How do creative works approach topics such as guilt and atonement? How do fictional characters try to atone for their sins? What does it mean to be “guilty” in a specific context and under certain political, social and historical circumstances? The selection of primary texts covered by this seminar takes us from England and the USA to South Africa and Japan – and frequently it is less than easy to distinguish the protagonists’ deeds from a larger context of collective guilt. We will start out by defining the concepts of “guilt” and “atonement”, taking into account some theological, philosophical and psychological approaches. Afterwards we will trace representations of guilt and atonement in a selection of contemporary novels. We will examine both the protagonists’ personal motivations and the stylistic devices that are used to portray the interior (and often also exterior) struggle taking place in the novels. Furthermore, we will consider some recent film adaptations of the primary texts, exploring how specific instances of guilt and atonement have been transferred to the medium of film. At the end of term, we will perform an in-depth analysis of the narrative and artistic strategies employed by one recent film dealing with the topic of guilt, Terry George’s “Reservation Road” (2007). Reading for this course: - Kazuo Ishiguro, An Artist of the Floating World (1986) - Toni Morrison, Beloved (1987) - J.M. Coetzee, Disgrace (1999) - Ian McEwan, Atonement (2001) Please get hold of the novels before the beginning of the course and start reading. In addition, a reader including further material (also obligatory reading!) will be available at the copy shop in “Reckhammerweg” from early April. Please note: This is a course for avid readers. The reading load will be considerable, and participants will have to pass “reading check-ups” in order to qualify for credit. |
