Media of literature and cultural mediation

Teacher(s)

Roland Hubert;

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

In the final decades of the 19th century, following the Romantic emotional outpourings, German and European writers turned towards a realist aesthetic that sought to represent the workings of social reality in a serious, comprehensive and faithful manner, emphasising the interconnections (Zusammenhänge) of reality – the moments of coherence and integration that explain how it functions.
In German-speaking countries, leading authors of ‘bourgeois realism’ – such as Theodor Fontane, Gottfried Keller and Annette von Droste-Hülshoff – depicted social issues through the genre of the ‘study of manners’, which also placed great emphasis on psychological plausibility. In doing so, however, they did not hesitate to incorporate into the very principle of plausibility a wholly mysterious, even irrational dimension of reality, alongside the imperative to poeticise it, as indicated by the related term ‘poetischer Realismus’.
Through a selection of “novellas” (Novellen) and other modes of short stories (Erzählungen), we will examine some major works of this realist tradition, contrasting different historical periods from the late 19th to the early 21st century. A list of compulsory reading will be provided to enrolled students three months before the start of the seminar.
Proposed authors: Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, Gottfried Keller, Arthur Schnitzler, Theodor Storm, Thomas Mann, Ilse Aichinger, Anna Seghers, Uwe Timm.

Teaching methods

Preparation of the analysis in small groups with the teacher.
Part of the seminar will be organised around inviting a post-migration author to Louvain-la-Neuve as part of a “Literary Lunch”, which will be integrated into the teaching unit.

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 lors d'une séance d'information. 

 

Faculty or entity

> ELAL