| Kommentar |
This course will give an introduction to the diversity of American literature. It complements the lecture "A History of American Literature," which is offered every summer semester. Reading and analyzing texts from pre-colonial times to the present, we will try to get an overview of important movements and authors. In our discussions of writings taken from all main literary genres we will attempt to determine some of the characteristics of American literature in general and of individual periods and writers in particular. Short introductory lectures on the various periods of American literature will provide the literary and cultural background for our discussion of exemplary texts.
Requirements:
- all participants: regular attendance and completion of all reading assignments
- for a “Seminar Literary Studies” Studienbuch credit in Module V, “Kulturwirt” or E3 credit:
- 6 quizzes on the readings (best five will count 50 % of your total grade)
- assignment 1: a thesis statement, outline, introduction, a bibliography for a research paper (1-2 pages; due June 18, 2012; counts 30% of your total grade)
- for a “Schriftliche Hausarbeit” Studienbuch credit in Module V:
- Assignment 2: a research paper of 8-10 written pages (due October 1, 2012)
Class discussion constitutes 20% of your seminar grade! |
| Literatur |
Course Readings:
· Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter. Bantam, USA ISBN: 978-0553210095, to be read by May 30
· Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun. Vintage Books, USA. ISBN: 978-0-679-75533-3, to be read by June 27
· please obtain the reader with additional texts at the copy shop on Reckhammerweg 4 before the first class meeting |
