552.281 (20W) Topics in Anglophone Literary Studies: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman

Wintersemester 2020/21

Registration deadline has expired.

First course session
05.10.2020 14:00 - 16:00 N.0.43 On Campus
... no further dates known

Overview

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be necessary to make changes to courses and examinations at short notice (e.g. cancellation of attendance-based courses and switching to online examinations).

For further information regarding teaching on campus, please visit: https://www.aau.at/en/corona.
Lecturer
LV Nummer Südostverbund ENL04001UL
Course title german Topics in Anglophone Literary Studies: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman
Type Proseminar (continuous assessment course )
Course model Blended learning course
Online proportion 50%
Hours per Week 2.0
ECTS credits 3.0
Registrations 9 (25 max.)
Organisational unit
Language of instruction English
Course begins on 05.10.2020
eLearning Go to Moodle course

Time and place

Please note that the currently displayed dates may be subject to change due to COVID-19 measures.
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Course Information

Intended learning outcomes

Students will practice close readings of poems by Dickinson and Whitman and further develop their skills in the systematic analysis and interpretation of literary texts. They will gain a basic knowledge of the lives and work of two major American poets and advance their competence in interpreting texts within their specific socio-cultural and literary historical contexts from a perspective that takes into account questions of race, class, and gender.

Teaching methodology including the use of eLearning tools

Short input lectures; short oral presentations on selected topics by students; in-class discussion of assigned primary texts through close textual analysis; group discussion.

Course content

This seminar will introduce students to two major American poets of the nineteenth century. In many respects, Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman could hardly have been more different from each other. While Whitman, the most photographed writer of the nineteenth century, is often considered a quintessentially American poet for his attempts at capturing the American experience through his inclusive catalogues, the prolific Dickinson rarely published her writing during her lifetime and produced a witty poetry that is often marked by elisions. Exploring these poets together will help us gain a better understanding of major aspects of their work and of the lives and concerns of nineteenth-century Americans. In our close readings of selected poems, we will pay special attention to poetic form (prosody, syntax, imagery etc.) and themes like spirituality, sexuality, the city, the self, the body, nature, and art, but also contextualize both writers in their (literary) historical contexts (American Renaissance, Civil War, developments in science and religion etc.). Exploring the lives and work of Dickinson and Whitman along these lines will not only enhance our understanding of two iconic American poets, but also help comprehend their influence on later generations of American writers.

Literature

Required texts (please purchase!)

Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. (1855 edition)

Examination information

Im Fall von online durchgeführten Prüfungen sind die Standards zu beachten, die die technischen Geräte der Studierenden erfüllen müssen, um an diesen Prüfungen teilnehmen zu können.

Grading scheme

Grade / Grade grading scheme

Position in the curriculum

  • Bachelor-Lehramtsstudium Bachelor Unterrichtsfach Englisch (SKZ: 407, Version: 17W.2)
    • Subject: Anglophone Literary Studies II: Historical Surveys, Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (Compulsory subject)
      • ENL.004 Topics in Anglophone Literary Studies ( 2.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS)
        • 552.281 Topics in Anglophone Literary Studies: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman (2.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS)
          Absolvierung im 7., 8. Semester empfohlen
  • Bachelor-Lehramtsstudium Bachelor Unterrichtsfach Englisch (SKZ: 407, Version: 15W.2)
    • Subject: Anglophone Literary Studies II: Historical Surveys, Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (Compulsory subject)
      • ENL.004 Topics in Anglophone Literary Studies, Lehrveranstaltung ( 2.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS)
        • 552.281 Topics in Anglophone Literary Studies: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman (2.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS)
          Absolvierung im 3., 4. Semester empfohlen
  • Bachelor-Lehramtsstudium Bachelor Unterrichtsfach Englisch (SKZ: 407, Version: 19W.2)
    • Subject: Anglophone Literary Studies II: Historical Surveys, Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (Compulsory subject)
      • ENL.004 Topics in Anglophone Literary Studies ( 2.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS)
        • 552.281 Topics in Anglophone Literary Studies: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman (2.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS)
          Absolvierung im 7., 8. Semester empfohlen
  • Bachelor's degree programme English and American Studies (SKZ: 612, Version: 15W.3)
    • Subject: Fachliches Grund- und Aufbaustudium Literature (Compulsory subject)
      • Module: Aufbaustudium Literature
        • 5.5 Topics in Anglophone Literary Studies ( 0.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS)
          • 552.281 Topics in Anglophone Literary Studies: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman (2.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS)
            Absolvierung im 4. Semester empfohlen
  • Bachelor's degree programme English and American Studies (SKZ: 612, Version: 10W.3)
    • Subject: Fachliches Aufbaustudium (ab 11W) (Compulsory subject)
      • Module: Literature (ab 11W)
        • Topics in Literature ( 2.0h PS / 5.0 ECTS)
          • 552.281 Topics in Anglophone Literary Studies: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman (2.0h PS / 5.0 ECTS)

Equivalent courses for counting the examination attempts

There is no equivalent course for the purpose of counting examination attempts.