Aufbauseminar Interplay of C.P Snow's Two Cultures in American Fiction Fr 8:30-10:00

In 1959 the British scientist Charles Percy Snow gave his famous speech on how he considers Western society to be split into -two cultures-, the humanities and the sciences. Although there has been a controversy about his opinion, most critics agree that Snow has described a serious problem, especially in academia: -Literary intellectuals at one pole – at the other scientists, and as the most representative, the physical scientists. Between the two a gulf of mutual incomprehension – sometimes (particularly among the young) hostility and dislike, but most of all lack of understanding.- Several American authors who have degrees in the natural sciences have written novels that might bridge this gap. Themes, settings, language, and characters are from the world of science, but these are represented in complex literary form. In this seminar we will discuss if these authors have successfully established an interplay of the -two cultures-, and what kind of challenge the reader (in our case: the literary intellectual) has to accept in order to read a novel that is filled with scientific knowledge. Primary texts: Lightman, Alan. Einstein's Dreams. Vonnegut, Kurt. Galápagos. Powers, Richard. Galatea 2.2. Pynchon, Thomas. Gravity’s Rainbow. (first part only, will be available on the Semesterapparat) Further primary and secondary texts will be uploaded on the Semesterapparat. BN: active participation in discussions, presentation or essay AP: oral or written Anglistik u.Amerikanistik (BA, PO 2013) Kernfach Universität Düsseldorf SoSe 2016 Popovic Julijana