A truly transnational artistic movement, Magical Realism has gone a long way since its post-Expressionistic beginnings in the Germany of the 1920s. Initially the concept stood for a revisited form of rationalism in the visual arts, one awake to the “magic” inhabiting the commonplace, thus marking a departure from the disillusioned nostalgia of Expressionism. It was only after its rather complicated dissemination in and outside of Germany and through the vocal support of art critic Franz Roh and his translators that Magical Realism developed into the literary style that we know today. Through its choice of primary literature, the seminar seeks to reflect on the rich legacy and wide versatility of a mode of telling that has become so closely connected to the postcolonial project. Our search will take us through the uncanny, the real marvelous and the magical realist negotiations of a polyphonic group of authors and political events. The Lektürekurs sessions will allow for in-depth treatment of the mode in relation to postcolonial theory. Selections from the critical anthology Magical Realism. Theory, History, Community (1995) by Louis Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris will form the core of our discussion.
Preliminary list of primary literature:
Salman Rushdie. Midnight’s Children (1984)
Angela Carter. Nights at the Circus (1984)
Ben Okri. The Famished Road (1991)
Wilson Harris. Jonestown (1996)
Merlinda Bobis. Fish-Hair Woman (2012)
Credits according to programs:
MA English Literatures (Modul 3: Authors, Periods, Genres): 8 LP (4+4) and 2 LP (MAP: a term paper or a take-home-exam)
MA European Literatures (Modul 4: Neuzeit II): 4 LP and 2 LP (MAP: term paper)
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