Winter Term 2008/2009

Prof. Ghosh-Schellhorn
VL: "Polycultural Great Britain:  A Transcultural Introduction to the South Asian Diaspora in Britain."
Mi 14-16 c. t.
Tutorium: Mi 13-14

This introductory lecture series provides a historical overview of migration to Britain while focussing more closely on the quantitatively large as well as qualitatively significant presence of migrants from the former British Empire region of South Asia. We will be studying these currents in the context of key texts, both literary and visual.
For details of the schedule and the texts being dealt with, please consult the Course Folder in the Dept. Library well in advance of the first session. The mandatory tutorial is designed to augment comprehension of the topics and texts presented in the lecture series.

Participation
Regular attendance of both lecture series and tutorial; active participation in the tutorial; end of term written test.


HS: Film Focus: The South Asian Diaspora in Britain
Do 10-12 c. t. sowie als Wochenendseminarblöcke Samstags von 12-16 im Oktober u. November.
Tutorium: Steffen de Schryver Do, 12-13, Ort wird bekannt gegeben

Carved out by the British rulers on leaving into the nations of India, West and East Pakistan (Bangladesh), Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Burma (Myanmar), and Afghanistan, South Asia is currently one of the most rapidly-expanding areas – in terms of population, economic progress, political instability – of the world. The large-scale migration of South Asians, especially Indians (also from East Africa) and Pakistanis to Britain, has led to important transcultural changes in the cultural landscape of Britain – as also in South Asia. In the seminar we will be examining the various ways in which this diaspora has chosen to represent itself when using the medium of film.

Main Films:
My Beautiful Laundrette
East is East
Bend it Like Beckham
Brick Lane

Please note that regular sessions will take place on Thursdays in the first half of term. Additionally, during Oct. and November there will be 4 seminar blocks, on Saturdays, from 12-16 c. t. These seminars will be co-taught with Visiting Academic Prof. Dr. Vijay Mishra, the Diaspora and Film Studies expert from Australia.
Please register for this seminar well before term starts, by sending an email to m.ghosh@mx.uni-saarland.de


HS: Indian Films and the Making of the Nation
Do 14-16 c. t. sowie als Seminarblöcke an 4 Freitagen von 12-16 im Oktober und November
Tutorium: Zeit und Ort werden noch bekannt gegeben

When India gained its independence from British rule, it had to undergo the Partition, that is, the dividing up of the sub-continent into what would from then on be a Hindu-majority Indian nation existing alongside the newly-created Muslim-majority nations of West Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Ethnic identity, however, in these nations was by no means uniform. In this seminar we will be exploring the contribution made by a popular cultural commodity such as film towards the consolidation of the nation of India.

Main Films:
Shri 420
Mother India
Kagaz Ke Phool
Mughal-e-Azam

Please note that regular sessions will take place on Thursdays in the first half of term. Additionally, during Oct. and November there will be 4 seminar blocks on Fridays from 12-16 c. t. These seminars will be co-taught with Visiting Academic Prof. Dr. Vijay Mishra, the Diaspora and Film Studies expert from Australia.
Please register for this seminar well before term starts, by sending an email to m.ghosh@mx.uni-saarland.de


KOLL: Transcultural Anglophone Studies
Mi 16-18 c. t.
All students intending to take any part of their final examinations in TAS are strongly advised to attend this colloquium. It provides a forum for the treatment of issues relevant to

a)preparation for the oral and written examinations
b)to academic work in progress (e.g. the writing of M. A. theses/Staatsarbeiten)
c)application of TAS theories to selected texts
d)ongoing analysis of contemporary critical issues in this field of study.

This semester the focus will be on South Asia, alongside theories of migration and nationalism. Please sign up for the colloquium by sending an email to: m.ghosh@mx.uni-saarland.de

Dr. Soenke Zehle
"Visual Essays: Between Documentarism and Experiment"
PS TAS, Übung TAS Culture Studies
Dienstag 10-12
CIP-Pool Raum 1.01

In film, literature, and philosophy, the essay is less a genre than an aesthetic strategy to "organize complexity" (Ursula Biemann). Notoriously difficult to define, visual essays are experiencing a renaissance (maybe because there's so much complexity to be organized). Which is why, after a short review of the literary and philosophical genealogy of the essay (authors such as Montaigne, Adorno, Flusser), we will explore contemporary practices of essayistic filmmaking (artists such as John Akomfrah, Paul D. Miller/DJ Spooky, Chris Marker, Angela Melitopolous). While you don't need to know anything about film or philosophy, intellectual curiosity always helps. The usual requirements (attendance, final exam, term paper, details on the first day of class) apply. Please register by email and include a few sentences on why you want to take the course so I can keep that in mind as I choose readings/films (s.zehle_at_mx.uni-saarland.de). For details, see tmsp.org/essay.