Island Fiction s Inselfiktionen

Islands have captivated generations of poets and writers, as well as readers. Multi-faceted like the reasons for this age-old fascination are the poetic creations that are set on islands. It can be argued that it is essentially the ‘amphibious’ quality of islands as border zones between land and sea that has made them into favourite fictitious testing grounds for philosophic ideas and literary plots. Since islands are prime destinations of explorers, conquerors, and modern-day tourists, it can also be safely claimed that every island has its own myth(s). What is more, even non-existent islands have kindled the imagination of authors, as can be seen in the myths of Atlantis and Vineta, supposedly submerged into the Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea, respectively. This seminar will approach the literary motif of the island from different angles – both in terms of the cultural background of the authors whose texts will be dealt with and in terms of the historical perspectives adopted. The tales and novels selected for discussion were originally written in four different languages – English, Russian, Polish, and German. Consequently, a wide range of cultural traditions is reflected in these texts – even if they refer back to certain common ur-texts of insularity (e.g. Thomas More’s Utopia). The main focus will be on the following texts: • Arthur Conan Doyle: The Lost World (1912) • Evgeni Zamiatin: The Islanders (1917) • Jan Józef Szczepaski: Die Insel (1968) • Vasili Aksënov: The Island of Crimea (1979) • Terry Pratchett: Nation (2008) • Kevin Brooks: The Bunker Diary (2013) • Lutz Seiler: Kruso (2014) We shall read the texts written by English authors in English, and all the other texts in German translation. These works must be read by every student. The English texts and Kruso should be purchased; copies of the German translations of the Russian and Polish texts will be on a reserved shelf in the library. For expert presentations, students will also be asked to focus on extracts from one text from the following list of core texts on insularity – the selection will be done by moodle, once the places to the course have been assigned: • Thomas More: Utopia (1516) • Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe (1719) • Robert Louis Stevenson: Treasure Island (1883) • William Golding: Lord of the Flies (1954) Sessions for this course will take place in April, June and July, with two blockseminars taught by a guest professor of Slavonic Literature. There are no sessions in May, which is supposed to help you catch up with your reading. Students are expected to get their own copies and read all of the following texts: • Arthur Conan Doyle: The Lost World (1912) • Evgeni Zamiatin: The Islanders (1917) • Jan Józef Szczepaski: Die Insel (1968) • Vasili Aksënov: The Island of Crimea (1979) • Terry Pratchett: Nation (2008) • Kevin Brooks: The Bunker Diary (2013) • Lutz Seiler: Kruso (2014) For expert sessions, students will have to prepare extracts from one of the following texts: • Thomas More: Utopia (1516) • Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe (1719) • Robert Louis Stevenson: Treasure Island (1883) • William Golding: Lord of the Flies (1954) Further Reading: McCusker, Maeve: Islanded Identities: constructions of postcolonial cultural insularity. Amsterdam et al.: Rodopi 2011 (= Cross Cultures 139). Weaver-Hightower, Rebecca: Empire Islands: castaways, cannibals, and fantasies of conquest. Minneapolis et al.: University of Minnesota Press 2007. Schümann, Daniel, Priv.-Doz. Dr. Beachten Sie, dass Sie diesen Kurs nach den Prüfungsordnungen ab 2011 nicht besuchen dürfen, wenn Sie die für dieses Modulelement laut Fachspezifischen Bestimmungen und Modulhandbuch notwendigen Voraussetzungen ZU BEGINN DES SOMMERSEMESTERS noch nicht erfüllen. (Bitte lassen Sie in diesem Fall anderen Studierenden, die die Voraussetzungen besitzen, den Vortritt. Danke!) In folgenden Studiengängen MÜSSEN die jeweils genannten Voraussetzungen VOR Beginn des Sommersemesters vorhanden sein, um im Kurs Punkte erwerben zu können: Lehramt alt BK: Abschluss Modulelement 1.2 Lehramt alt GY: Abschluss Modulelement 1.1 2 LP / 3 LP Studienleistung: regular, active in-class participation; reading and preparation of texts; expert presentation on extracts on one of the additional texts plus summary on study questions - deadline: session where presentation is due 3 LP Prüfungsleistung: academic term paper of c. 4000 words, to be submitted by 28 August 2016 the latest; the topic for the paper must have been discussed with your course instructor by 7 July 2016 the latest. 5 LP: see 2 LP PLUS essay of c. 2500 words elaborating on the topic covered in the expert session - deadline: 24 July 2016 7 LP: see 2 LP plus academic term paper of c. 4000 words, to be submitted by 28 August 2016 the latest; the topic for the paper must have been discussed with your course instructor by 7 July 2016 the latest. Universität Siegen 20161 SoSe 2016 Univ.-Prof. Dr. Müller Anja