MLU
Seminar: The Second World in Contemporary Historical Writing - Vertiefungsmodul - Details
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General information

Course name Seminar: The Second World in Contemporary Historical Writing - Vertiefungsmodul
Subtitle neuer Raum ab 19.04.2024: SR 3.04, Adam-Kuckhoff-Straße 35 (3. Etage)
Course number ANG.05292.02
Semester SoSe 2024
Current number of participants 13
expected number of participants 30
Home institute Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik
Courses type Seminar in category Offizielle Lehrveranstaltungen
Next date Friday, 17.05.2024 10:15 - 11:45
Type/Form On-Campus Seminar
Studiengänge (für) LA Gym, Sek, Förder (Sekundar) Englisch (2012+2015)
MA Engl. Spr. u Lit 45/75 LP (2015)
MA Angloam. Lit., Spr u Kult. 120 LP (2015)
SWS 2
Miscellanea ANG.05292.02 Vertiefungsmodul: Anglistik Literatur I
ECTS points 5

Rooms and times

No room preference
Friday: 10:15 - 11:45, weekly

Module assignments

Comment/Description

The course will introduce three texts of contemporary British historical writing that are set in the so-called ‘Second World’, i.e. East-Central Europe during the era of the Cold War.
While British writers have long been fascinated with the countries behind the Iron Curtain, as the popular genre of the spy thriller (and its multimedia adaptations) demonstrates, British writing on the ‘Second World’ in the last three decades has become increasingly diversified. Our discussion will look at different genres of historical writing – memoir, fictional biography, historical novel – and the ways in which they imagine historical events, political ideologies, personal lives, and the sources and construction of memory.

We will also identify key themes explored in their portrayal of the ‘second world’, including surveillance, oppression, (dis)obedience, and the representation of moral conscience, guilt, loyalty, and complicity. We will discuss why contemporary British writers appear interested in (re)visiting East-Central Europe, and which of their motifs meaningfully contribute to discussing present-day phenomena in British, and liberal-democratic societies overall.

The seminar will include a guest talk session with German-British historian Katja Hoyer (see links below) in which we will discuss new approaches – British and other – to the ‘Second World’.

Studienleistungen:
• Regular attendance and oral participation
• In-depth knowledge of the reading and viewing material
• Short tasks in class
• Preparation of reading and discussion session
• Short oral presentation

Prüfungsleistung:
• Written Exam [Essays / Portfolio – Details to be announced in the first session]

Please note that prior registration (deadline: 3 April 2024) via StudIP is mandatory.

Primary sources to be purchased by students:
Please make sure to purchase EXACTLY (just as it says) the editions given below, as we will need identical content and pagination in order to engage in discussions in class.

Julian Barnes. [2016] The Noise of Time. London: Vintage, 2017. Print. ISBN 9781784703332.
Fiona Rintoul. The Leipzig Affair. Twickenham: Aurora Metro, 2014. Print. ISBN 978-1-906582-97-5.
Timothy Garton Ash. [1997] The File. London: Atlantic Books, 2009. Print. ISBN 978-1-84887-088-8.

Further Material:
Additional sources will be made available at the beginning of the teaching term.

Interviews with Katja Hoyer:
Chalke History Festival
https://www.chalkefestival.com/five-minutes-with-katja-hoyer/
rbb Kultur
https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/rbb-kultur/diesseits-der-mauer-von-katja-hoyer/rbb-fernsehen/Y3JpZDovL3JiYl9iNTJjNDE5MS05ZTUyLTRmMjgtOWY3Mi1jZTEwOWVlMzY2ZjlfcHVibGljYXRpb24

Admission settings

The course is part of admission "Zeitgesteuerte Anmeldung - ELK".
The following rules apply for the admission:
  • The enrolment is possible from 14.03.2024, 00:00 to 03.04.2024, 23:59.

Registration mode

The enrolment is binding, participants cannot unsubscribe themselves.