Hauptseminar The Bible as Literature and in Literature

The Bible is the basic book of our civilization, and thanks to the Reformation, it has formed the bedrock of many western cultures. Luther's pioneering translation had an enormous impact on German language and literature, and the famous King James Version of 1611, following earlier English Bibles of the 16th century, has informed Anglo-American culture to the present day. Serious students of literature must be somewhat familiar with this anthology of sacred scripture; hence this course. The first part of it is devoted to an analysis of key texts of the New Testament as literary compositions, namely the gospels of Mark and Luke as well as selected letters by Paul. We will look into the gospel writers' strategies of narration and Paul's epistolary style and rhetoric in order to, first, explore the literariness of these highly influential texts and, second, study the aesthetics and politics of their translation and interpretation. As an example of recent American fiction that is deeply informed by the texts and language of the English Bible, we will discuss Marilynne Robinson's Pulitzer Prize winning novel Gilead (2004) towards the end of the semester. This course is especially designed for students with an interest in cultural and/or religious studies (-Kulturwissenschaft-), and we will occasionally cooperate with related seminars in Religious Studies taught by Professors Kleffmann and Klumbies. Since the excursion to Wittenberg in mid May is mandatory and places are limited, early registration (via email) and attendance at our first meeting is necessary. Students are requested to acquire an English Bible, preferably the Authorized King James Version, edited by R. Carroll and S. Prickett for The World's Classics series of Oxford University Press, and Marilynne Robinson's Gilead (Macmillan). Both books are available at good bookstores like -UNI-Buch-. A tentative outline of our course with additional material (*) will be provided in a seminar file BB2 weeks ahead of the term. Bemerkung Blocksitzungen und Exkursion nach Wittenberg, 18. - 20. Mai 2011 Voraussetzungen A successfully completed undergraduate research paper (-Proseminararbeit-) in Literary Studies; good command of English and German. Participants are expected to have read the complete gospel of Mark and the -Introduction- in Carroll's and Prickett's edition (at least pp. xi-xxix) prior to our first meeting (mastercopy in file). Leistungsnachweis Credit (-Teilnahmeschein-) for regular and active participation, including an oral presentation with handout; full credit (-Leistungsschein-) for an additional term paper (approx. 20-25 standard pages). Topics can be discussed with me in advance. FB 02 Institut für Anglistik / Amerikanistik A successfully completed undergraduate research paper (-Proseminararbeit-) in Literary Studies; good command of English and German. Participants are expected to have read the complete gospel of Mark and the -Introduction- in Carroll's and Prickett's edition (at least pp. xi-xxix) prior to our first meeting (mastercopy in file). Credit (-Teilnahmeschein-) for regular and active participation, including an oral presentation with handout; full credit (-Leistungsschein-) for an additional term paper (approx. 20-25 standard pages). Topics can be discussed with me in advance. Uni Kassel SoSe 2011 Anglistik/Englisch Anglistik/Englisch Prof. Dr. Göske Daniel