Literature (Modul 11, 11.1): Figurations of Otherness in British and American Romanticism - Einzelansicht

This course is going to work on figurations of otherness in British and American Romanticism. Looking at both canonical and less canonical examples, we are going to explore representation of nature, the 'orient' and the supernatural as well as figurations of difference regarding gender, social class, childhood, and ethnicity. We start with samples from British Romanticism (poetry and narrative), then cross the Atlantic for close readings of Emily Dickinson’s poetry and, finally, a detailed study of Melville’s seminal novel Moby-Dick. Students can expect to fine-tune their close reading skills, but also practice working with and critically responding to secondary literature on the given texts. 

You will need your own copy of Melville's Moby-Dick (Penguin Classics edition recommended – check for used copies, older editions are fine). Moby-Dick is, admittedly, long, but nothing nothing short of amazing! All the other texts are (1) a lot shorter and (2) provided via olat. 

This course is open to advanced 2-Fach-Bachelor students who would like to take it as one of their seminar options; if that sounds like you, please contact me directly.