LFU:online

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. Analyze literary and media representations of migration and exile in Europe and explain how they address issues such as racism, gender, language, and identity.

2. Explain the historical and socio-political contexts of European migration, including the role of colonial expansion, decolonization, and contemporary border regimes in shaping cultural narratives.

3. Produce clear, evidence-based arguments that connect close readings of course texts, images, and other media to broader debates on European identity and globalization.

In this course, students will learn about issues of migration and exile in Europe through a variety of literary genres and media such as the novel, poetry, drama, graphic novel, and creative nonfiction. We will focus on how fictions of migration and exile explore problems of gender, racism, climate change, language, and identity in postcolonial Europe. We will also learn about the figurations of the migrant and exile in European literature and media, and how globalization and decolonization reshape national and continental identities and cultural expressions.      

This class examines migration to, from, and within Europe through literature and media written or produced by migrant, exile, and national authors. Using a cultural and historical lens, students will learn about the impact of immigration and exile in European identity in relation to processes of colonial expansion and decolonization. We will read and analyze texts and media from Spain, France, Italy, and Austria (as exemplified in Verena Mermer’s Autobus Ultima Speranza, about the journey of multiple people from Vienna to Romania).

The University of New Orleans International Summer School program has a mandatory class attendance policy. All students are required to attend class for all morning classes and any required afternoon and/or weekend fields trips and lectures. No unexcused absences are allowed. However, LFU students who have to miss a UNO class due to LFU examinations in the first two weeks of our program, can receive one excused absence for this. Any further unexcused absences will result in an academic penalty. Each faculty member determines the penalty for missed classes. Most professors deduct a letter grade for each additional missed class day. For details, please refer to your course syllabi, which will be distributed on the first day of class. The listed ECTS credits are a recommendation by the University of New Orleans Innsbruck Summer School, based on contact hours, anticipated out-of-classroom requirements such as field trips, and projected workload for readings, assignments, and exam preparation. Mail: Center-New-Orleans@uibk.ac.at