Prof. Dr. Holger Kersten
Anglistik/Amerikanistik
Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik

 
 

Veranstaltungen im Wintersemester 2007/08


Wenn Sie an einem meiner Kurse im Wintersemester 2007/08 teilnehmen möchten, gehen Sie bitte zu meiner Moodle online-Plattform:
http://wasb.urz.uni-magdeburg.de/anglistik
Dort können Sie sich über die Funktion "Create a new account" anmelden. Sie erhalten daraufhin eine Bestätigungsmail und können sich dann direkt in die Kurse einschreiben, die Sie gewählt haben. Sollten Sie bei diesem Vorgehen unerwartet auf Probleme stoßen, wird Ihnen meine wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft Jutta Biel (Jutta.Biel@Student.Uni-Magdeburg.de) gerne behilflich sein.
 


PS Literaturstudien
American Literary Realism
Do 11:00–13:00, G40B-423
Teilnahmeschein: 3 CPs, Leistungsschein: 5 CPs

 

In American history the period from 1865 to 1918, which literary historians call the era of realism and naturalism, was a time of dramatic transformations which changed the fundamental values of American society forever. Nowhere are these changes more evident than in American fiction which experienced a phase of unparalleled development by the introduction of common characters, colloquial language, and normative situations for the creation of literary art. During these years women became a major force in American letters, as did minority writers of various ethnic and religious backgrounds. Consequently, the subjects of literature began to address women’s issues, the problems of assimilation facing the growing immigrant population attracted by the promises of the “American Dream,” and a variety of moral dilemmas of everyday life. In addition to these themes the course will deal with representative writers and their concepts of literary artistry in its endeavor to familiarize students with a particularly rich period of American literary history. To reduce the intensity of the reading requirements throughout the semester students are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves in advance with the subject matter. The required texts will be announced on the Moodle platform.

A reading quiz to check your familiarity with the assigned texts will be given in the first week of the semester. Students who fail this test are not eligible to participate in this course. At the end of the term, a “Schein” will be awarded to those students who completed the weekly written and oral assignments.


HS Literaturstudien
Ethnic Voices in American Literature
Di 15:00–17:00, G40B-339

Teilnahmeschein: 4 CPs, Leistungsschein: 6 CPs

 

American literature is composed of a wide spectrum of diverse voices. Many of them have a distinctive ethnic ring and set out to record the experiences of the nation’s original inhabitants and its immigrant groups. Among the issues raised within the analytical framework of this class are questions of identity and family, the search for self-expression, the problem of community, and linguistic issues. Students wishing to sign up for this class should be aware that a significant amount of reading will have to be done during the entire semester. Active and informed participation is a basic requirement, and the semester’s work will have to be documented in written form.

To reduce the intensity of the reading requirements throughout the semester students are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves in advance with the subject matter. The required texts will be announced on the Moodle platform.

A reading quiz to check your familiarity with the assigned texts will be given in the first week of the semester. Students who fail this test are not eligible to participate in this course. At the end of the term, a “Schein” will be awarded to those students who completed the weekly written and oral assignments.


HS Kulturstudien
Immigration and Ethnicity in the North America: Selected Readings
Di 13:00–15:00, G40B-525
Teilnahmeschein: 4CPs, Leistungsschein: 6CPs
 

Immigration is one of the central issues of American culture: "Once I thought to write a history of the immigrants in America," said historian Oscar Handlin, "Then I discovered that the immigrants were American history." This course will familiarize students with the basic facts of immigration to the USA. It will also introduce them to the most relevant theoretical aspects of the topic. Emphasis will be placed on the historical dimensions and the socio-political implications of this large-scale phenomenon. German immigration to the United States will receive special attention. Course work will be based on readings from textbooks, historical documents, literary texts, and, to provide a context for the understanding of issues underlying the historical phenomenon, selected theories of ethnicity.

To reduce the intensity of the reading requirements throughout the semester students are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves in advance with the subject matter. The required texts will be announced here on the Moodle platform.

A reading quiz to check your familiarity with the assigned texts will be given in the first week of the semester. Students who fail this test are not eligible to participate in this course. At the end of the term, a “Schein” will be awarded to those students who completed the weekly written and oral assignments.


HS Kulturstudien
Representing Foreign Cultures in Fact and Fiction: The Pacific as Seen by the Crew of the "Snark" [click here for Jack London online resources]
Do 13:00–15:00, G40B-434
Teilnahmeschein: 4 CPs, Leistungsschein: 6 CPs
 

In 1907, Jack London, his wife, and two traveling companions set out to begin a round-the-world voyage, which was to last seven years. After a series of fascinating encounters with the inhabitants of Hawaii, the Marquesas, the Solomon Islands and Tahiti, health reasons forced the group to abandon the voyage. The impressions collected during the cruise were so intense that they served as an inspiration for at least three of the crew members to publish their memories in the form of travel reports. Based on an understanding of the basic elements of travel writing this course will examine in which ways the three writers dealt with the task of transforming the actual experience into narrative form. In doing so, it will acquaint students with some fundamental aspects of analyzing and understanding cultural encounters between Western travelers and “exotic” peoples. Prospective participants must be prepared to invest a significant amount of time and effort for this class

To reduce the intensity of the reading requirements throughout the semester students are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves in advance with the subject matter. The required texts will be announced here on the Moodle platform.

A reading quiz to check your familiarity with the assigned texts will be given in the first week of the semester. Students who fail this test are not eligible to participate in this course. At the end of the term, a “Schein” will be awarded to those students who completed the weekly written and oral assignments.

Required text (make sure you get exactly this edition): Jack London, The Cruise of the Snark (New York : Penguin Books, 2004), ISBN: 0142437735. – Place your order for the book ahead of time so that you have enough time to read it before classes start in October.

 
  Version vom 30.08.2018