course-schedule

Jane Austen's Emma: novel, films, reception (Seminar)

Inhalt: Jane Austen (1775-1817), author of six novels renowned for their irony and humour, their depiction of contemporary English social life and also for their underlying serious qualities, would seem an unlikely candidate for the title “hippest pop writer to go to Hollywood”. But this is what she was called after six films of the novels appeared between 1995 and 1997 alone. Altogether over 30 film and tv adaptations of Jane Austen’s novels have been made in Hollywood and Bollywood, by the BBC and others. The numbers of novels, films and series on Austen, her characters and her novels, fantasy adaptations and mashups, prequels and sequels is growing daily; her popularity seems to know no end. In this seminar we will examine Austen’s novels in context before moving to film and tv adaptions, focussing especially on "Pride and Prejudice" and "Emma". We will ask (amongst other things): why are Austen's novels so popular today? What is their fascination for 20th and 21st century audiences? To what degree do the film adaptations reflect contemporary preoccupations? Are there significant differences between US Hollywood treatments of the novels and British ones?

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice: novel, films, reception (Seminar)

Dozent/in: Emer O'Sullivan

Inhalt: Jane Austen (1775-1817), author of six novels renowned for their irony and humour, their depiction of contemporary English social life and also for their underlying serious qualities, would seem an unlikely candidate for the title “hippest pop writer to go to Hollywood”. But this is what she was called after six films of the novels appeared between 1995 and 1997 alone. Altogether over 30 film and tv adaptations of Jane Austen’s novels have been made in Hollywood and Bollywood, by the BBC and others. The numbers of novels, films and series on Austen, her characters and her novels, fantasy adaptations and mashups, prequels and sequels is growing daily; her popularity seems to know no end. In this seminar we will examine Austen’s novels in context before moving to film and tv adaptions, focussing especially on "Pride and Prejudice" and "Emma". We will ask (amongst other things): why are Austen's novels so popular today? What is their fascination for 20th and 21st century audiences? To what degree do the film adaptations reflect contemporary preoccupations? Are there significant differences between US Hollywood treatments of the novels and British ones?

Seeing is Believing: Visual Culture and American Studies (Seminar)

Dozent/in: Isabell May

Termin:
wöchentlich | Freitag | 10:15 - 11:45 | 14.10.2013 - 31.01.2014 | C 5.311 Seminarraum

Inhalt: In this seminar, students will engage in scholarly discussions about thinking cross-disciplinarily about important issues in material and visual culture in the US during various historical periods. A general emphasis in the course is placed on exploring how people in the US negotiate and experience differences of race, class, gender, ethnicity, and sexuality in and through their material and visual world, both in the present and past. Part of this course will consist of using online archival material with the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Topic areas discussed in this class include: * Photography during the The New Deal (ca. 1933-1938) * (Iconic) Images in US Culture * Visual Representations of Race and Gender * Latino/a Art of the late 20th century * Arts & crafts versus fine arts

Varieties of English and the Language Classroom (Seminar)

Dozent/in: Anne Barron

Termin:
wöchentlich | Dienstag | 08:15 - 09:45 | 14.10.2013 - 31.01.2014 | C 5.325 Seminarraum

Inhalt: Indian English, Irish English, British English, New Zealand English, English as a Lingua Franca, English as an International Language, ......: The existence of such terms prompts the question as to the status of these varieties also as to what variety/ varieties of English should be taught in the language classroom. This course examines the huge diversity of the English language in society and the role which English plays in today's world. In the second half of the course, focus will turn to a linguistic analysis of form and function focusing in particular on regional variation in language use, and specifically on variation across national varieties of English. Both theoretical and methodological issues form an important part of the course. Students are required to conduct empirical research primarily using corpora. The course will be conducted through English.

Course Schedule

Lehrveranstaltungen

Jane Austen's Emma: novel, films, reception (Seminar)

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice: novel, films, reception (Seminar)

Seeing is Believing: Visual Culture and American Studies (Seminar)

Varieties of English and the Language Classroom (Seminar)