Winter Term 2009/2010

Postcolonial Britain (Proseminar and Übung Culture Studies Transcultural Area Studies)
Nicole Riplinger
Tue 12-14 ct.
C 5.3 U10

Course Description:
This course will deal with the effects that colonialism had on Great Britain, the so-called colonization in return. We will be focussing on Asian and Caribbean communities, with the descendants of immigrant families and their identities. In terms of history we will mainly focus on the 20th and 21st century. When the periphery returned to the centre, the glorified mother country England, it changed it for good. Not only did the immigrants bring their own English with them, but they also introduced new cultural elements into the conservative British environment. However, British citizens from overseas were not always welcome, and so racism and intercultural misunderstandings were quite frequent.  Nowadays the members of this polycultural society have learned to live together, but cultural exchanges and changing identities are an ongoing process.

To be read by 01.12.09: Meera Syal: Anita and Me.

A syllabus will be available at the beginning of the semester. For further details take a look at the department blackboard.


Pan-African Practices (Proseminar and Media Studies)
Dr. Soenke Zehle
Tue 10-12 ct.

Course Description
Introduction to Africa's cinemas, including basic concepts of film analysis as well as literary and historical readings. Particular emphasis on the role of visual media in articulating (diasporic, transnational) ideas of Africa. Students are required to attend the African Cinema Festival 2009 and participate in workshops held by visiting directors. Readings will be made availiable. Please register through CLIX.

Kolloquium: Studying TAS
Mi 16-18 c.t.
R 120, Geb. C5 3
First Session: Wed. 21 Oct

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) academic work-in-progress b) the application of TAS theories to selected texts c) ongoing analysis of contemporary critical issues in this field of study.

HS Australian Identity: Convicts, Bushrangers, Diggers and Larrikins
Professor Ghosh-Schellhorn, co-taught with Campbell Jefferys (Perth/Hamburg).
C.5.3 R 120
Block seminar
Sa, 17.10.09, 11-15 c.t.
Sa, 24.10.09, 11-15 c.t.
Sa, 31.10.09, 11-15 c.t.
Sa, 07.11.09, 11-15 c.t.
Sa, 14.11.09, 11-15 c.t.
Sa, 21.11.09, 11-15 c.t.
Sa, 28.11.09, 11-15 c.t.
Sa, 05.12.09, 11-15 c.t.

Course Description

What does it mean to be Australian? What values do Australians hold and with what do the people identify? Like any nation, Australia's identity is a product of social, historical and economic factors and this has been reflected in literature, films, music and other media. On the surface, everything looks great, and Australians are known for being open, likeable and down-to-earth. Not quite. It is not just the Anzacs and sports heroes that have made Australia but also the Stolen Generations, the convicts and the numerous immigrants who have settled there. How Australians see themselves, how the world sees them and how Australia is sold to the world varies greatly. This course goes deep into the Australian mindset by covering colonial suffering, tumultuous race relations, unbridgeable class divides, nationhood myth-making and intolerances that survive to the modern day. Through the analysis of poetry, literature, history, films and music, get to know the real Australia and discover why Australians today are still learning who they really are.

Reading
Sally Morgan. My Place. London: Virago, 1999
John Thieme, ed. Part II. Arnold Anthology of Post-Colonial Literatures in English. London: Arnold, 1996
Further texts are available in the "Seminarapparat"

HS Indian Epic: The Mahabharata

 

Professor Ghosh-Schellhorn, co-taught with Farrukh Dhondy (Cantab.)

Geb. C5 3 R 120

 

Do, 15.10. 10-12 c.t.

Do, 22.10.10-12 c.t.

Do, 29.10. 10-14 (Block) Geb C 5.3 R 1.19

Fr, 30.10., 10-14 (Block) Geb C 5.3 R 4.08

Do, 5.11. 10-14 (Block) Geb C 5.3 R 1.19

Fr, 6.11. 10-14 (Block) Geb C 5.3 R 4.08

Do, 12.11., 10-12 c.t.

Do, 19.11., 10-12 c.t.

Do, 26.11., 10-12 c.t.

Do, 3.12., 10-12 c.t.

Do, 10.12., 10-12 c.t.

 

Course Description:
What kind of myths have arisen from attempts to have control over the uncontrollable, over what Hans Blumenberg has called the "absolute Wirklichkeit" of the world? This lecture series takes as its main focus The Mahabharata, the epic through which pre-colonial India sought to explicate the inexplicable.
Please access your electronic copy of The Mahabharata (by P. Lal) using CLIX, or contact Bettina Thimmel (Tel 6587, email: toelpel7(at)mac.com)

Tutorial: Lena Breum
Mo 12-13
C 5.2 U 2


VL: The Art of Storytelling
Professor Ghosh-Schellhorn, co-taught with M. Paranjape (JNU, Delhi), and PD Dr. Susanne Schmid (Berlin).
HS II, Geb. B3.1
Wed. 14-16 c.t.
End of Course: Wed, 9 Dec. 2009

4 additional Block Seminars

  • Wed 18 Nov., 14-18 c.t. (Geb. C 5.3 R 119)
  • Fri 20 Nov , 10-14 c.t. (Geb C 5.3 R 4.08)
  • Wed 2 Dec., 14-18 c.t. (Geb. C 5.3 R 119)
  • Fri 4. Dec., 10-14 (Geb C 5.3 R 4.08)

Course Description:
This lecture series takes as its main focus selected stories that have been culturally validated. In looking at narratives like The Arabian Nights and other memorable stories, we shall be engaging with the question of how different cultures have envisaged and practised the art of storytelling. Wherein lies the craft of the storyteller and what does it take to render a story worth remembering?

Texts Discussed:
Burton, Richard. The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights. New York: Modern Library, 2004.
Mahfuz, Nagib. Arabian Nights and Days. London: Anchor, 1995.
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. New Haven: Vale UP, 2001.
Prince, Mary. The History of Mary Prince. London: Penguin, 2000.
Phillips, Caryl. Cambridge. New York: Random, 1993.

Excerpts are available on CLIXand in the 'Handapparat'

Tutorial : Leona Giddey
Mi 16-17 
C 5.3 U10