Check LSF for details on individual times/classes.

Courses Winter 2023/24

In the winter term 2023/24 NamLitCult is offering the following classes:

For additional information and detailed descriptions, look up the summer term course pages. All departmental courses are also listed in the course directory (LSF) maintained by the university.

Border Studies IK Seminar

Documenting and Experiencing Wartime Memories

Borders—especially border transgressions—and wars are closely connected: wars are being fought over territorial issues, and borders are often subject to conflicts. Borders are being weaponized, and they are often viewed in terms of military preparedness and confrontation. They are therefore central to our understanding of societies that are affected by war experiences. 

This class focuses on wartime experiences, shared and documented by young people and contextualized in a broader global and historical context. It will address issues of border crossings and migration, living conditions and the many challenges that life brings about in times of war. Being part of an international summer school, students will meet up with other students from Ukraine and the U.S. for an entire week in order to analyze and talk about first-hand experiences, integrating them into a scientific Border Studies debate, contextualizing them both historically and globally in the long history of border disputes and wars over borders.

VL Diversity, Social Transformation and North American Literatures

Tue, 12-14

This lecture course attempts to capture the rich cultural diversity of U.S. American and Canadian writings since the 20^th century, showing in which ways diversity is related to social transformation. Reading a variety of genres, we will examine writings that recognize diverse experiences, including LGBTQIA, Indigenous, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities, and ethnic minorities. We will place the discussion of literary texts in specific historical and cultural contexts through units that focus on the experiences of North America’s different groups. Our readings will also explore cultural difference in contemporary Canadian literature.

Course Readings:

There will be a course reader, which will be made available on Teams.

BA/MA/STEX Colloquium

Tue, 16-18

This workshop-like colloquium allows candidates (BA-students, MA-students and Stex-students) to talk about the topics of their theses and the topics for their oral exams. 

This colloquium consists of two parts: 

1) “Blockkolloquium” in October for those students who will participate in the oral state exam (LAG, LAR, LAB). All topics can be presented and discussed. Please bring handouts for your brief presentations. This “Blockkolloquium” will take place on October 24, 2023.

Please sign up for the Blockkolloquium (amerikanistik[at]mx.uni-saarland.de). 

2) Workshop for those students who will write/or are working on their BA, MA or Staatsexamensarbeit. A major goal of this course is to guide students through the process of writing a research paper. All candidates in NamLitCult who are working on a written thesis are therefore encouraged to attend regularly.

This colloquium starts on October 31. The exact dates of when these workshops will meet will be discussed in the first session. 

Please sign up via LSF. 

Research Colloquium

Tue, 18-20; online

This research colloquium offers writers of Ph.D. dissertations a forum for presentations of their work-in-progress. It will start on October 24, 2023.

PS American Abandon / Abandoned Americans

Thursdays, 10-12

Today, an overwhelming number of U.S. Americans feels out of touch with the socio-political mainstream. The sentiment that those ‘in power’ do not properly address the concerns of those they are supposed to serve seems to be a perceived reality shared by many. In a similar vein, the feeling of ‘not-belonging’ has encouraged many Americans to take their apprehensions to the streets or turn to populists for representation. Others, meanwhile, feel discouraged from participating in public and political discourse altogether. In this seminar, we will investigate the notion of abandon/ment that seems to unite many Americans through the lens of contemporary U.S. literature, film, and other cultural artifacts. We will challenge ourselves to consider (and perhaps empathize with) perspectives that may be different from our own and simultaneously confront them with cutting-edge advancements from the fields of Gender Studies, Queer Studies, and Postcolonial-Studies. Our readings will include J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, and we will consider films such as AMERICAN HONEY and THE FLORIDA PROJECT. However, the seminar will be structured in a way that allows for students’ interests to be accommodated. 

Readings:

Vance, J.D.. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. William Collins, 2017. ISBN: 978-0008220563.

AMERICAN HONEY, Andrea Arnold (2016)

THE FLORIDA PROJECT, Sean Baker (2017)

Secondary material will be made available. 

Requirements:

Active participation, including reading and writing assignments, participation in class discussion, a short presentation, and a seminar paper (6000 words).

UE CS II North America: Race, Class, Gender in Digital Culture

MA Border Studies:

Specialization Module C1: Interculturality and Diversity

Crossgelistet für Masterstudiengang Lateinamerika?

Anrechenbar für Zertifikat Gender Studies (Aufbaumodul 2: Aktuelle Fragestellungen der Genderforschung)?

Anrechenbar für Zertifikat Angewandte Pop Studien (Pflichtmodul 1: Interdisziplinäre Einführung in die Popkultur)?

Friday 10-14 (not every week, details to be announced)

This course explores the intersections of race, gender, and class in the culture of the digital age. It critically examines the ways in which technology, digital platforms, and online spaces impact social identities and inequalities. Through interdisciplinary perspectives, the course aims to foster an understanding of how race, gender, and class dynamics shape and are shaped by digital practices, representation, and power structures. This will require investigations of diverse cultural arenas and media, among them music, film, television, and everyday lived experience as they are circulated in the digital spaces. Students will be assessed on their participation in classroom discussions, a team presentation and work on the e-learning platform OLAT. The course will use ChatGPT in addition to conventional classroom discussions to enhance student participation and offer a dynamic platform for examining racial, gender, and class issues outside of the physical classroom. Students can hone their critical thinking abilities by interacting with ChatGPT and participating in discussions, examining biases, and challenging presumptions in the online environment. In order to promote a deeper knowledge of the impacts of race, gender, and class in digital contexts, they can investigate the ethical implications of AI technology and participate in discussions about responsible AI use. Understanding of the implications of race, gender, and class in digital environments.

HS American Tragedy

Wed. 12-14

“[W]hile the writing of tragedy may have waned in recent times, readings of tragedy have proliferated,” writes Rita Felski in her introduction to the edited collection Rethinking Tragedy (1). The United States has at times been considered incompatible with the tragic art, be it because of the perceived foreignness of its ethos to the American culture of optimism, or because of its historically aristocratic characters and settings which allegedly make tragedy, as Arthur Miller puts it, “fit only for the very high placed, the kings or the kingly” – a misconception that Miller laments in his essay “Tragedy and the Common Man.” So what is American tragedy? This is the question that will be at the forefront of our minds in this class. In order to address it, we will go back to the tragic art of Ancient Greece, as well as consider some of the ways in which the genre has travelled through time and space as we engage with theories of tragedy. We will then concern ourselves with selected examples of American tragedy, such as Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Ellen McLaughlin’s Helen, and Neil LaBute’s Wrecks, and attempt to discern the particulars of their tragic impulse and vision. The program of the seminar will include attendance of a production of Neil LaBute’s Wrecks by Peter Wälter and theatre2go followed by a conversation with the audience, as well as a theatre workshop with Peter Wälter focused on dramaturgical interpretations of LaBute’s play. 

The performance of Wrecks will take place on January 16^th, 7pm, in Schlosskeller. The workshop will take place on campus during our regular seminar time slot on January 17^th.         

Students will be expected to have read the respective texts in advance of the class and to come prepared to discuss their own ideas in relation to them.

You will need to purchase the following book for this class:

Arthur Miller, The Crucible. Penguin Books, 2015. ISBN 978-0-141-18255-1

Gregor Theado und Dr. Svetlana Seibel

Fantastic Worlds - Die Gestaltung eines neuartigen Messekonzepts zur Fantastik

Pop-Projekt im Rahmen des Zertifikats “Angewandte Pop-Studien"

Eine Messe rund um das Thema Fantastik, die als wiederkehrendes Event im Saarland etabliert werden und erstmals 2025 stattfinden soll: Als Mischung aus Branchen- und Publikumsevent werden zahlreiche Genres der Fantastik unter einem Dach vereint. Egal ob Comic, Literatur, Gaming, Rollenspiel, LARP, Cosplay, Anime, Artists, Musik, Fotografie, Theater und Musical, Film & Unterhaltung - bei dieser Messe kommen Branchenakteur*innen der gesamten Fantastikszene aus dem Saarland, der Großregion und darüber hinaus zusammen, um sich zu präsentieren, auszutauschen und dem Publikum die unendliche Bandbreite an fantastischen Ideen, Produkten und Dienstleistungen zu zeigen. 

Die Studierenden begleiten die Konzeptionierung von Anfang an und sind insbesondere für die Bestandsaufnahme und Datenerhebung zu regionalen und überregionalen Akteur*innen der Fantastik verantwortlich. Gemeinsam mit dem PopRat - Verband für die Pop- und Eventkultur im Saarland e. V. - wird hieraus im Rahmen der von den Studierenden zu fertigenden Abschlussarbeiten ein Gesamtkonzept entwickelt, auf dessen Basis Förderungen beantragt werden und die Umsetzung der Messe erfolgt.

Die Einführungsveranstaltung findet am Mittwoch, dem 8. November 2023, von 14 - 15:30 Uhr statt. Der Raum wird noch bekannt gegeben, ebenso wie Ort und Zeiten weiterer Meetings während des Semesters.

Pop-Projekt: Fantastic Worlds - Die Gestaltung eines Neuartigen Messekonzepts zur Fantastik

Dr. Svetlana Seibel / Gregor Theado (Pop-Rat)

Geblockt: Termine tba (in Absprache mit Teilnehmer*innen)

Auftaktsitzung 08.11.23, 14-15:30 Uhr

Erfolg in Serie: Staffel XI

PPS North American Women’s Writings (working title)

Wed., 14-16

Geöffnet für Zertifikat Gender Studies

This seminar will look at a selection of the manifold contributions by female writers to North American Literatures from colonial times to the present. Students will be introduced to select readings from feminist theory and Gender Studies to critically engage with texts and analyze how the perception of female authors and their texts changed over time and especially how the representations of gender within the texts developed. We will trace how concepts like “Puritan good wife,” “Republican motherhood,” “true womanhood” or “new woman” as well as how the idea of separate spheres for men and women first developed and were later questioned and how gender roles were re-negotiated over time. Students will be provided with historical contexts for the individual texts as well as select theoretical readings to help foster our critical discussions. Our readings will include a few poems from your reading list plus a selection of short stories like Sarah Orne Jewett’s “A White Heron,” Charlotte P. Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Alice Walker’s “Laurel,” as well as Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening.

Readings:

The shorter primary texts and a selection of secondary material will be made available.

You need to have access to Kate Chopin’s novel, if possible in this edition:

Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. Penguin Books, 2018. EAN: 9780241341421.

Requirements:

Active participation, including reading and writing assignments, participation in class discussion, a short presentation and a seminar paper.

Introduction to Cultural Studies North America: Focus on Canada

Thursday, 16-18

Im WS 2023/24 werden ausnahmsweise zwei Introduction to Cultural Studies—North America Veranstaltungen angeboten, einmal zu den USA und einmal zu Kanada. Studierende können wählen, welche der beiden Veranstaltungen sie besuchen und als Modulelement Introduction to Cultural Studies —North America anerkennen lassen.

In the winter semester 2023/24 only, two Introduction to Cultural Studies—North America courses are offered, one about the USA and one about Canada. Students can choose which of the two they attend and take for credit for the "Modulement" Introduction to Cultural Studies—North America.

Although Canada is the second largest country in the world and the largest country in the Americas, it is unfortunately often overlooked, forgotten or neglected in the study of North-America, which is strongly related to the United States in many departments.

This course is designed as a lecture series in which experts from various disciplines will share their expertise of Canadian society and culture in the form of introductory overviews and specific case studies. The diverse program will allow students to gain not just an overview but also a deeper understanding of Canadian society and culture, thereby broadening and deepening their knowledge about North-America.

The course will consist of 1-hour (online) presentations of the guest lecturers, which will be recorded as part of a project on Virtual Canadian Studies for the Gesellschaft für Kanada-Studien. After the official recording, there is ample room for students to ask questions. Students will participate in-person. Take the opportunity to join us for this unique class! 

All the necessary readings will be made available online. 

Introduction to Media Studies: AI and Technology in Sci-Fi Media (Movies, Series & Games)

Mo 10-12

Anrechenbar für Zertifikat Angewandte Popstudien (Pflichtmodul 1: Interdisziplinäre Einführung in die Popkultur)

Media are not just everywhere around us – we consume, use, mediate and digest media on a daily basis. As the media also mirrors and influences the society it is produced in, it is a fruitful subject within the field of cultural studies. This course introduces students to the study of media and its interrelations with culture, society and itself, laying particular emphasis on film studies and gender representations within media. After an overview on various aspects of media history, media theory, and media analysis, we will focus on selected American science fiction movies and occasionally look at some TV series and video games. Artificial intelligence(s) and future technologies have interested and fascinated directors and viewers but also influenced developments in computer science and artificial intelligence, which then inspired directors for new media productions. Therefore, sci-fi media are a fruitful ground for the study of the mutual influences of media, culture and society. Although the course focuses on a specific genre, the students will be provided with a toolkit to critically analyze media productions in general and from various angles.

Which media productions we/you will take a closer look on depends on their availability on streaming platforms (Netflix, Prime, Disney+) during the winter term. Possible films and TV series we will look into are: 
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 
The Terminator franchise (1984-2019) 
Aliens (1986)
Total Recall (1990)

The Fifth Element (1997) 
The Matrix franchise (1999-2021)

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Minority Report (2002)

I, Robot (2004) 
WALL-E (2008)

Surrogates (2009) 
Total Recall (2012) 
Prometheus (2012)
Her (2013)
Ex Machina (2014)
Chappie (2015)
Alien: Covenant (2017)

Love, Death and Robots (2019-present) 
Upload (2020-present)
You will watch some of the films completely, I will use excerpts from others in class. You may, of course, watch all of them! If you have a specific American sci-fi production in mind, which you would like to work on although it is not on this list, no problem. In our first session, we will take a look at the films and series available and can make some minor adjustments to the list according to your general preferences and interests.

We might also look into these video games:

Mass Effect 2 (2010)

Mass Effect 3 (2012)

Detroit: Become Human (2018)

Readings and material: A selection of texts will be provided; the films we will work with are available on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ respectively.

Requirements: The introductory part of the course will be accompanied by readings and small writing assignments, students will give a presentation, either in class or as a recording (depending on the number of participants), and write a short essay, which has to be handed in until April 30.s and write a short essay.

UE CS II North America

Geblockt: details tba

Pop-Zertifikat: Pflichtmodul 1: Interdisziplinäre Einführung in die Popkultur

Introduction to Cultural Studies North America: United States

Thursday, 12-14

B 3 1, Lecture hall I

Im WS 2023/24 werden ausnahmsweise zwei Introduction to Cultural Studies--North America Veranstaltungen angeboten, einmal zu den USA und einmal zu Kanada. Studierende können wählen, welche der beiden Veranstaltungen sie besuchen und als Modulelement Introduction to Cultural Studies--North America anerkennen lassen.

In the winter semester 2023/24 only, two Introduction to Cultural Studies--North America courses are offered, one about the USA and one about Canada. Students can choose which of the two they attend and take for credit for the "Modulement" Introduction to Cultural Studies--North America.

Focusing on the United States, this course is intended to provide a foundational understanding of cultural myth(s), production, and analysis in Cultural Studies. The first section of the course will be dedicated to a general survey of contemporary political and social issues to prepare students for a more in-depth discussion of American Cultural Studies and invite them to challenge common stereotypes. The second section will provide an overview of theoretical approaches with a focus on the historical development of policy, media, race, gender, and class. The course’s historical focus will primarily be centered around understanding how events in the twentieth- and twenty-first century have contributed to present-day American national identity formation. We will explore how popular narratives aim to encompass multiculturalism, while also working to universalize the American experience and what it means to be “American.”

We will discuss issues regarding race, class, gender, sexuality, discrimination, violence, and slavery. It is my intention to create a safe space for all participants to learn and engage with this discourse, as well as understand/respect different perspectives. 

Most readings will be from Neil Campbell & Alasdair Kean, American Cultural Studies: An Introduction to American Culture. Fourth edition. (Routledge, 2016). It is recommended students focusing on American Studies purchase this text. For this class, select chapters and section will be made available.