LFU:online

Institut für Amerikastudien Institut für Amerikastudien

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

610019

American Literature and Culture: Patterns of Escape in American Culture

SE 2

7,5

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Englisch

The seminar intends to create a contextual synopsis of the culturally central theme of escape on the basis of close reading/viewing and structural analysis of relevant works.

Escape from intolerable situations into new beginnings has always been a central motif in American cultural history. Emigrants fled to the New World from religious, political and economic repression: the Westward Expansion opened up new optimistic vistas of the future and also responded to the urge to escape from the confinements of civilization (e. g. Big City, Small Town etc.) into wide open spaces, wilderness and exotic places. Moreover, there were also the more somber escapes from racial/ethnic persecution, war situations, patriarchal oppression, and age discrimination. More recently "internalized" escapes into alternative modes of life, drug addicton, or (schizophrenic) fantasy worlds have moved into the center of interest. The seminar will start out from a cultural historical overview of the theme, including a general introduction to the great American classics in the field (Melville, Thoreau, Twain). Then the focus will shift to the intensive discussion of exemplary 20th century literary works, films and other sources. Finally, the structural patterns emerging from the analyses will be compared and evaluated in a larger cultural context. Among the proposed works are: Richard Wright _Native Son_, Kate Chopin _The Awakening_, Paul Bowles _The Sheltering Sky_, John Updike _Rabbit, Run_, Tim O’Brien _Going After Cacciato_, Jon Krakauer _Into the Wild_ and the films _Birdy_, _Thelma and Louise_, and _About Schmidt_.

The number of participants will be limited to 12 to 18 students. Requirements are the preparatory reading of the texts and viewing of the films; regular attendance and participation in the group work and class discussions, a 20-page paper in English plus a 2-3 page handout, power-point presentation of the paper in class, and at least two appointments with the course leader before and after the presentation.

oral and written final test

Anmeldungsvoraussetzung/en im MA: keine Anmeldungsvoraussetzung im Diplom- und Lehramtsstudium: Abgeschlossener 1. Abschnitt Entspricht im Diplomstudium (343): SE2: American Literature/Culture Entspricht im Lehramtsstudium (344): SE2: American Literature and Culture Teilnehmerzahl auf 18 beschränkt!
Beginn: 12.10.2011