LFU:online

Institut für Amerikastudien Institut für Amerikastudien

Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Arno Heller Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Arno Heller

610014

Existential Malaise: Suburbia in American Literature and Film

SE 2

wöch.

keine Angabe

keine Angabe

In any sociological discussion of American suburban life a strange discrepancy becomes visible: suburbia as the epitome of the American Dream of success, personal freedom, and prosperity or suburbia as a disturbing syndrome of a deep existential malaise, depression, spiritual deprivation, disorientation, and frustration. All this has also found expression in a great number of contemporary literary works and films. The seminar will start out from a theoretical and socio-cultural investigation of the suburban phenomenon, analyse a number of relevant works and then try to arrive at general and comparative conclusions.

Reading of the texts and viewing of the films; participation in the class and group discussions, a paper of 16-20 pages in English (in accordance with the MLA style sheet), a didactic presentation of the paper in class (ca. 20 minutes), an INFO-handout of 2 to 3 pages, at least two supervising appointments with the seminar leader.

written and oral

Background Materials: David Riesman: The "Suburban Sadness"; chapters from: William H. Whyte, _The Organization Man_, Betty Friedan, _The Feminist Mystique_, Christopher Lasch, _Culture of Narcissism_, Kenneth T. Jackson, _Crabgrass Frontier_. Texts: John Updike, _Couples_ (1968), Don DeLillo _White Noise_ (1985), short stories by Joyce Carol Oates and Raymond Carver. Films: _Short Cuts_ (1993) by Robert Altman; _The Ice Storm_ (1997) by Ang Lee , _American Beauty_ (1999) by Sam Mendes.

Students must have completed their "1. Studienabschntt"
Beginn: 9.3.2005