610005 American Literature: The Basic Plots in Literature
Wintersemester 2012/2013 | Stand: 06.02.2013 | LV auf Merkliste setzen610005
American Literature: The Basic Plots in Literature
PS 2
5
Block
semestral
Englisch
Exploration of the common basic elements of plot in well-known pieces of American literature.
Stories sometimes seem utterly familiar and predictable right from the beginning. How so? According to Christopher Booker, all stories are based on one of seven basic plots: overcoming the monster, rags to riches, the quest, voyage and return, comedy, tragedy, and rebirth. The idea that a handful of myths or archetypes consitute all of our storytelling has been informed by people like psychoanalyst C. G. Jung, literary critic Northrop Frye ("Archetypes of Literature") or mythologist Joseph Campbell (_The Hero With a Thousand Faces_). In this course we will put Booker's theories about the seven basic plots to the test and apply them to selected works from different periods and genres of American literature.
Lecture inputs, presentations, group discussions
Active class participation, term paper (10-15 pages), presentation of papers.
Primary literature and selected secondary sources will made available on OLAT.
Anmeldevoraussetzung/en im BA: positive Beurteilung der Pflichtmodule 3 und 16
Anmeldevoraussetzung im Lehramtsstudium: VO2: Introduction to American Literary Studies
Entspricht im Lehramtsstudium (344): PS2: American Literature
Beginn: 19.10.2012
Beginn: 19.10.2012