Universität Wien

123250 AR Literature Course - 1/2 (MA) American/North American & Cultural Studies (2025W)

Literature and the Global Life of Capital

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 12 - Anglistik
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle
Th 11.12. 14:15-15:45 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Thursday 09.10. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Thursday 16.10. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Thursday 23.10. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Thursday 30.10. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Thursday 06.11. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Thursday 13.11. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Thursday 20.11. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Thursday 27.11. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Thursday 04.12. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Thursday 18.12. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Thursday 08.01. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Thursday 15.01. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Thursday 22.01. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Thursday 29.01. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Drawing on the Warwick Research Collective, this class will bring students into contact with an ongoing debate in literary studies: the status of (so-called) world literature. We will explore (Anglophone) literary texts from around the world, approaching them through a Marxist lens and engaging with what Immanuel Wallerstein calls a “world-systems” theory. We will recognize how novels and poetry register global patterns of “combined and uneven development.” World literature, according to this view, reflects and represents systems of coloniality, dispossession, and accumulation that structure the entire planet, reinforcing dynamics of power between core and peripheral zones. We will also allow ourselves to consider the limitations of such an approach and the ensuing controversies it has engendered.

Course Outcomes:
-Students will be able to detect the features associated with World Literature (according to the Warwick Research Collective)
-Students will understand and work within a world-systems approach, while noting how it comes into conflict with other theories (namely, postcolonial theory).
-Students will be able to utilize a world-systems and Marxist approach in their future studies

Assessment and permitted materials

On the first day of class, students will vote on whether they are assessed with:
A.) Three 1000-word Response Essays, in which students respond to prompts/questions (given on the syllabus) offering their own views/opinions.

or

B.)Weekly Expert sessions, in which 3-4 students lead the class discussion on the assigned text.

Final Paper: At the end of the semester, students must submit a final paper of (approx.) 4500-6000 words. This is a research paper that should include a strong thesis statement, engagement with the primary text, and additional scholarly materials.

Course Discussion This is a discussion-heavy, seminar style course in which we will be discussing texts in a small group setting. Each student is required to show up prepared to discuss the previous week's reading, and to engage in an ongoing dialogue with classmates and the instructor.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Grading Criteria
Total=100 points
Expert Session or Response papers: 45 points
Research Proposal: 15 points
Final Paper = 30 points
Participation = 10 points points

Note: Students must receive 60 points in total in order to pass the course

Grading Scale:
90-100 points=1
80-89 points=2
70-79 points=3
60-69 points=4
0-59 points=5

Students are permitted two unexcused absences. Any additional absences must be requested from and approved by the instructor

Examination topics

This course is structured with ongoing assessment ("Prüfungsimmanent"), meaning that your final grade will based on your performance during course discussions, in assignments, and on your final papers

Reading list

1.) Percy Bysshe Shelley - "Ode to the West Wind" https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45134/ode-to-the-west-wind
2.) Joseph Conrad, Nostromo
3.) Helene María Viramontes, Under the Feet of Jesus
4.) Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Devil on the Cross
5.) Susan Abulhawa, The Blue Between Sky and Water
6.) Merlinda Bobis, Locust Girl: a Lovesong

The remaining theoretical/secondary texts by Marx, Luxemburg, Quijano, Wallerstein, Bhattacharya, Anzaldúa, Nkrumah, Rodney, Shiva, Amin, and Moore will be provided on Moodle.

Association in the course directory

Studium: MA 844(2); MA UF 046/507
Code/Modul: MA 3.1, 3.2; M04A
Lehrinhalt: 12-0267

Last modified: Fr 12.09.2025 00:02