This biannual learning unit is not being organized in 2025-2026 !
Teacher(s)
Language
Deutsch
Prerequisites
Introduction to German literature and good command of the German language (upper advanced level, B2 + in terms of the Common European Framework of Reference).
Main themes
Colour in literature
Colour fascinates - and it's not just in paintFrench Impressionism and German Expressionism to American action painting and Mark Rothko's colour field paintings. Literature has responded to the fascination with colour in every age, and the competition between the two arts, painting and poetry ("paragone"), goes back to Antiquity. But since the 18th century, debates on the theory of the image and the history of culture have increasingly focused on the significance of colour (in relation to the contour line). At the beginning of the 20th century, the "triumphal march" of colour (Max Imdahl) was completed in the age-old competition between disegno and colore: colour became autonomous as a pictorial medium. Pure colour painting like that of Wassily Kandinsky at the turn of the century, or the abstract paintings of Gerhard Richter in the 1990s, would be inconceivable without this cultural and historical development.
German-language literature of the 20th and early 21st centuries is rich in texts (in the genres of prose and poetry) that deal with the fascination with the phenomenon of 'pure' colour: but how can language speak of colours, how can it produce their sensual and psychic effect, how can it itself be descriptive? This brings us to the fundamental questions of the intermediality of the relationship between text and image, which will be discussed from the linguistic, rhetorical and cultural-historical points of view. From a methodological point of view, the theme of the seminar is in line with the turn from the linguistic turn to the visual turn and within the framework of the theory of intermediality.
Poetic texts from the early 20th century to the present day will be read, along with extracts from relevant cultural and historical writings by way of introduction.
Colour fascinates - and it's not just in paintFrench Impressionism and German Expressionism to American action painting and Mark Rothko's colour field paintings. Literature has responded to the fascination with colour in every age, and the competition between the two arts, painting and poetry ("paragone"), goes back to Antiquity. But since the 18th century, debates on the theory of the image and the history of culture have increasingly focused on the significance of colour (in relation to the contour line). At the beginning of the 20th century, the "triumphal march" of colour (Max Imdahl) was completed in the age-old competition between disegno and colore: colour became autonomous as a pictorial medium. Pure colour painting like that of Wassily Kandinsky at the turn of the century, or the abstract paintings of Gerhard Richter in the 1990s, would be inconceivable without this cultural and historical development.
German-language literature of the 20th and early 21st centuries is rich in texts (in the genres of prose and poetry) that deal with the fascination with the phenomenon of 'pure' colour: but how can language speak of colours, how can it produce their sensual and psychic effect, how can it itself be descriptive? This brings us to the fundamental questions of the intermediality of the relationship between text and image, which will be discussed from the linguistic, rhetorical and cultural-historical points of view. From a methodological point of view, the theme of the seminar is in line with the turn from the linguistic turn to the visual turn and within the framework of the theory of intermediality.
Poetic texts from the early 20th century to the present day will be read, along with extracts from relevant cultural and historical writings by way of introduction.
Learning outcomes
At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to : | |
| 1 | Become familiar with the methodological debates surrounding intermediality and discuss what is at stake for textual and literary research. |
| 2 | Explore in greater depth the relationship between text and image |
| 3 | Carry out a detailed literary interpretation exercise (aesthetic devices, stylistic devices, etc.) on the basis of a 'close reading' of the literary texts studied |
| This teaching unit contributes to the development and mastery of the following skills and knowledge from the School of Languages and Arts syllabus (see ELAL AA table) | |
Content
Colour fascinates. This has been true from the beginning of the history of painting to the present day. It is a cultural phenomenon that, in addition to painters themselves, has repeatedly interested art historians, scientists and philosophers, but also poets, and has been used as a medium of reference for comparison with their own artistic work. Reflection on colours, their names and designations, and research into their effect on our eyes and minds has led in cultural history to a distinction from what language can achieve. Goethe did not consider any of his literary works to be his magnum opus, neither Faust, nor Werther, nor any of his many poems, but rather the work that emerged from his long preoccupation with colours: The Theory of Colours.
In this seminar, we read cultural-historical texts in order to analyse various literary works that deal with the fascination of colour effects in the medium of the literary word (Goethe, Rilke, Hofmannsthal, Trakl, but also contemporary authors).
In this seminar, we read cultural-historical texts in order to analyse various literary works that deal with the fascination of colour effects in the medium of the literary word (Goethe, Rilke, Hofmannsthal, Trakl, but also contemporary authors).
Teaching methods
Séminaire. Introduction dans la thématique au début du cours par l'enseignante. Ensuite discussion de lectures communes en plénière. Présentation des analyses littéraires et thématiques par les étudiantes et étudiants sur base d'un travail préparé avec les ouvrages de références et des articles scientifiques actuels sur les thématiques choisis. Le travail écrit personnel (= examen final) constitue une continuation et un approfondissement de ces présentations orales durant le cours.
Evaluation methods
Continuous assessment of course work (oral presentations, discussions) (40%).
Final assessment in the form of a written assignment (60%).
Regular attendance and active participation in the seminar are a prerequisite for assessment and access to the examination.
Oral presentation at the seminar, personal written work as a follow-up to this presentation (see "content"). This will provide an introduction to or a deepening of writing skills in German-language literary studies (--> dissertation).
The personal written work (final exam) is done individually with reference to specific content discovered during the four-month period and by oral presentation. In the event of failure, the second session consists of a reworking of the work submitted.
Working language: German
Final assessment in the form of a written assignment (60%).
Regular attendance and active participation in the seminar are a prerequisite for assessment and access to the examination.
Oral presentation at the seminar, personal written work as a follow-up to this presentation (see "content"). This will provide an introduction to or a deepening of writing skills in German-language literary studies (--> dissertation).
The personal written work (final exam) is done individually with reference to specific content discovered during the four-month period and by oral presentation. In the event of failure, the second session consists of a reworking of the work submitted.
Working language: German
Online resources
Scripts, texts, vocabulary list and detailed bibliography on Moodle.
Bibliography
Bilder. Ein (neues) Leitmedium ? Hg. Von Torsten Hoffmann u. Gabriele Rippl. Göttingen: Wallstein 2006.
Jacques Le Rider: Farben und Wörter. Geschichte der Farbe von Lessing bis Wittgenstein. (Frz. Orig. Les couleurs et les mots) , Wien, Köln, Weimar 2000.
Antje Büssgen: Dissoziationserfahrung und Totalitätssehnsucht. 'Farbe' als Vokabel im "Diskurs des 'Eigentlichen'" der klassischen Moderne. In: Zeitschrift für deutsche Philologie 124, H.4 (2005), 520-556.
Jacques Le Rider: Farben und Wörter. Geschichte der Farbe von Lessing bis Wittgenstein. (Frz. Orig. Les couleurs et les mots) , Wien, Köln, Weimar 2000.
Antje Büssgen: Dissoziationserfahrung und Totalitätssehnsucht. 'Farbe' als Vokabel im "Diskurs des 'Eigentlichen'" der klassischen Moderne. In: Zeitschrift für deutsche Philologie 124, H.4 (2005), 520-556.
Faculty or entity
