Registration Guidelines :
If the BA American Studies is your Major (Kernfach) , please refer to our Program Overview (pdf) to identify your recommended modules for your year of study. Please keep checking the American Studies homepage for updates on parallel courses. sign up at the secretariat on March 21st or 22nd . Preferences for parallel classes will be accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis.need to apply for these modules through the tool as well.university's course listings and select via the tool .
If you would like to take American Studies Leipzig BA modules for your Wahlbereich , you can apply for the following modules: Society, History, and Politics I and III, Literature & Culture II and III, The Anglo-American World in a Global Context, Introduction to Linguistics, and Language & Society - Language in Transition. You will need to apply for admission to these modules online via the tool .
Module Coordinator: Crister Garrett
This module is meant to provide students with an interdisciplinary and integrated introduction to key developments and themes in the history, politics, and society of the United States from the colonial period to the conclusion of the Civil War. Beyond becoming acquainted with important aspects of American life, the module is meant to provide students with repeated exercises and practice in analytical thinking and expression, both in written and oral form.
The module consists of one lecture, one seminar, and one tutorial
110 Lecture: From the Colonial Period to Reconstruction
Wednesday, 1-3 pm, HSG HS 4www.lehrbox.de/399
The lectures will explore how the unfolding of American history influenced American society and thus the country’s political culture, institutions, and outcomes. Topics to be covered include transatlantic influences on the emergence of an American republic, the formation of republican institutions, the role of religion in shaping American politics and society, the evolution of an American capitalism, tensions between regional and national institutions and cultures, expansion and empire, and war. The course thus integrates global, transatlantic, and international developments to better understand the nature of the American experience.
111 Seminar
either a) Monday, 11 am-1 pm, NSG 102www.lehrbox.de/347
or b) Wednesday, 9-11 am, NSG 127F. Böhme www.lehrbox.de/392
In this seminar, students will read original documents and interpretive essays relating to the different themes raised during the lecture. This will permit students to deepen and contextualize their knowledge about the topics covered during the lecture while also developing their academic skills in writing, speaking, and the presenting of one's own ideas.
112 Tutorial (Übung)
either a) Thursday, 9-11 am, NSG 127
or b) Thursday, 11 am – 1 pm, NSG 127
The tutorial (übung) involves the practicing of English academic writing on the subject of American society, history, and politics. The writing skills required for the module-seminar will be developed in the tutorial with diverse assignments. There will be a particular focus on the further development of sound skills relating to the form, function, and structure of the English outline, paragraph, and essay.
Introduction to Linguistics (04-001-1003)
Module Coordinator: Dr. Sylvia Reuter (Institut für Anglistik)
Das Modul bietet den Studierenden einen ersten Überblick über Analysemethoden und zentrale, grundlegende Fragestellungen in der synchronen amerikanistischen Linguistik sowie das Erlernen des geschriebenen akademischen Diskurses darüber. Die Vorlesung "Einführung in die synchrone Linguistik" führt ein in die Grundlagen der modernen englischen Sprachwissenschaft und gibt einen Überblick über die wesentlichen Teilgebiete der Disziplin. Das Seminar "Systemlinguistik" vertieft das in der Vorlesung "Einführung in die synchrone Linguistik" vermittelte Wissen aus den Bereichen Morphologie, Phonetik/Phonologie, Semantik und Syntax mit spezifischer Relevanz für das moderne amerikanische Englisch. Eine Übung "Sprachpraxis für Amerikanisten" ergänzt das Modul.
The module consists of one lecture, one seminar, and one Übung
1003-1 Lecture: Introduction to Synchronic Linguistics
Tuesday, 1-3 pm, HSG HS 3
Prüfung: Klausur (120 min) über den Stoff der Vorlesung und des Seminars
The lecture aims at familiarizing students of English with the essentials of (English) linguistics. We will set out to define the field, the study of language, and will work our way through a programme clarifying central terms and issues of the major branches of linguistics. These comprise phonetics/phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, as well as sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics, sitting at the interface of language to other phenomena. Time permitting, we will also have a look at the historical development of linguistics.
The lecture assumes a thorough knowledge of English, but does not presuppose any previous study of grammar or other aspects of linguistics.
1003-2 Seminar Systemlinguistik: Introduction to Synchronic Linguistics
Von den folgenden Seminarangeboten ist ein Kurs zu belegen.
Literatur: V. Fromkin et al. (2007) An Introduction to Language, Boston/USA: Thomson Wadsworth. Reader erhältlich bei Printy (Ritterstraße 5)
Prüfung: s. Vorlesung "Introduction to Synchronic Linguistics"
This seminar is conceived together with the introductory lecture as a basis for further studies in linguistics. Whereas in the lecture you familiarize yourself with basic concepts, the seminar focuses on in-depth discussion, exercises and task solving. We will start our linguistic journey with phonetics & phonology, and after that move into the other core areas of linguistics such as morphology, syntax and semantics. Needless to add, the textbook describes the English as used in the USA.
Students are asked to purchase the course material at Printy (Ritterstr. 5).
1003-3 Übung Sprachpraxis für Amerikanisten: Spoken Academic Discourse
ein Kurs zu belegen.
Prüfung: Präsentation, Diskussionsleitung u. Zusammenfassung (15 Minuten)
This course focuses on equipping students to improve their command of the processes involved in organizing clear, effective academic presentations and discussions as well as those practical language skills most frequently needed in spoken English as used in the context of research-based discourse in linguistics. The exercises have been designed to promote students’ intercultural communicative competence while critical insight into the linguistic relevance of cultural determinants is gained by engaging in inquiry and reflection on past and present American usage.
Literature & Culture II (04-001-1007)
Module Coordinator: Anne Koenen
The module builds on and advances the knowledge and skills students acquired in the introductory module “Literature & Culture 1.” It acquaints students with major issues, concepts, and theories involved in the study of literature and (popular) culture. The module explores the canon debate and its implications for the study of U.S.-American literature and culture. In addition, it introduces students to exemplary modes and genres of literature and culture, and to their reflection in scholarship.
The module consists of one lecture and two seminars
210 Lecture: Multicultural America and the Canon
Tuesday, 9-11 am, HSG HS 4
The lectures will explore the cultural diversity of American literature against the background of the debates about the literary canon. Special emphasis will be placed on ethnic literatures and cultures, including African American, Latino/Chicano, Native American and Asian American writings that will be discussed in their specific cultural and historical contexts.
Lectures will start on April 12.
211 Seminar A: Why Vampires Suck: The Figure of the Vampire in Canonical Texts and Popular Culture
Monday, 3-5 pm, NSG 405www.lehrbox.de/391
The figure of the vampire is an established part of (American) literature and culture. From Bram Stoker to Edgar Allen Poe, the vampire is part of the literary canon. It is, however, much more prominent in texts which, for numerous reasons, are not canonized. Throughout its history, the vampire figure has been used to portray issues of Otherness and the deconstruction of various boundaries. The primary aim of this course lies in using Theory to trace this function of the vampire as the transgressive Other through a diverse variety of different historical periods and textual genres. As part of the LC-II module, the course will also teach students the basic techniques of writing a scholarly research paper.
Participation in this class will be based on the willingness to shoulder a high reading load, enforced by PVLs. The seminar will take a detailed look at the figure of the vampire in canonical texts like "The Vampyre" and Dracula, as well as in texts that lie outside of it, such as those of writers who have historically been excluded from the canon like Black women (e.g. Octavia Butler's Fledgling) or those which are considered a part of popular culture as opposed to high culture (Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer). The course will include a number of different genres, such as novels (e.g. Interview with the Vampire), short stories ("The Vampyre"), movies (Blade, Twilight), and TV shows (True Blood, Buffy).
212 Seminar B: The American Short Story: Irving, Poe, Melville, Hawthorne
Friday, 11 am -1 pm, GWZ 2.516www.lehrbox.de/397
The short story is often claimed to be the most genuine of American genres. By discussing this literary form within its historical context of emergence, this course as a first primary focus aims at sketching the conditions of literary production, publication, and reception of the period which contributed to make the short story flourish as an American genre. Secondly, this course outlines the most influential theories of the short story, drawing attention especially to those introduced by Edgar Allen Poe. As a third focal point, we will delineate the changes and continuities of the genre within American literary history discussing a range of texts from Washington Irving to Poe, Herman Melville, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, drawing attention to central themes and narrative techniques of short story writing.
213 Seminar C: Liminal Experiences: Bodily and Psychological Borders in Literature
Wednesday, 11am - 1pm, room NSG 421www.lehrbox.de/394
Fictional texts are drawn to liminal experiences. In particular, contemporary representations of trauma, abjection, (mental) illness, etc. speak of a literary fascination with extreme aspects of life. This class explores some of the most intense challenges to the human psyche: Experiences that confront us with unparalled situations that prevent an understanding and integration—or an 'easy' reading, for that matter. By looking at their textual representations we will engage questions such as: How does writing relate to the transgression of borders of both body and mind? Which role does narrative play in rendering these events (e.g. critical, therapeutic, sensationalist...)? Can literary strategies represent their overwhelming, often violent nature? During the course of this class, we will study mainly contemporary fiction (at least one novel, Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close ) and a considerable number of theoretical texts. Apart from active participation in the classroom, in-depth preparation of texts as well as several writing assignments are mandatory.
The first session will be on 13 April.
Thursday, 1-3 pm, GWZ 2 5.16www.lehrbox.de/393
In this class we will discuss a variety of theoretical approaches to reading popular culture, as well as the history of how popular culture has been theorized in the past in different traditions of cultural critique. We will use the insights from these theories to discuss select pop-cultural texts, but the focus of the class will be on understanding and discussing the theories and approaches involved and the history and politics of their circulation. In other words: This class might be less fun than the title makes it sound. The reading workload, in theoretical material as well as in primary texts (in the widest sense of the word), will be considerable, and everybody in class will have to show, in writing and in discussion, that they have read and prepared the sessions thoroughly.
Classes start on Thursday, 14 April.
The Anglo-American World in a Global Context (04-001-1008)
Module Coordinator: Crister Garrett
This module is meant to provide students with a deeper understanding of how the United States and Great Britain/Ireland relate to each other and other countries that together make up what is often referred to as the “Anglo-Saxon tradition”. Especially in the wake of contemporary globalization—but certainly during earlier periods of mobility, exchange, and discovery—the concept of an Anglo-American world held great sway in many corners of the globe. Indeed, for much of continental Europe today, “the Anglo-American world” provides a basic compass for understanding fundamental developments in politics, economics, and culture. This module is meant to provide students with a more sophisticated understanding of how the United States and Great Britain have perceived and influenced each other historically and currently, and also to provide a deeper understanding of what the “Anglo-American world” means during our current period of global change.
Module Requirements:
Successful completion of Modules 04-001-1001 (American Studies, SHP I) and 04-001-1002 (American Studies, LC I) or Module 004-002-1102 (Anglistik)
You must attend the lecture by Dr. Jürgen Ronthaler and Prof. Elmar Schenkel and two seminars (choose one seminar offered by Anglistik and one offered by Amerikanistik).
The module consists of one lecture, one seminar in English and one in American Studies
1107-1 Lecture: Trans-Atlantic Intertextualities in Anglo-American Fiction
Wednesday, 1-3 pm, HSG HS 5
The lecture this time will concentrate on selected literary influences that criss-cross the Atlantic Ocean between the two countries. Starting with a historical survey and following historical developments Elmar Schenkel and Jürgen Ronthaler will alternate in a loose sequence in reflecting about various representative phenomena that shaped both literatures and cultures. We will discuss W. Irving, Trancendentalism and E.A. Poe, will consider Ch. Dickens, A. Trollope, H. James, Sir A.C. Doyle and E. Hemingway, and we will deal with Mark Twain as a Traveller and as an author of children’s and adolescent fiction. Furthermore detective fiction, poetry and science in Anglo-American fiction will be investigated.
A list with the programme will be available at the beginning of the term.
1107-2a [English] Into the Wilderness: Contemporary Canadian Literature
Monday, 9-11 am, NSG 322
Literatur:
Margaret Atwood: Cat’s Eye (1988); Rudy Wiebe: A Discovery of Strangers (1994); Yann Martel: Life of Pi (2002); Alice Munro: Selected Short Stories
Begleitende Literatur: The Cambridge Companion to Canadian Literature. Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Die angegebenen Romane sind in den einschlägigen Buchhandlungen (Connewitzer Verlagsbuchhandlung und Universitätsbuchhandlung) käuflich zu erwerben; die Short Stories werden als Kopiervorlage / elektronischer Text zur Verfügung gestellt.
Prüfung: Hausarbeit
Canadian Literature is still a comparatively young cultural phenomenon. Only a few decades ago in her critical study Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature (1972) Canadian writer Margaret Atwood fused the conception of Canadian literature with notions of national identity. Today, the question of identity still seems to be on the agenda while we are witnessing an ever-growing, stylistically diverse, and thematically rich literary output from this vast country. The course provides a first approach to Canadian literature in English via a selection of recent prose texts in focusing on the thematic aspect of ‘Wilderness’. Textual analyses of this central conception will emphasize conflicts such as man vs. nature, the urban vs. the rural, mass society vs. individual isolation.
1107-2b [English] A Special Relationship?
Wednesday, 9-11 am, NSG 222
Empfohlene Vorbereitung:
Ein Überblickswissen über die Geschichte Großbritanniens und der USA seit Beginn der Neuzeit wird vorausgesetzt.
Literatur:
A reader with a detailed bibliography and essential texts will be made available at the beginning of the term.
Prüfung: Hausarbeit
The UK and the USA have been linked in various ways – politically, economically, culturally – since the 17th century. But in how far has this relationship been ‘special’, as the famous term suggests? And has this ‘special relationship’ survived the end of the Cold War (and the end of the Blair-Bush era), or have global developments made it obsolete? This seminar will trace the “Love-Hate Relations” (as the poet Stephen Spender termed them) from the colonial beginnings over the political developments of the twentieth century to the contemporary situation. Drawing on a wide range of material such as political speeches, feature films, or travel writing, we will pay particular attention to mutual stereotypes and the political rationales behind the invocation of a ‘special relationship’.
1107-3a Age and Age Difference in Anglo-American Culture and Literature
Thursday, 9-11 am, GWZ 2.516www.lehrbox.de/401
Prüfung: Projektarbeit / Präsentation
“May-December romance,” “sugar daddy,” “jailbait” - these are colloquial phrases implicating relationships that involve people with a considerable age difference. The years since the publication of Nabokov's seminal novel Lolita in the 1950s have witnessed an ever-intensifying debate on such relationships, and on issues of age and aging in general. In our seminar we will examine the cultural matrix from which these debates arise, and we will investigate their appropriation by texts as diverse as Hal Ashby's movie “Harold and Maude” and Philip Roth's novel The Dying Animal.As we utilize the cultural and literary studies toolbox, our analyses of these texts will also be informed by historical, sociological, and psychological frameworks in order to tackle questions like: Why have age and age difference always been sources of strong emotions, such as attraction or repulsion? To what ends have age-related topics been fictionalized during the past decades? How is age employed as an interdisciplinary analytical category?
1107-3b Ethnic and Regional Music Traditions in the United States
Tuesday, 11 am – 1 pm, Commerzbank 2-01
This seminar explores musical traditions within three American regions: the Midwest, Northeast, and South. Starting from the perspective that musical traditions are best understood within the contexts that they are created and performed, we will examine music and its connections to the cultures and history of specific ethnic and regional communities and consider its connections to broader social movements. We will study representations of Appalachian culture, including the music of Scots-Irish communities and regional adaptions of British ballad traditions. Other traditions to be explored include African American spiritual music, blues, early country, rhythm and blues, rock 'a' billy, the American folk revival, Cajun and other French-American vernacular music, Texas-Mexican musical traditions, Midwestern polka, Klezmer, and early rap and hip hop.
Praktikum and Service Learning Module (04-001-1013)
Module Coordinator: Crister Garrett
The goal of this module is to give BA students the practical chance to realize social projects in their community as part of their professional skills education. The concept of Service Learning comes from the United States where notions of civic commitment have enjoyed a long tradition. Service Learning has been introduced recently at several German universities. At the University of Leipzig, however, this module is the first of its kind. Students can earn 5 ECTS points (5 LP) by attending the Service Learning Project Seminar and Tutorial and by conducting a project in cooperation with a social institution of their choice.
The module consists of one Seminar and one Tutorial
220 Service Learning Project Seminar
Monday 9 -11 am, GWZ 2.516
221 Service Learning Tutorial
Tuesday 5 - 6 pm, GWZ 2.516
In the tutorial students will learn the basics in project management. These include writing a project proposal and report as well as initiating, planning, and organizing the different stages of a project.
Society, History, and Politics III (04-001-1010)
Module Coordinator: Crister Garrett
This module is meant to provide students with the opportunity to engage diverse societal, historical, and political themes that have shaped and continue to shape the United States. Issues will be explored in terms of basic questions relating to American identity, the nature of power in American society, the negotiation of forms of consensus, and how American dynamics influence the country’s exercise of power and transcultural undertakings in the international arena, especially in a transatlantic context.
The module consists of two seminars and one tutorial
310 Seminar 1: American Environmental Politics in a Transatlantic Context
Blockseminar*:
Friday, April 8th 1-3, GWZ 2.516
*Times and dates are subject to change.
We all know the standard cliché: Americans do not care about the environment. Reality is a lot more complicated of course. Whether national park systems, new federal regulations, or societal change to encourage sustainability, American environmental politics have historically been ambitious, innovative, and indeed, roundly contentious. There is certainly an American culture of environmental politics, and it in turn has been strongly influenced by transatlantic dynamics. The German model and culture for environmental politics is especially influential in the United States today. In this seminar we want to explore historical and contemporary trends in American environmental politics and its transatlantic context.
This seminar will culminate in a “transatlantic summit” (Friday, July 1st ) where Leipzig students will work in a team with guest students from Ohio University on transatlantic environmental policy issues and present their findings to professional diplomats from the United States who are serving in Germany.
311 Seminar 2: Populism in a Transatlantic Context
Blockseminar, GWZ 2.516
In recent years, the Americas and Europe witnessed the emergence of various populist movements. But what exactly is populism? Throughout history, populism understood as a form of grassroots, anti-system political activism, has not just shaken up the political landscape of its time and place, it has also repeatedly raised the core questions of modern democracy: Who are the people? And who is allowed to represent the people? This seminar will explore the different notions of the term populism in social sciences and humanities, and discuss a number of case studies from American history (Agrarian Populism, George Wallace etc.) and from the contemporary transatlantic context (Tea Party Movement, Latin American populist regimes, European right-wing populist parties, and other forms of grassroots protest).
312 Tutorial (see: 322 Tutorial LC III)
Wednesday,11 am – 1 pm, Commerzbank 4-01
The tutorial is meant to help students prepare their oral and written assignments. Students will do in-class exercises, provide each other collegial feedback, and discuss with the instructor strategies for effective written and oral presentation and argumentation.
Literature & Culture III (04-001-1011)
Module Coordinator: Anne Koenen
The module aims to deepen students’ knowledge of U.S. literature and culture, and of the methods and theories involved in their study. Two seminars allow students to explore exemplary themes and discourses in literary and cultural studies. A tutorial assists students in advancing their academic writing skills so as to master the module’s advanced writing assignments.
The module consists of two seminars and one tutorial
320 Seminar 1: Hidden Truths: Paranoia, Conspiracy, Psychotic Writing
Thursday, 5-7 pm, GWZ 2.516www.lehrbox.de/396
The idea that the world might actually be quite different from what it seems like has proven an immensely prolific and engaging plot device. From postmodern novels to The Truman Show , from conspiracy stories to the ‘mindtwist movie,’ contemporary storytelling has returned to this basic idea in countless transfigurations. In this seminar, we will read (and watch) fictions that are built around this basic idea of a presumed conspiracy against the protagonist, a hidden truth that only gradually unravels. Working with novels, short stories, and movies, we will look at straightforward examples and less obvious implementations to ask and discuss a number of questions: What anxieties and threats do these texts negotiate? What is their appeal? What is their history? What other dynamics are involved? Race? Class? Gender?
Texts we might look at include, but are not limited to: American Purgatorio , Time Out of Joint , Dark City , The Yellow Wallpaper , City of Glass , and Young Goodman Brown .
The seminar will have a substantial weekly reading and writing load in primary and secondary material and will require your participation in in-class discussion and your attendance at film screenings. Please take this into consideration when deciding whether to enroll in the module.
321 Seminar 2: Reading Like a Writer. The Close Reading of Contemporary American Short Stories Through the Lens of the Writer of Literary Fiction
Monday, 1-3 pm, GWZ 2.516
This class will study the contemporary American short story through the viewpoint of the writer of literary fiction. Through close reading, we will examine authorial choices such as narrative distance, characterization, setting, tone, subtext, and discover the impact of those choices on the story.
This seminar will start on May 2nd.
322 Tutorial (see: 312 Tutorial SHP III)
Wednesday, 11 am -1 pm,Commerzbank 4-01
The tutorial is meant to help students prepare their oral and written assignments. Students will do in-class exercises, provide each other collegial feedback, and discuss with the instructor strategies for effective written and oral presentation and argumentation.
Language and Society – Language in Transition (04-001-1012)
Module Coordinator: Dr. Sylvia Reuter (Anglistik)
Das Modul vermittelt detaillierte Kenntnisse über die spezifische Entwicklung des US-Englischen vom Altenglischen bis heute sowie über diskurslinguistische Konzeptionen oder über spezifische US-Varietäten wie z. B. Gullah, African American Vernacular English (AAVE) oder regionale Dialekte. Das Seminar "Geschichte des US-Englisch" dient einem Gesamtüberblick über die Geschichte des Englischen vom Altenglischen bis zum Frühneuenglischen sowie die Herausbildung und Entwicklung des US-Englischen.
The module consists of two seminars and one tutorial
1012-1 Seminar Sprachgeschichte: Historical Roots of Present-Day US-English
Wednesday, 9-11 am, NSG 404
Prüfung: mündliche Prüfung (20 min) zum Stoff dieses Seminars und des Seminars 1012-2
The seminar introduces into the earlier periods of all Englishes, i.e. into Old and Middle English, followed by Early Modern English as the decisive period for the birth of US-English. It then examines the most important factors that have shaped US-English from its beginnings in colonial times up to the present. Yet, as we move from the past into the present we will not only discuss changes on all language levels, i.e. vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, but also investigate what authentic texts of various times teach us linguistically.
Students are asked to purchase the course material at Printy (Ritterstr. 5) with syllabus, texts etc.1012-2 Seminar Varietäten: English in the United States – General American and AAVE
Blockseminar
Literatur: S. Mufwene (ed.) (1998): African-American English. London: Routledge.
In this seminar we shall be discussing the major characteristics of “General American” / “Network American” (phonetics, morphology, syntax, vocabulary), and some aspects of AAVE, arguably the most important “sub-variety” of US English.
1012-3 Tutorial Sprachpraxis: Written Academic Discourse I
Thursday, 1-3 pm, NSG 101
Literatur: Aczel, Richard. How to Write an Essay. 1998. Stuttgart: Klett, 2009. Print.
Prüfung: Klausur (90 Minuten)
The goal of this practical language exercise is the class essay in academic English. Students will practise their analytic and interpretative text production skills in keeping with both the formal genre conventions and current research on academic writing at tertiary levels. Our exercises are geared to helping students mitigate those weaknesses detrimental to structural clarity and target those strengths conducive to enriching the formal elements in their written academic discourse. Our exercises will focus on improving i) the mechanics of academic writing, ii) critical and argumentative approaches, iii) patterns of coherence and cohesion, and iv) systematic revision techniques.
Picador Seminar: Creative Writing and Literary Publishing
Tuesday, 1-3 pm, GWZ 2.516
This class in creative writing uses literary publishing as a lens through which to learn the craft of fiction and creative nonfiction. Students will edit and produce an international pop-culture anthology. We will solicit submissions, make editorial selections, work with authors to edit their pieces, and collaborate with designers and printers. Each student will also write a short story or essay, develop this piece privately with the professor, and may submit it to be considered for publication in the magazine.
This seminar will start on April 26th.