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Institut für Amerikastudien Institut für Amerikastudien

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

610014

Exterior/Interior Journeys in American Literature and Film

SE 2

wöch.

keine Angabe

Englisch

The "journey" (or "voyage") is one of the recurring themes in American literature and film, reaching from the early explorations of the American continent (e. g. the journal of the Lewis and Clark expedition; 1805-6), the _Leatherstocking Tales_ by James Fenimore Cooper, Herman Melville’s _Moby Dick_ or Mark Twain’s _Huckleberry Finn_ to the metaphorical and psychic journeys and road movies of today. The seminar will put its emphasis on the more recent developments of the genre, where the movement through space and time expands into internalized escape, initiation or fantasy journeys. The seminar will start with an introduction to the classic journey novels in English and American literature and their cultural backgrounds and then concentrate on the in-depth analysis of individual texts and films.

Reading of the texts and viewing of the films; participation in the class and group discussions, a paper of 16 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

Texts: Paul Bowles, _The Sheltering Sky_ (1949); Jack Kerouac, _On the Road_ (1957); James Dickey, _Deliverance_ (1970), Tim O'Brien, _Going After Cacciato_ (1975), Peter Matthiessen, _The Snow Leopard_ (1978). Films: _Easy Rider_ (1969); _Wild at Heart_ (1990).

Students must have completed their "1. Studienabschnitt"
Beginn: 9. 3.2005