ANGLISTIK/AMERIKANISTIK

Un/Covering the North: Canadian Literature (Hauptseminar) 4002078
2 SWS ab 5. Sem. Mo, 14tägig 10-14, R 21 Geneviève Susemihl
The North is Canada – Canada is the North. It is its Northern image that distinguishes Canada
from the United States in the eyes of many people who do not live in North America. But
even to a Canadian the North seems to be more than a geographical region. It is an idea, a
myth, a promise, a destiny, a world of imagination, and as such it has shaped Canadian
identity. Especially the last couple of years have brought an explosion of interest in the North
and a departure from traditional perspectives.
This course aims to explore the North in Canadian Literature, where is has mostly been
configured as a space for the male Western imagination. In recent decades, however, this
rendition of the North has been challenged by women writers. Also, with the foundation of
the territory of Nunavut in 1999, when the Inuit regained control over their land, the North
became increasingly visible as a homeland and more oral literatures of the Inuit were recorded
and translated into written English.
Texts will include Mordecai Richler’s Solomon Gursky Was Here, Margaret Atwood’s
Strange Things. The Malevolent North in Canadian Literature and Tomson Highway’s Kiss
of the Fur Queen. Additional texts will be provided as master copies. Since this course is a
BLOCKSEMINAR you will have to come prepared for the first double session.
maximum participants: 20
An Introduction to (American) Women’s Studies (Hauptseminar) 4002079
2 SWS ab 5. Sem. Mi 12-14 R 23 Anette Brauer
When Barack Obama won the nomination of the Democratic Party for presidency over Hillary
Clinton in 2008, critical voices argued that it was easier for the American society to admit and
overcome racism than acknowledge the existence of sexism. True, after more than 200 years
of women’s movements in the USA, American women have made progress towards
sexual/social equality and this seminar will pay tribute to both their fights and their
achievements. However, if we examine the individual, media and social perspectives on
women’s roles in the USA more closely, we will come across surprisingly persisting
conservative cultural values that still guide men’s and women’s behaviour, both consciously
and subconsciously. Grounded in feminist theories, we will analyze American culture from a
women’s studies’ point of view and specifically focus on the deconstruction of gender roles.
Required reading: Wood, Julia T. Gendered Lives. Belmont: Wadsworth/Thomson, 2005
and later. ISBN: 0-534-63615-2
maximum participants: 25
American Political Values and Ideals (Seminar) 4002039
2 SWS ab 4. Sem. Di 16-18 R 24 John Serembus
& Mi 14-16 R 24
(i.e 4 h/week in May & June)
Course description: see ‘Grundstudium’
maximum participants:
New Hollywood (Hauptseminar) 4002076
2 SWS ab 5. Sem. Mi 12-14 R 34 Martin Holtz
film session: Di 18-20 R 34
1967 proved a watershed year in the history of American cinema. The releases of The
Graduate and Bonnie and Clyde ushered in a new era of filmmaking, quickly dubbed ‘New
Hollywood’ by critics and industry. The break with the traditions of classical Hollywood was
23