1. PrerequisitesAt the start of this course the student should have acquired the following competences:
An active knowlegde of :
Specific prerequisites for this course:
Must have basic abilities to read and understand German texts.
2. Learning outcomesKnowledge of the cultural and historical context of modern literature and important literary texts dealing with adolescence. An understanding of the notions of "youth," "adolescence" and "puberty" as concepts linked to the development of modernity. An awareness of the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings underlying the link between modern literature and adolescence. Students are expected to become sensitive to the relationship between text and context and to be able to link their close reading of modern literary texts to the cultural, historical and social environment from which they emerged and to which they respond. Most generally and fundamentally, students are encouraged to develop a critical consciousness in and through the readings of literary texts involving a reflection on their own situation in society.
3. Course contents
ADOLESCENCE AND MODERN LITERATURE
The course begins with an introduction to three basic concepts: modernity, literary modernism and the notion of "adolescence." This introduction also addresses literary-historical, aesthetic and narratological issues which will then be used in the discussion of short stories, shorter novels and excerpts from longer prose works by Goethe, Rilke, Musil, Hesse, Kafka and Thomas Mann as well as contemporary authors such as Julie Zeh and Helene Hegemann. Special attention is paid to the relationship between narrative perspective and other formal aspects of the works and intergenerational power relations. The various representations of youth as a moment of crisis and a "state of inbetweenness", which is present in all the works to be discussed, serve as a suitable point of departure in exploring various aspects of modernity.
4. Teaching methodClass contact teaching:
LecturesSeminarsPersonal work:
Assignments:Individually
5. Assessment method and criteriaExamination:
Oral with written preparationContinuous assessment:
AssignmentsWritten assignment:
With oral presentationPresentation
6. Study materialRequired reading
A selection from the following texts (for some of them only excerpts.):
R.M. Rilke, "die Turnstunde"
Thomas Mann, "Tonio Kröger"
Robert Musil, "Die Verwirrungen des Zöglings Törless"
Hermann Hesse, "Unterm Rad"
Franz Kafka, "Das Urteil"
J.W. Goethe, "Die Leiden des jungen Werther"
Ulrich Plenzdorf, "Die neuen Leiden des jungen Werther"
Juli Zeh, "Spieltrieb"
Manns "Tonio Kröger" and Hesse's "Unterm Rad" should be bought by the students (if possible the newest Suhrkamp edition). The other texts will be provided in a reader.
Optional readingThe following study material can be studied on a voluntary basis:
Neubauer, John.
The Fin-de-siècle Culture of Adolescence. New Haven and New York: Yale University Press, 1992.
Jugendkultur im Adoleszenroman :Jugendliteratur der 80er und 90er Jahre zwischen Moderne und Postmoderne. Edited by Hans-Heino Ewers. München : Juventa Verlag, 1997.
7. Contact information
Prof. Dr. Vivian Liska
Deutsche Literatur
Dept. Letteren en Wijsbegeerte
Universiteit Antwerpen
Lange Winkelstraat 40-42, 4 verdieping
Post adres:
Prinsstraat 13 L.400
BE-2000-Antwerpen
Tel: +32 3 265 52 44
Fax: +32 3 265 52 41
Mobiel: +32 475 38 0000
e-mail: vivian.liska@ua.ac.be
(+)last update: 02/08/2011 15:43 vivian.liska