View source for 2014 Prizing 'National Allegories'

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*'''Time:''' Thu, 10:00 - 12:00
*'''Venue:''' A01 0-006
*'''Lecturer:''' [[User:Anna Auguscik|Anna Auguscik]]
*'''Modul:''' ang614 Genres: Cultural, Historical and Theoretical Perspectives

*'''Course Description''': 

In 1986, literary critic Fredric Jameson wrote an article about what he called "third-world literature" and its distinct characteristic of portraying public (historical, national) events via private individuals (characters) for which he used the concept of "national allegory". A year later, another literary theorist, Aijaz Ahmad, responded to Jameson's article and criticized the simplifications and generalizations which ensued from combining the two terms all too quickly. The exchange which was given room on the pages of the literary periodical ''Social Text'' lay the grounds for a controversy between postcolonial and marxist theorists.

In our seminar, we will read and analyse two contemporary novels, JM Coetzee's ''Disgrace'' (1999) and Ian McEwan's ''On Chesil Beach'' (2007). In a second step, we will discuss them with reference to the Jameson/Ahmad controversy and see if and how they work as 'national allegories'. In a third step, we will take a look at these critically acclaimed and prize-winning novels and test the question if awards, in particular the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, aim at recognizing titles which correspond with Jameson's concept.

Please, make sure to purchase and read the two novels in advance (both will be made available at the CvO bookshop). Your reading of them is prerequisite to the course. 

:*JM Coetzee. ''Disgrace'' [1999]. London: Vintage, 2000.  
:*Ian McEwan. ''On Chesil Beach'' [2007]. London: Vintage, 2008. 

*Additional materials for preparation, as well as the detailed syllabus, will be made available here.

*'''Course Requirements'''
:*Requirements for 6 KP: regular attendance and a written/oral contribution in the form of a project, with a term paper of ca. 10-12 pp. based on the topic of the project.
:*As part of the "Aktive Teilnahme" regulation: 
     Die aktive Teilnahme besteht aus folgenden Komponenten
     - regelmäßige Anwesenheit: max. 2 Abwesenheiten und gegebenenfalls Nacharbeit
     - Vor- und Nachbereitung des Seminarstoffs (Gruppenprojekte, Vorbereitung/Lektüre von Texten) 
     - Entwicklung einer wissenschaftlichen Fragestellung aus dem Problembereich des Seminars, durch:
       *Übernahme von Ergebnispräsentationen und 
       *(nur falls Seminararbeit angestrebt, verschriftlicht, ansonsten als Teil der Präsentation) 
        Entwicklung einer Research Paper Outline im Laufe des Semesters (die Zeitangaben verstehen sich als Empfehlungen): 
        Wahl eines Themenbereichs (bis ...),
        Abstract mit Fragestellung inkl. Forschungsbibliographie (RPO) (bis ...), 
        Vorstellung der Fragestellung in der letzten Semestersitzung.

==Part I: ==

===Session 1 Thu, ===
*Introduction

===Session 2 Thu, ===

===Session 3 Thu, ===

===Session 4 Thu, ===

===Session 5 Thu, ===

    [Specify research interest until ...]

==Part II: ==

===Session 6 Thu, ===

===Session 7 Thu, ===


==Part III: ==

===Session 8 Thu, ===

===Session 9 Thu, ===

===Session 10 Thu, === 


  [Hand in RPOs until ...]

==Part IV: Discussion and Outlook==

===Session 11 Thu, ===
*evaluation

===Session 12 Thu, ===


==Materials==

===Bibliography===
'''Reading Material'''

'''Contemporary Historical Novel'''

'''Contemporary Fiction and the Book Market'''

*Todd, Richard. 1996. ''Consuming Fictions: The Booker Prize and Fiction in Britain Today''. London, England: Bloomsbury. [HA]
*Huggan, Graham. 2001. ''The Postcolonial Exotic. Marketing the Margins''. London. Routledge. [HA]
*English, James F. 2005. ''The Economy of Prestige: Prizes, Awards, and the Circulation of Cultural Value''. Harvard. [HA]
*Squires, Claire. 2007. ''Marketing Literature: The Making of Contemporary Writing in Britain''. London: Palgrave Macmillian. [HA]

'''Tools'''
*Handout: [[Traditions in our discourse about literature]]
*Handout: [[Narratology]]

===Quotes===

===Further Reading===

==Links==


[[Category:Aufbaumodul]]
[[Category:Summer 2014]]