (3 CP) if they want to receive a ‘Hauptseminarschein’.

Examenskolloquium
Dienstag 11:15 – 12:45 112 2 st.
In diesem Kolloquium wird Wissen vermittelt, das für die Examensvorbereitung (für Magister- und Lehramtskandidaten) von Relevanz ist. Es wird – jeweils anhand von konkreten Beispielen – erörtert, was relevante Fragestellungen für Abschlussarbeiten sind und wie diese aufgebaut sein sollten, welche Themen sich für mündliche Prüfungen eignen, wie man sich auf mündliche und schriftliche Prüfungen vorbereitet, und welches ‚Überblickswissen’ eine notwendige Voraussetzung für mündliche Examina darstellt. Da eine gute Vorbereitung für eine Prüfung bereits mit der Auswahl von Lehrveranstaltungen im Hauptstudium beginnt, sind auch Teilnehmer und Teilnehmerinnen willkommen, die noch nicht alle Scheine erworben haben.

Oberseminar (Blockseminar)
Freitag 09:15 – 12:45 112 2 st.
Dieses Seminar richtet sich an Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden und M.A.-Studierende in höheren Semestern der anglistischen und amerikanistischen Literaturwissenschaft. Im Mittelpunkt stehen die Diskussion grundlegender Probleme, die sich beim Verfassen einer literaturwissenschaftlichen Dissertation oder M.A.-Arbeit ergeben, sowie ausgewählte Theorien (etwa feministische Narratologie) und Themen.
Anmeldung: Eine persönliche Anmeldung in meiner Sprechstunde ist erforderlich.
Scheinerwerb: Regelmäßige Anwesenheit und Mitarbeit (1 CP), Vor-/Nachbereitung (3 CP), Referat (1 CP), Hausarbeit (3 CP).

Gender and Genre: British Female Authors of the 18^th and 19^th Century
Dienstag 9:15 - 10:45, AS 112, 2st.
Everyone (well, nearly everyone) knows that many British female authors of the 18^th and 19^th century published their work either anonymously or under a pseudonym. In the case of the Brontë sisters, they deliberately used ambiguous names that did not give away the gender of the author (for instance, Charlotte Brontë used the name Currer Bell); and Mary Ann Evans is to this day known as ‘George Eliot’.
Female writing was, however, influenced by a host of other factors as well, which provided the backdrop of the author’s work and the image they projected to the world. In this Hauptseminar, we will address several aspects of this complex phenomenon:

• the effects that novels were supposed to have on a (female) public
• the relationship between morality and literature (including the problem of ‘realist writing’)
• the impact of the concept of gender on key aesthetic notions
• the ‘gendered’ quality of seemingly neutral fictions and of literary theory and narratology.

In order to deal with these issues on a sophisticated basis, it is necessary to do some background reading in gender theory (which will mostly be dealt with in oral contributions), and a ‘gendered’ narratology. Participants should be familiar with basic narratological concepts and the book Erzähltextanalyse und Gender Studies, eds. Vera & Ansgar Nünning, unter Mitarbeit von Nadyne Stritzke. Sammlung Metzler, Bd. 344. Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler Verlag 2004.
On this basis, we will analyse the following novels (and the conditions under which they were written and published): Sarah Scott, A Description of Millenium Hall (1762); Frances Burney, Evelina (1779); Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility (1811); Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (1847).

Examenskolloquium
Dienstag 11:15 - 12:45, AS 112, 2st.
In diesem Kolloquium wird Wissen vermittelt, das für die Examensvorbereitung (für Magister- und Lehramtskandidaten) von Relevanz ist. Es wird - jeweils anhand von konkreten Beispielen - erörtert, was relevante Fragestellungen für Abschlussarbeiten sind und wie diese aufgebaut sein sollten, welche Themen sich für mündliche Prüfungen eignen, wie man sich auf mündliche und schriftliche Prüfungen vorbereitet, und welches ‚Überblickswissen' eine notwendige Voraussetzung für mündliche Examina darstellt. Da eine gute Vorbereitung für eine Prüfung bereits mit der Auswahl von Lehrveranstaltungen im Hauptstudium beginnt, sind auch Teilnehmer und Teilnehmerinnen willkommen, die noch nicht alle Scheine erworben haben.

Oberseminar (Blockveranstaltung)
Freitag 09:15 - 12:45, 112
Dieses Seminar richtet sich an Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden der anglistischen und amerikanistischen Literaturwissenschaft. Im Mittelpunkt stehen die Diskussion grundlegender Probleme, die sich beim Verfassen einer literaturwissenschaftlichen Dissertation ergeben, sowie ausgewählte Theorien (etwa feministische Narratologie) und Themen.

British Novels at the Beginning of the 21^st Century: Beyond Postmodernism?
Dienstag 11:15 - 12:45, AS 113, 2st.
Is "postmodernism" still an adequate term for those tendencies that are discernible in British fiction at the beginning of the 21^st century? What is "postmodernism"? In how far do renowned authors - whose works of the 1980s and 1990s were often called "postmodern" - deviate from established patterns? What are the characteristic features of (at least a small number of distinguished) contemporary works of fiction?
In this "Hauptseminar" we will try to answer these questions. After a short theoretical introduction (which will not extend to the basics of the analysis of narrative works! Do make sure that you know the most important narratological concepts beforehand) we will analyze the following novels:
Ian McEwan, Saturday (2005); Julian Barnes, Arthur and George (2005); Zoe Heller, Notes of a Scandal (2003); Nick Hornby, A Long Way Down (2005); Zadie Smith, On Beauty (2005).

Examenskolloquium
Dienstag 09:15 - 10:45, AS 108, 2st.
In diesem Kolloquium wird Wissen vermittelt, das für die Examensvorbereitung (für Magister- und Lehramtskandidaten) von Relevanz ist. Es wird - jeweils anhand von konkreten Beispielen - erörtert, was relevante Fragestellungen für Abschlussarbeiten sind und wie diese aufgebaut sein sollten, welche Themen sich für mündliche Prüfungen eignen, wie man sich auf mündliche und schriftliche Prüfungen vorbereitet, und welches ‚Überblickswissen' eine notwendige Voraussetzung für mündliche Examina darstellt. Da eine gute Vorbereitung für eine Prüfung bereits mit der Auswahl von Lehrveranstaltungen im Hauptstudium beginnt, sind auch Teilnehmer und Teilnehmerinnen willkommen, die noch nicht alle Scheine erworben haben.

Work in Progress (Oberseminar, 14-täglich)
Mittwoch 15:15 - 18:45, AS 114