1 INHALTSVERZEICHNIS STUDIEN-INFORMATION ...

Eden in Jeopardy: Ecological Writings in North America from the 18th to the 20th
Century
(anrechenbar für das Literaturmodul 326/336 und als K 525/K 531/K 532)
Waldemar Zacharasiewicz, Thu 15-17, Unterrichtsraum (ab 10.3.)
Course description see notice board.
53
2st, SE, p.A.
322, 821/K521, K522: Literary Seminar
Requirements: regular attendance, active participation in class, seminar paper (ca. 20-25 pp.)
Courses:
Truth and Reconciliation in the Contemporary South African Novel
Ewald Mengel, Wed 10-12, Room 4 (ab 9.3.)
“The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up by the Government
of National Unity to help deal with what happened under apartheid” (TRC Homepage). It is an
official political attempt to come to terms with the past “on a morally accepted basis and to
advance the cause of reconciliation.” From 1995 onward, it staged hearings of the victims from
both sides of the Apartheid system. It decided about applications for amnesty by those who were
proven to be guilty of violation of human rights, and about reparation for the victims.
Coming to terms with the past and building a new future for a deeply torn nation is still the most
important political task in contemporary South Africa. It does not come as a surprise that the
novel, which has always been political, here plays an important role. The seminar will deal with
a selection of novels which were published after the fall of the apartheid system and which are
dedicated to burning issues such as the atrocities of the past and the present, the relationship
between the races, the building of a new future for the so-called ‘rainbow nation’, and, a more
theoretical issue, the relation of politics and the aesthetics of the novel. Students are expected to
give an oral presentation on a topic of their choice. A list of topics will be available in a
preparatory meeting late in January (please watch notice board). An essay of about 22-25 pages
and a final written test in the last week of the term will guarantee full credit.
Texts: Antje Kroog, Country of my Skull; Gillian Slovo, Red Dust; Mark Behr, The Smell of
Apples; J.M. Cotzee, Disgrace; Tony Eprile, The Persistence of Memory; Zakes Mda, Ways of
Dying; Zoë Wicomb, David’s Story. (with the exception of Eprile all available as Pbs.)
English political theatre of the last 60 years
Margarete Rubik, Fri 10-12, Room 5 (ab 4.3.)
Recently, a spate of new political plays have surged up, targeting the condition of England, the
war in Iraq but also political culture and morality in general. These contemporary plays are part
of a long tradition of English drama, which has frequently engaged with topical political