Media of literature and cultural mediation

Language

Deutsch

Prerequisites

An introductory knowledge of German literature and a good proficiency in German (advanced level, B2 + in terms of the Common European reference framework).

Main themes

This course focuses on the active transmission of German-language literary and/or theatrical texts in their particular historical and cultural context, using analytical methods to favour communicate about those texts, orally and in writing.  
Based on a thematic and corpus that will vary from year to year, it will take an all-encompassing look at both the canonical text itself and its contemporary adaptations, for example in the cinema or in graphic novels.  
Questions of content will always be addressed in their interaction with writing and creation processes . 

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

Master a particular issue of German literature in its cultural context and both from a diachronic and synchronic perspective, in relation to the present day. They will also have developed specific skills relating to the communication of contents, for example by writing lively reviews or critiques relating to the themes covered.

This learning unit contributes to the development and command of the following skills and learning outcomes of the ELAL programmes (ELAL learning outcomes): 1.1; 1.2; 1.4; 1.5; 2.1; 2.7; 4.1; 4.3; 5.1; 5.3; 5.6; 6.1

Content

This year's seminar will focus on the so-called 'intercultural literature' (interkulturelle Literatur) of post-migration, which has developed considerably in German-speaking countries since the 1980s, to the point that it now represents an important phenomenon and sub-field of German literature at the beginning of the 21st century.
Initially, this literary production in German language was a marginal phenomenon that used to be circumscribed by the terms Migrantenliteratur or Gastarbeiterliteratur, but today it covers all forms of literature with multiple identities that characterise present-day German society, which has become 'plurinational': German-language literature of Turkish origin, from the Arab or Persian world, but also from Eastern Europe or Black Africa (particularly the countries formerly colonised by Germany). Theoretically, the focus will be on the themes of exile and migration, as well as the relationship with otherness (das Fremde), particularly insofar as the 'other' has also become 'part of ourselves'. 
The work carried out by the students will be promoted in such a way as to fit in with the activities of an interdisciplinary research programme devoted to post-migration literature in Europe (see https://sites.uclouvain.be/narramuse/).

Teaching methods

Preparation of the analysis in small groups with the teacher.

Evaluation methods

Oral exam based on a preliminary written report.

Bibliography

Littérature primaire: Une sélection d'oeuvres à convenir avec les étudiant·es et qui sera annoncée dans le courant du premier quadrimestre: par exemple Shida Bazyar, Nachts ist es leise in Teheran (2016), Sabrina Janesch, Katzenberge (2010); Terézia Mora, Alle Tage (2004); Emine Sevgi Özdamar, Mutterzunge (1990); May Ayim, Grenzenlos und unverschämt (2002), etc.

Littérature secondaire: Chiellino, Carmine (Hrsg.), Interkulturelle Literatur in Deutschland. Ein Handbuch, Weimar, Metzler, 2007; Müller-Funk, Wolfgang, Theorien des Fremden, Tübingen, Francke Verlag, 2016.

Faculty or entity

> ELAL