Universität Wien

123041 PS Literary Studies / Proseminar Literature (2020W)

Literary Glimpses of South-East Asia - A Survey of Anglophone Writing from Singapore

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 12 - Anglistik
Prüfungsimmanente Lehrveranstaltung
Moodle

An/Abmeldung

Hinweis: Ihr Anmeldezeitpunkt innerhalb der Frist hat keine Auswirkungen auf die Platzvergabe (kein "first come, first served").

Details

max. 25 Teilnehmer*innen
Sprache: Englisch

Lehrende

Termine (iCal) - nächster Termin ist mit N markiert

DIGITAL
This course will be taught as a synchronous online course. We will meet at the regular times as specified in the VVZ (i.e. Wednesdays, 12.15-1.45 p.m.) on BigBlueButton (BBB). You will find all the necessary information on moodle. The meetings will be recorded.

  • Mittwoch 07.10. 12:15 - 13:45 Digital
    Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Mittwoch 14.10. 12:15 - 13:45 Digital
    Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Mittwoch 21.10. 12:15 - 13:45 Digital
    Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Mittwoch 28.10. 12:15 - 13:45 Digital
    Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Mittwoch 04.11. 12:15 - 13:45 Digital
    Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Mittwoch 11.11. 12:15 - 13:45 Digital
    Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Mittwoch 18.11. 12:15 - 13:45 Digital
    Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Mittwoch 25.11. 12:15 - 13:45 Digital
    Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Mittwoch 02.12. 12:15 - 13:45 Digital
    Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Mittwoch 09.12. 12:15 - 13:45 Digital
    Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Mittwoch 16.12. 12:15 - 13:45 Digital
    Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Mittwoch 13.01. 12:15 - 13:45 Digital
    Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Mittwoch 20.01. 12:15 - 13:45 Digital
    Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Mittwoch 27.01. 12:15 - 13:45 Digital
    Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09

Information

Ziele, Inhalte und Methode der Lehrveranstaltung

In recent decades, postcolonial studies have successfully challenged the dominance of British (and American) literature in the study of Anglophone literatures. Yet, even though, in a geographical sense, the interests of literary studies these days are perhaps broader than they have ever been before, Anglophone writing from South-East Asia, in particular the Malay peninsula, still remains understudied. To counteract this tendency, this Proseminar is designed to deal exclusively with what Angelia Poon and Angus Whitehead call the ‘burgeoning field of SingLit’. In this context, we will read texts from all three genres (poetry, drama and prose) and engage with the question of how they respond to and make sense of both local, i.e. Singaporean, and global concerns.

Central issues addressed in this Proseminar will include:
1. What are ‘postcolonial literatures’ and why does writing from Singapore fall into this category?
2. What does it mean to write in English rather than Malay or Chinese in the polyglot city-state of Singapore?
3. How does Anglophone writing from Singapore engage with the city-state’s historical role as a confluence of different cultures, most notably Malay, Chinese and British?
4. In what ways does contemporary Anglophone writing from Singapore engage with the city’s role as a driving force in today’s globalised society?
5. How does Anglophone writing from Singapore engage with the issues of class, gender and sexuality, considering that Singaporean society is highly classed, tends to define itself in hypermasculine terms and still prohibits male homosexuality by law?

Apart from addressing the primary texts in their form and content, this Proseminar is also designed to introduce you to basic academic skills, including academic writing, thesis formulation and the structuring of a term paper in literary studies.

Art der Leistungskontrolle und erlaubte Hilfsmittel

• Preparation of session material and regular attendance: Students are expected to log on to BBB for at least 12 out of 14 sessions (two sessions may be missed). Students who do not have the technical equipment to attend the online sessions are asked to register for an alternative course.
• General participation in class (through online postings), including individual contributions as well as work in groups
• Expert work on assigned readings: each student will be assigned to one source material of the syllabus and provide expert input in the respective session (experts are expected to provide everyone with a handout summarising the most important points)
• A written portfolio: This will consist of a short essay (deadline: 18 November 2020) and a paper proposal with annotated bibliography (deadline: 16 December 2020)
• A formal research paper of 3,500 words (+/- 10%): The deadline is 27 January 2021, 1.45 p.m.

Mindestanforderungen und Beurteilungsmaßstab

• Active participation and contributions in class through online postings (including your expert input in your respective session): 20%
• Written portfolio tasks: 20%
• Term paper: 60%

Points must be collected in all of these categories. Students must attain at least 60% to pass the course.

All written assignments will be checked for plagiarism, using Turnitin on moodle.

Marks in %:
1 (sehr gut): 90-100
2 (gut): 80-89
3 (befriedigend): 70-79
4 (genügend): 60-69
5 (nicht genügend): 0-59

Prüfungsstoff

Contents covered throughout the semester. This is an interactive course (“prüfungsimmanente Lehrveranstaltung”): in addition to completing both a research paper and a portfolio of written tasks (and handing in all assignments on time), participants are expected to read all set texts and actively participate in class throughout the semester. There will be no written exam.

Literatur

Primary Texts
Koh, Andrew. Glass Cathedral. Singapore: Epigram Books, 2011. Print.
Kon, Stella. Emily of Emerald Hill: A Monodrama. London: Macmillan, 1989. Print.
Lim, Catherine. “The English Language Teacher’s Secret.” A Shadow of a Shadow of a Dream. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2017. Web.
Tham, Claire. The Inlet. Singapore: Ethos Books, 2013. Print.
Thumboo, Edwin. “Ulysses by the Merlion.” The Poetry of Singapore. Eds. Edwin Thumboo, et al. Singapore: ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information, 1985. 474-76. Print.

All primary texts will be made available on moodle at the beginning of term.

Secondary Literature
Gooneratne, Yasmine. “Edwin Thumboo, "Ulysses by the Merlion".” Critical Engagements: Singapore Poems in Focus. Ed. Kirpal Singh. Singapore: Heinemann Asia, 1986. 7-16. Print.
Holden, Philip. “The Social Life of Genres: Short Stories as a Singapore Form.” Singapore Literature and Culture: Current Directions in Local and Global Contexts. Eds. Angelia Poon and Angus Whitehead. New York: Routledge, 2017. 99-113. Web.
Lo, Jacqueline. Staging Nation: English Language Theatre in Malaysia and Singapore. Hong Kong: Hong Kong UP, 2004. Web.
Poon, Angelia. “Narrating Privilege: Meritocracy and the Portrait of the Scholar in Singapore Anglophone Literature.” Postcolonial Studies 21.4 (2018): 414-32. Web.
Poon, Angelia, and Angus Whitehead. “Introduction: Singapore Literature in English.” Singapore Literature and Culture: Current Directions in Local and Global Contexts. Eds. Angelia Poon and Angus Whitehead. New York: Routledge, 2017. 1-18. Web.
Sim, Wai-chew. “Super-Diversity and Its Implications in Two Singapore Texts.” Singapore Literature and Culture: Current Directions in Local and Global Contexts. Eds. Angelia Poon and Angus Whitehead. New York: Routledge, 2017. 181-97. Web.
Varney, Denise, et al. Theatre and Performance in the Asia-Pacific: Regional Modernities in the Global Era. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. Print.
Yeoh, Paul. “Writing Singapore Gay Identities: Queering the Nation in Johann S. Lee’s Peculiar Chris and Andrew Koh’s Glass Cathedral.” Journal of Commonwealth Literature 41.3 (2006): 121-35. Web.

These texts, relevant excerpts from them or links to them will be available on moodle at the beginning of term.

Zuordnung im Vorlesungsverzeichnis

Studium: UF 344, BA 612; BEd 046 / 407
Code/Modul: UF 3.3.3-304, BA10.1; BEd 08a.1, BEd 08b.2
Lehrinhalt: 12-3041

Letzte Änderung: Fr 12.05.2023 00:16