The lecture offers an overview of North American literary history since World War I with a particular focus on its dynamism and diversity. It addresses the ways in which literature forms part of and interacts with a larger cultural, social, and political context, introduces literary periods and movements, and discusses aesthetic innovations.
Students in the BA Englisch and the BA Amerikanistik take the lecture in combination with a Lektüreübung (BA Amerikanistik) or Lektüreseminar (BA Englisch), in which selected texts from the respective periods are discussed in greater depth. Students who take the lecture as part of ÜWP (überfachlicher Wahlpflichtbereich) only attend the lecture.
BA American Studies / BA Englisch: How the Combination Works
Normally, a course has 2 SWS (Semesterwochenstunden), so you meet in class for two hours a week (actually, 90 minutes). In the case of American Literary History, the lecture lasts for one hour (45 minutes) per week. It is supposed to give you an overview of the historical development of North American literature – in this semester, from World War I until today.
In the Lektüreseminar or Lektüreübung that accompanies the lecture, you discuss important texts from American literary history, developing a more thorough understanding of the respective literary period. The Lektüreseminar/-übung meets for 2 hours (for example, Tuesdays from 2 to 4 pm), but only every other week (for instance, week 1, 3, 5, 7…). So, over the course of the semester, the Lektüreseminar/-übung has 1 SWS. Together with the lecture (also 1 SWS), it forms the 2 SWS format you are used to.
The texts you discuss in the Lektüreseminar/-übung are available on the Moodle site of the lecture/Vorlesung (Password: Morrison).
At the end of the semester, I will discuss the upcoming MAP (Modulabschlussprüfung) – a take home exam in the BA Englisch, a Klausur in the BA Amerikanistik – with the students who are planning to take it in July or October. |
