Universität Wien

123425 SE Literary & Cultural Studies Seminar / BA Paper / MA American/North American Lit./Studies (2018W)

Female Voices from the American South : Women Writers and the Legacy of the Past

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

An/Abmeldung

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

Details

max. 18 Teilnehmer*innen
Sprache: Englisch

Lehrende

Termine (iCal) - nächster Termin ist mit N markiert

  • Mittwoch 10.10. 16:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 17.10. 16:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 24.10. 16:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 31.10. 16:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 07.11. 16:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 14.11. 16:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 21.11. 16:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 28.11. 16:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 05.12. 16:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 12.12. 16:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 09.01. 16:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 16.01. 16:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 23.01. 16:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 30.01. 16:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A

Information

Ziele, Inhalte und Methode der Lehrveranstaltung

The culture of the American South has been shaped by the past more than in any other section of the USA. Female writers, who have contributed significantly to the remarkable literary productivity of the region in the 20th century, have offered memorable representations of the complex history of Southern society, exploring the legacy and the burden of the past.
In the seminar some popular fictional portraits of society in the various subregions of the section as well as some less familiar accounts in fiction and in poetry by authors such as Margaret Mitchell, Katherine Anne Porter, Margaret Walker, Lee Smith, and more recently Natasha Trethewey, will be analyzed. Their texts, composed in the 1930s, 1960s, and 1980s, but also in the early 21st century, will be related to the mediation of an image of the South in a phenomenally successful film ("Gone with the Wind"), in which issues such as gender and race are prominently dealt with.

Art der Leistungskontrolle und erlaubte Hilfsmittel

Participants will submit a written seminar paper of 20-22 pages and offer an oral presentation. Regular attendance, active class participation and two written reports on seminar sessions (of up to two pages) will be expected. There will also be also a final written essay test.

Mindestanforderungen und Beurteilungsmaßstab

Students will study several texts mirroring the traditional role of women in Southern society and the revolt of some against the code of behavior binding for (upper-class) white women. They will also consider the difference in and the evolution of manners in various subregions of the South as reflected in the cinema and contemporary culture, and will also discuss narratives chronicling the difficult road of African Americans towards emancipation and full civil rights.
Evaluation of seminar paper and its presentation 50 %, participation in class and reports 20 %, essay test 30 %.

Prüfungsstoff

Student activities will include presentations of research papers on the topics chosen and a general discussion of the narratives considered in class, including the film version of a key text. Students should develop an awareness of the diversity in Southern culture despite many shared features in the representation of its society and in its preoccupation with the past.

Literatur

Students would have to acquire copies of two novels : Margaret Mitchell, 'Gone with the Wind' (1936) and Margaret Walker, 'Jubilee' (1966), and a Reader containing Katherine Anne Porter’s short novel 'Old Mortality' (1937) and excerpts from Lee Smith's novel 'Oral History' (1983) and from Natasha Trethewey’s Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of poems entitled Native Guard (2006). The Reader will probably be available at Copy Studio before the end of August.
A reserve shelf (Handapparat) with some relevant general studies and a selection of material on the writers to be considered in class will be accessible on the upper floor of the departmental library. A list of topics for the first four presentations in the seminar will be published before the end of August. Students volunteering for these presentations are invited to contact me for confirmation. If their participation is agreed upon, their inclusion in the seminar will be assured.
The first four topics for the seminar were announced several weeks ago. The list is here included, and volunteers are welcome for these topics (with oral presentations scheduled, after introductory presentations by and discussions with two doctoral students, from the end of October onwards) :
1. The Presentation of Scarlett O’Hara and Her Family in the Context of Antebellum Society.
Focus on the opening chapters of Gone With the Wind( 1-6) and discuss the importance of class, race and gender in the Old South. (Cf. also Michael O’ Brien “Class in the Old South”)
2. The Impact of the Progress of the Civil War on the Protagonists in Plantation Society in GWW (focus on chapters 7-28)
3. Scarlett’s Experiences in the Reconstruction Period. The Career of a New Woman in the New South.
4. Hollywood ‘s Representation of Southern Society and of Scarlett’s Development.
Consider the film script of the romance and the significance of the cast for the tremendous success of the film.

Zuordnung im Vorlesungsverzeichnis

Studium: UF 344, BA 612, MA 844;
Code/Modul: UF 4.2.4-322, BA09.2, 10.2, MA5, MA6, MA7;
Lehrinhalt: 12-0406

Letzte Änderung: Mo 07.09.2020 15:33