Kommentiertes Vorlesungsverzeichnis Anglistik Heidelberg SS 2008

4 PROSEMINARE
essays on poetry and its creation have been regarded as the most influential pieces of writing in
American literature. Moreover, Poe has been credited with single-handedly inventing detective
fiction and with contributing to the emerging genres of horror writing and science fiction.
This course will cover a selection of texts Poe produced during his lifetime, ranging from the early
poetry and his poetic theory to his short stories and detective fiction. The class is designed as an
introduction to the analysis of fiction, and for this purpose we will study Poe’s aesthetic concepts
and the sociohistorical background of the United States in the 19th century.
Registration: Please register per e-mail: bracher@urz.uni-hd.de.
Texts: A reader will be provided in the first week of the semester.
Course Requirements: Regular attendance and active participation (1 CP); regular homework
assignments (1,5 CP); a presentation (1 CP); a term paper of 12-15 pages (2 CP).
Introduction to Poetry
Dr. Jakubzik Mittwoch 14:15 – 15:45 116 2st.
This course will repeat and develop basic means of poetry analysis (meter, rhyme, sound, diction,
imagery, symbolism, theme etc.) and it will introduce two of America’s greatest poets: Walt
Whitman (1819-1892) and Emily Dickinson (1830-1886).
Along with the usual oral presentation, you will be asked to create an annotated, illustrated and/or
electronically enhanced version of a poem in a group of three or four.
Registration: Please register by email: heiko.jakubzik@as.uni-heidelberg.de.
Course Requirements: Regular attendance and active participation (1 CP); course
preparation/homework assignments (1,5 CP); oral presentation with detailed handout (1 CP); term
paper (2 CP).
American Hard-boiled Detective Fiction
Dr. Hauser Donnerstag 16:15 – 17:45 114 2st.
In this seminar we are going to deal with the American branch of the (English) mystery novel, aka
the hardboiled detective novel.
We will focus on Dashiell Hammett’s tough guy Sam Spade and Raymond Chandler’s memorable
creation Philip Marlowe. The novels to be dealt with are Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon (1930),
and Chandler’s The Big Sleep (1939), Farewell, My Lovely (1940), and The Long Goodbye (1953).
We will also look at the movie versions of The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep starring
Humphrey Bogart as private eye Spade and Marlowe. Students wishing to participate will be asked
to impress the teacher with their profound knowledge of the novels’ plots by answering a
questionnaire in the first lesson.
To better understand the differences between the British and American detective novel we will start
by looking at the archetype of all detective fiction, Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Murders in
the Rue Morgue”, as well as Arthur Conan Doyle’s super-detective Sherlock Holmes (“The
Adventure of Silver Blaze”).
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