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HS The Myth of the American West in US Culture (AE_HSWest)
- Lecturer
- Dr. Klaus Lösch
- Details
- Hauptseminar
Online 2 cred.h, ECTS studies, Sprache Englisch
Zeit: Tue 14:15 - 15:45
- Prerequisites / Organisational information
- Zugehörigkeit zu den Modulen:
BA English and American Studies: Hauptmodul A. (Zulassungsvoraussetzung: Zwischenmodul II)
Lehramt Englisch an Gymnasien (neu): Hauptmodul L-GYM Literature (Zulassungsvoraussetzung: Zwischenmodul Literature)
MA North American Studies: Culture and Literature (4) Aufbaumodul Cultural Studies (7) Vertiefungsmodul Cultural Studies
MA The Americas / Las Américas: Modul 3b,4
MA English Studies: "Freie Ergänzungsstudien/Wild Card": Wie Aufbaumodul, mit begleitendem Kurs
Für die BA-Studierenden ist an diesen Kurs eine Independent Study Group angeschlossen.
- Contents
- The myth of the American West figures prominently in hegemonic narratives of US nation building and constructions of Americanness, in which terms such as pioneer, trailblazer, and frontier abound. In the cultural imaginary of the U.S. the West has been variously conceptualized as virgin land, open space, safety valve, wilderness (to be turned into a garden), or as the birthplace of a specifically American character. From an indigenous perspective, however, the West and the westward expansion refer to a violent history of dispossession, attempted genocide, and forced assimilation.
In this seminar we will analyze various representations of the West and its multiethnic populace in American literature and popular culture since the 18th century. In order to develop appropriate analytical tools, we will discuss concepts such as settler colonialism, othering, wilderness, savagism, frontier, manifest destiny, ethnocide, rugged masculinity, and going native. Case studies include autobiographical texts, (dime) novels, graphic novels, paintings, photography, performances, popular music, TV series, and film (classical and revisionist).
- Recommended literature
- Caroline Matilda Kirkland, A New Home - Who'll Follow?; Or, Glimpses of Western Life (1839) (a version is available online)
Charles Portis, True Grit (1968)
Gerald Vizenor, Bearheart: The Heirship Chronicles (1990)
Shorter texts will be made available on StudOn.
- Additional information
- Maximale Teilnehmerzahl: 15
Registration is required for this lecture. Registration starts on Monday, 1.3.2021, 19.00 and lasts till Saturday, 17.4.2021, 22.00 über: mein Campus.
- Verwendung in folgenden UnivIS-Modulen
- Startsemester SS 2021:
- Amerikanistik, Modul B (M 4)
- Amerikanistik, Modul E (M 4)
- Aufbaumodul Cultural Studies (Master Modul 4)
- Aufbaumodul Literary Studies (Master Modul 5)
- North America: Culture and Literature (AM4)
- North America: Politics and Society (AM7)
- North American Studies (AM3b)
- Department: Chair of American Studies (Prof. Dr. Paul)
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