GE332-15 The Self & the Others: Identity Gender & Ethnicity in German Culture around 1800
Introductory description
The module is one of a number of 15-CAT final-year modules available to final-year students studying German (either singly or in combination with a range of other subjects) and will expand student choice. It compliments upon but does not necessitate prior knowledge of work covered under ‘GE109 Aspects of German Culture in the Age of Enlightenment’, and ‘GE207 German Culture in the Age of Revolution, 1789-1848,’ which are core modules in the first and second years.
Module aims
This module aims to:
- develop students’ knowledge of modern historical contexts such as Enlightenment, Romanticism, Nationalism, Cosmopolitanism, Colonialism and Orientalism, and the social-political and cultural revolutions of late-eighteenth and early nineteenth century in Germany;
- show students how these contexts played a role in conditioning modern theories and representations of gender, sexuality, ethnicity and cultural identity in the literature, arts, sciences and philosophy;
- enable students to engage with a variety of critical approaches, including models from postcolonial theory, feminist theory and gender studies, and apply these to a corpus of literary and visual materials;
- analyse in depth literary and visual representations of relationships between the genders, ethnic groups and cultural-religious communities;
- develop students’ research, essay writing and verbal presentational skills.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
Week 1: Introduction: Enlightenment and its Others; Week 2: Enlightened Cosmopolitanism? G.E Lessing and the Utopia of Unity in Diversity; Week 3: Representing the Other in Schiller's poetry; Week 4: Romantic Dialogues? Selves and Others in Novalis Week 5: Christians, Muslims and Otherness: E.T.A Hoffmann's 'Das Sanctus'; Week 6: Reading week; Week 7: Man/ Woman - Black/White - Discourses of Alterity and Slavery in Heinrich von Kleist; Week 8: Man/ Woman - Black/White - Discourses of Alterity and Slavery in Caroline Augusta Fischer; Week 9: Inscribing Boundaries: Gender, Jews and Gentiles in Annette von Droste-Hülshoff. Week 10: Themes, Texts and Patterns.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- …demonstrate a broad understanding of the key intellectual, political, social and aesthetic issues in German culture and society 1789 – 1848 and their impact upon cultural treatments of of gendered, ethnic and cultural identity.
- …critically contextualise and analyse a range of texts representing relationships between gendered, ethnic and cultural groupings.
- …draw upon and deploy a range of historical and contemporary critical-theoretical approaches to representations of gender, ethnic and cultural identity.
Indicative reading list
Primary Literature: G.E Lessing: Nathan der Weise; Friedrich Schiller: selected poetry (handout); Novalis: Heinrich von Ofterdingen; E.T.A Hoffmann: Das Sanctus; Heinrich. v. Kleist: Die Verlobung in St Domingo; Caroline Augusta Fischer: William der Neger; Annette von Droste-Hülshoff: Die Judenbuche.
Secondary Literature (selected): Silvia Bovenschen, Die imaginierte Weiblichkeit; Sigrid Lange, Ob die Weiber Menschen sind? Geschlechterdebatten um 1800; Edward Said: Orientalism; Constantin Behler: Nostalgic Teleology: Friedrich Schiller and the Schemata of Aesthetic Humanism; William A O’Brien: Novalis, Signs of Revolution. Regula Fankhauser: Des Dichters Sophia. Weiblichkeitsentwürfe im Werk von Novalis James Hodkinson, Transformation beyond Measure? Novalis, Women and Writing Seán Allen, The Stories of Heinrich von Kleist. Fictions of Security Seán Allan, The Plays of Heinrich von Kleist: Ideals and Illusions; Todd Kontje: German Orientalisms; Susanna Zantop: Colonial Fantasies.
Research element
Students are expected to find and engage with critical sources to deepen and widen their arguments for class discussion and essay writing. The research element is assessed in the context of the essay and class discussion.
International
All modules delivered in SMLC are necessarily international. Students engage with themes and ideas from a culture other than that of the UK and employ their linguistic skills in the analysis of primary materials from a non-Anglophone context. Students will also be encouraged to draw on the experiences of visiting exchange students in the classroom and will frequently engage with theoretical and critical frameworks from across the world.
Subject specific skills
This module will develop students’ linguistic skills through engaging with primary materials in the target language. It will build students’ capacity to engage with aspects of German culture through analysis of this primary material and through seminar discussion aimed at deeper critical thinking. In particular, students’ awareness of German ideas of identity in 1800 will be enhanced through lectures and seminars which engage in scholarship in the field. Students will also learn how to apply cross-disciplinary theory, from feminism, post-colonialism and critical Orientalism, to the historically and culturally specific context of Germany around 1800.
Transferable skills
All SMLC culture modules demand critical and analytical engagement with artefacts from target-language cultures. In the course of independent study, class work and assessment students will develop the following skills: written and oral communication, creative and critical thinking, problem solving and analysis, time management and organisation, independent research in both English and their target language(s), intercultural understanding and the ability to mediate between languages and cultures, ICT literacy in both English and the target language(s), personal responsibility and the exercise of initiative.
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 9 sessions of 1 hour (6%) |
| Seminars | 9 sessions of 1 hour (6%) |
| Private study | 132 hours (88%) |
| Total | 150 hours |
Private study description
This will involve:
- Reading corpus of primary texts in the original German;
- Reading with and engaging with key historical and theoretical texts, summarising key ideas and arguments;
- Preparing detailed notes from required reading (1 and 2 above) to enable active participation in weekly seminar discussions;
- Conducting in depth research to enable planning, drafting and writing coursework essays.
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You must pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Students can register for this module without taking any assessment.
Assessment group A1
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment component |
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| Assessed Essay | 90% | Yes (extension) | |
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Students will write an essay of 4000 words in length (excluding footnotes and bibliography) on |
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Reassessment component is the same |
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Assessment component |
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| Class participation | 10% | Yes (extension) | |
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Students will be encouraged and are expected to participate actively in class discussions by asking |
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Reassessment component |
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| Reflective Piece | Yes (extension) | ||
Feedback on assessment
Feedback will be provided in the course of the module in a number of ways. Feedback should be understood to be both formal and informal and is not restricted to feedback on formal written work.
Oral feedback will be provided by the module tutor in the course of seminar discussion. This may include feedback on points raised in small group work or in the course of individual presentations or larger group discussion.
Written feedback will be provided on formal assessment using the standard SMLC Assessed Work feedback form appropriate to the assessment. Feedback is intended to enable continuous improvement throughout the module and written feedback is generally the final stage of this feedback process. Feedback will always demonstrate areas of success and areas for future development, which can be applied to future assessment. Feedback will be both discipline-specific and focussed on key transferrable skills, enabling students to apply this feedback to their future professional lives. Feedback will be fair and reasonable and will be linked to the SMLC marking scheme appropriate to the module.
Courses
This module is Option list B for:
- Year 4 of UPOA-M164 Undergraduate Politics, International Studies and German