124342 PS Literary Studies / Proseminar Literature (2018S)

This seminar gives insight into the ways in which the topic of (erotic) friendship is negotiated in different genres and different periods of English literature. We will read theoretical texts on friendship as a way of life, on its relationship to (homo)sexuality as well as on friendship as a political concept. In our analysis of specific literary texts from the early modern period to the present we shall discuss important historical developments in the concept of friendship in connection with a close analysis of the formative impact of literary genres (poetry, drama and narrative literature) on the notions of friendships presented in the texts. The seminar introduces important techniques of academic work (preparing, structuring and giving presentations, giving response, writing academic essays).