This biannual learning unit is not being organized in 2024-2025 !
Teacher(s)
Language
Deutsch
Prerequisites
To have successfully followed the courses on the history of German literature in the Bachelor, and to show a strong interest in this area of research.
Main themes
The content of the seminar depends on the research carried out in the unit and the licence dissertations undertaken by the students; it thus changes every year.
Learning outcomes
At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to : | |
| 1 |
To give the students a chance to participate in a collective research project, to integrate a personal research project in this methodological framework, possibly in connection with the realisation of their master dissertation and other research activities. |
Content
Europe, European Integration and Writers as Intellectuals: For example Stefan Zweig et Robert Menasse.
Europa, die Europäische Integration und die Schriftsteller als Intellektuelle: Zum Beispiel Stefan Zweig und Robert Menasse.
The seminar focuses on the discourse of writers and intellectuals on Europe. This discourse, which revolves around the possibility of a peacefully united Europe, begins in the German-speaking world around 1800 with the first novelist Novalis (Die Christenheit oder Europa, 1799) and continues through Stefan Zweig's pro-European and pacifist commitment in the interwar period to the current debates on the EU and Europe's future in a globalised world. At a time when we are facing the revival of pospulist and nationalist thinking in almost all EU member states and, since February 2022, have to see or experience a war on European soil again, the Austrian novelist Robert Menasse is probably the most passionate and active advocate of transnational European integration among (German-speaking) writers. His novel Die Hauptstadt (Suhrkamp 2017) is set in Brussels in the European institutions and combines political and historical reflection with a police plot. His essay Der europäische Landbote (Suhrkamp 2014), aptly titled Un messager pour l'europe. A plea against nationalism, was awarded the European Book Prize in 2015, which is awarded by the European Parliament. Menasse will soon publish a new novel on the EU project, Die Erweiterung, set in the Balkan countries that are candidates for EU membership. - The writings of the Austrian novelist Stefan Zweig from the twenties and thirties of the last century are shockingly and sadly topical (The Moral Detoxification of Europe, 1932), and when reading them, one wonders why the (anthropological, historical, psychological) reflections of writers and intellectuals have a negligible or belated impact on the field of political actors. - The overall aim of the seminar is to introduce the participants to one of the most important societal and political issues of the moment so that they can participate in this debate in an informed way.
Working language: German.
Europa, die Europäische Integration und die Schriftsteller als Intellektuelle: Zum Beispiel Stefan Zweig und Robert Menasse.
The seminar focuses on the discourse of writers and intellectuals on Europe. This discourse, which revolves around the possibility of a peacefully united Europe, begins in the German-speaking world around 1800 with the first novelist Novalis (Die Christenheit oder Europa, 1799) and continues through Stefan Zweig's pro-European and pacifist commitment in the interwar period to the current debates on the EU and Europe's future in a globalised world. At a time when we are facing the revival of pospulist and nationalist thinking in almost all EU member states and, since February 2022, have to see or experience a war on European soil again, the Austrian novelist Robert Menasse is probably the most passionate and active advocate of transnational European integration among (German-speaking) writers. His novel Die Hauptstadt (Suhrkamp 2017) is set in Brussels in the European institutions and combines political and historical reflection with a police plot. His essay Der europäische Landbote (Suhrkamp 2014), aptly titled Un messager pour l'europe. A plea against nationalism, was awarded the European Book Prize in 2015, which is awarded by the European Parliament. Menasse will soon publish a new novel on the EU project, Die Erweiterung, set in the Balkan countries that are candidates for EU membership. - The writings of the Austrian novelist Stefan Zweig from the twenties and thirties of the last century are shockingly and sadly topical (The Moral Detoxification of Europe, 1932), and when reading them, one wonders why the (anthropological, historical, psychological) reflections of writers and intellectuals have a negligible or belated impact on the field of political actors. - The overall aim of the seminar is to introduce the participants to one of the most important societal and political issues of the moment so that they can participate in this debate in an informed way.
Working language: German.
Teaching methods
Seminar. Introduction to the topic at the beginning of the course/quarter by the teacher. Then discussion of common readings in plenary. Presentation of literary and thematic analyses (globalisation, climate change, contemporary societal challenges) by the students in small groups on the basis of a prepared work with reference books and current scientific articles on the chosen themes (Referat mit Thesenpapier).
The personal written work (=final exam) is a continuation and deepening of these oral presentations during the course.
The personal written work (=final exam) is a continuation and deepening of these oral presentations during the course.
Evaluation methods
Continuous assessment of the work done in the course (oral presentation, discussions) (30%).
Final assessment in the form of a personal written assignment (70%).
Regular attendance and active participation in the seminar are a prerequisite for assessment and access to the examination.
Oral presentation (Referat und Thesenpapier) in the seminar (possibly in groups), personal written work as an extension of this presentation (see "content"). This will provide an introduction to and/or deepening of writing skills in German literature (--> thesis).
The personal written work (final exam) is done individually with reference to specific contents discovered during the four-month period and by oral presentation (Referat). In case of failure, the second session consists of a revision of the submitted work.
Working language: German.
Final assessment in the form of a personal written assignment (70%).
Regular attendance and active participation in the seminar are a prerequisite for assessment and access to the examination.
Oral presentation (Referat und Thesenpapier) in the seminar (possibly in groups), personal written work as an extension of this presentation (see "content"). This will provide an introduction to and/or deepening of writing skills in German literature (--> thesis).
The personal written work (final exam) is done individually with reference to specific contents discovered during the four-month period and by oral presentation (Referat). In case of failure, the second session consists of a revision of the submitted work.
Working language: German.
Other information
The rhythm of the sessions is adapted to the progression of the common readings during the four-month period.
Bibliography
Une bibliographie détaillée sera diffusée au séminaire.
Teaching materials
- cf. ressources en ligne et bibliographie.
Faculty or entity
