Centenary Seminar on Poetry of the First World War from a Global Perspective

2014 will mark the centenary of the beginning of the First World War, also known as the Great War. Although usually designated as -world- war, the first major global armed conflict of the 20th century is often still perceived from a Eurocentric perspective. Yet, in historical terms, this war involved hundreds of thousands of soldiers and millions of victims in all parts of the world. Moreover, it had political, social and cultural repercussion all over the globe. This showed especially in the context of the British Empire. With Britain's declaration of War on Germany all British colonies worldwide were automatically involved in the war as well and had to support the British army with soldiers, munitions and other supply.

Often, the soldiers from the colonies, such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, fought particularly outstandingly, however, they also suffered particularly outrageous losses (e.g. in Gallipoli, the Somme, Flanders, etc.). All of this made these countries, i.e. colonies, reconsider their role within the Empire after the War and increasingly urge for complete independence from England and hence national sovereignty. Eventually, this culminated in the disintegration and breakdown of the British Empire. This seminar will first critically investigate these histories and the various contexts of the First World War and then take a closer look at well-chosen poetic texts engaging with the significance and 'myths' of WWI in British, Australian and Canadian contexts. The aim is to promote a greater appreciation and understanding of WWI poetry from a global perspective in the 21st century, which is also known as the Age of Globalization. Students will be introduced to a wide range of poetic texts as well as critical and contextual material relating to them, including photographs and audio/visual recordings, from England and the British Empire. The primary and secondary texts required for the seminar will be provided online (cf. DuE Publico).

Anglistik Universität Duisburg-Essen WS 2013/14 alle Lehrämter, alle Lehrämter PD Dr. Ikas Karin