Summer Semester 2022
Here are the classes taught by staff members of the Chair of English, Postcolonial and Media Studies during the summer semester 2022.
Prof. Dr. Mark U Stein
AR Felipe Espinoza Garrido
Deborah Nyangulu
Can Çakır
Rita Maricocchi
Peri Sipahi
Prof. Dr. Mark U Stein
CosmopolitanismS: Citizens of the World?
099042 | Lecture | Tue 10-12
Are cosmopolitans a small band of well-heeled elite nomads or are they rather the victims of modernity, globalization, capitalism? The cosmopolitan has been around since Greek antiquity and at root s:he is a ”citizen of the world”, rather than a member of a particular nation, nation-state, or culture. Cosmopolitanism can be considered a way of being: a mode of life, thought, and sensibility which develops at the intersection of multiple and overlapping commitments and loyalties. From the Stoics until today, the concept of cosmopolitanism has developed and proliferated considerably, remaining dynamic and malleable. The concept's influence and authority may have peaked with the birth of the modern nation-state and with Immanuel Kant’s ”Toward Perpetual Peace” (1795) because it (seemingly) provided answers on how to maintain world peace and promote transnational trade.
Working from the assumption that cosmopolitanism has been pluralized, that there are, in fact, many cosmopolitanisms, the lecture engages with different versions of cosmopolitanism and with the critiques that have been launched against them. From rooted to discrepant, from critical to vernacular, from indigenous to planetary, and from subaltern to postcolonial, cosmopolitanism has been inflected and modified in significant and meaningful ways. This lecture course explores several of the ways in which this concept has evolved and what some of its uses are today – not least in the context of literary and cultural studies.
Introduction to Literary and Cultural Studies II: Group VIII
099004 | Basic course | Thu 08.30-10
Participants need to have attended Introduction to Literary and Cultural Studies I.
Introduction to Literary and Cultural Studies II: Group IX
099005 | Basic course | Thu 10-12
Participants need to have attended Introduction to Literary and Cultural Studies I.
Postgraduate Class (Literary Studies)
099145 | Colloquium | Wed 08.30-10
PTTS Colloquium
099151 | Advanced seminar
AR Felipe Espinoza Garrido
Reading Class: Group II, 6. Sem. (Literature & Culture)
099097 | Practice | Thu 10-12
Übung Theory and Literature (Group V): Contemporary Australian Literature and Culture
099052 | Practice | Thu 08.30-10
Deborah Nyangulu
Postgraduate Class (Literary Studies)
099142 | Colloquium | Tue 14-16
This postgraduate colloquium is the second part of Research Module I and is open to MA NTS students interested in pursuing projects related to literary and cultural studies. Students taking this part of research module I will build on knowledge, experience and skills gained in semester 1. Students will further develop specialised research interests, pursuing independent studies on one or several topics of their choice which may/will lead to (and later complement) their Master theses. The colloquium is specifically designed as a space for presenting ideas on individual MA thesis projects with peers and the course instructor providing feedback. Students also receive guidance on how to plan for and write their MA theses in a timely manner. Information on academic writing, research methodologies and theoretical frameworks, including career advice will also be provided depending on students' needs. If you are enrolled in this course, please email me any (preliminary) ideas on your MA thesis topic at least a week before the first day of class. Make a self-needs assessment and also include in your email research skills that you already possess & research skills which you think you lack. Date of first session will be announced to registed course participants via email. In this second part of Research Module I, you will also be expected to complete and hand in your research portfolio which you started working on in semester 1. Research portfolios are due August 31, 2022. More course information will be circulated via email a few days before our first session.
Social Media, Social Movements, and Narrative
099125 | Seminar | Thu 10-12
Contemporary social movements are increasingly using social media to both shape narratives and contest dominant narratives. This MA-level seminar critically examines the relationship between social media, social movements, and narrative. It asks how social movements which leverage social media (broadly understood as social networking platforms to services that facilitate the creation, sharing and exchange of user-generated content) frame narratives. This course requires active class participation and students taking part in this course will be expected to individually or in a group plan, research, and implement a class project which analyses a social movement that harnessed the power of social media. Students will also be introduced to a variety of analytical and thoretical concepts for critically understanding both social media and social movements. The course will draw on concrete examples of social movements from different geographies which utilize a variety of media forms, e.g hashtags, online petitioning, internet memes, etc. Students are particularly encoraged to suggest social movents for inclusion in the syllabus. Email me your suggestions at least three weeks before the start of term if you want me to consider them for the syllabus. Weekly course readings will also be made available and students will be expected to complete all assigned readings. Students enrolled in this course will receive an information email before the first session.
Can Çakır
Undergraduate Research Class II (Literary Studies)
099092 | Seminar | Thu 14-16
Rita Maricocchi
Übung Theory and Literature (Group III) – Contemporary Australian Literature and Culture
099050 | Practice | Tue 16-18
Peri Sipahi
Reading Class: Group II, 4. Sem. (Literature & Culture)
099095 | Practice | Tue 14-16
ALL students interested in the Reading Class should also consult the general information on the Readings Module which has been posted in our LSF course catalogue (directly under the heading ”Modul 9: Readings in Language, Literature and Culture (nur BA HRSGe, BK & 2-fach)".
Much of the course will be administered via a Learnweb folder shared by all students who have chosen the Literary and Cultural Studies option for this module in this semester (whether with or without Reading Class). Registration for the Learnweb folder is now open! The folder is called ”Reading Class Group II (4th Sem.) -2022_1”; you can sign up without a password. Please do so as soon as possible. Signing up is essential as information regarding the organisation of the class and the module will be shared via the Learnweb Newsletter. You'll be notifed about the schedule and the first meeting in due time.