1 INHALTSVERZEICHNIS STUDIEN-INFORMATION ...

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New Writing, New Reading
Elke Mettinger-Schartmann, Tue 10-12, Room 4 (ab 8.3.)
In this course we will be concerned with fiction by American and Irish writers who went to Paris
in the first decades of the 20 th century – either as exiles or as long-term visitors to the French
capital. While the emphasis is on the close reading of our texts we will also have a look at their
historical, social or cultural dimensions and at the contribution of American and Irish writing to
modernism. In this context the role of Paris as the centre of modernist production and artistic
experiment, as a geographical place turning into a ‘state of mind’ will have to be examined.
Apart from some short extracts on modernism and drama criticism such as G.B. Shaw’s “The
Quintessence of Ibsenism” discussed in class our focus of interest will be on:
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby; J. M. Synge, The Playboy of the Western World and
poetry by William Butler Yeats, Hilda Doolittle and Ezra Pound.
Fin-de-siècle Literature
Ludwig Schnauder, Fri 9-11, Unterrichtsraum (ab 18.3.)
Course description: see notice board
Charisma, Ambition, Deception
Rudolf Weiss, Tue 12-14, Room 3 (ab 8.3.)
In this course we will analyse two texts which, at a first glance, appear to be worlds apart, Peter
Shaffer's highly successful costume drama Amadeus (1979) and Muriel Spark's early novel The
Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961). Shaffer's play, which was also turned into a major film by
Milos Forman, presents the intrigues and strategies of the ambitious Court Composer Antonio
Salieri to rid himself of his rival Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, focussing on the question of
mediocrity and genius. Spark's text, set in 1930s Edinburgh, features a charismatic teacher
indulging in questionable didactic methods and problematic political views who is finally
deceived, and ruined, by one of her pupils. Presentations and papers will deal with dramatic
codes and techniques, narrative strategies, character construction and thematic issues.
Introductory Seminar
Waldemar Zacharasiewicz, Wed 10-12, Unterrichtsraum (ab 9.3.)
Course description: see notice board.