Seminar Lewis Carroll

-It has been said that the Alice books have been quoted almost as often as the Bible and Shakespeare.- (Linda Sunshine, All Things Alice) Lewis Carroll‘s Alice books have long since entered our cultural memory – we have seen Alice on countless illustrations, we have watched her fall into the underground wonderland in cartoon series and films. We recognize the elements and props of the world behind the looking glass throughout pop culture (from theBeatles’ I am the Walrus or Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds to the choice of pills in Matrix). After 150 years of Alice, her adventures remain open to ever new interpretations – only to mention the most recent ones: Tim Burton‘s Alice films that continue her story into adolescent life (2010, 2016) and the musical wonder.land (with songs written by Blur frontman Damon Albarn) that tells the story of Aly who creates her own blonde avatar on the smartphone app wonder.land. In this seminar, we will return to the original text, thereby, to the source of all the adaptations and allusions. We will reread the Alice books not merely as children’s literature but we will try to broaden the understanding of these rich texts. We will have a look at them from various perspectives: from a historical point-of-view to a language/linguistic-focussed readings to psychoanalytic interpretations. We will also try to link Lewis Carroll’s literary oeuvre (also beyond the Alice books) to Charles Lutwidge Dodgson‘s other roles in life: as a photographer and mathematician. Students should have read both of the Alice books and The Hunting of the Snark before the beginning of the semester. A reading test will take place in the first session of the seminar. Please use the Norton Critical Edition. Lewis Carroll. 2013. Alice in Wonderland. (A Norton Critical Edition). Ed. Donald Gray. New York/London. (ISBN: 978-0-393-93234-8) Recommended Biography: Robert Douglas-Fairhurst. 2015. The Story of Alice: Lewis Carroll and the Secret History of Wonderland. London. Leistungsnachweis B.A.-Nebenfach SLK: Diese Veranstaltung entspricht in WP 2 dem Kurstyp -Begleitkurs zu Themen der Literaturwissenschaft m/n/o/p- (WP 2.0.14/16/18/20). Sie erhalten 3 ECTS, wenn Sie entweder eine Klausur (30-60 Min.) schreiben oder eine mündliche Prüfung (15-30 Min.) ablegen oder ein Thesenpapier (3.000-6.000 Zeichen) oder Übungsaufgaben (3.000-6.000 Zeichen) fertigen. Die Prüfung muss benotet sein. Die Wahl der Prüfungsart liegt beim Dozenten. Anmeldung Anmeldung (über LSF) 3. - 12. Febr. 2016 Department III - Anglistik und Amerikanistik B.A.-Nebenfach SLK: Diese Veranstaltung entspricht in WP 2 dem Kurstyp -Begleitkurs zu Themen der Literaturwissenschaft m/n/o/p- (WP 2.0.14/16/18/20). Sie erhalten 3 ECTS, wenn Sie entweder eine Klausur (30-60 Min.) schreiben oder eine mündliche Prüfung (15-30 Min.) ablegen oder ein Thesenpapier (3.000-6.000 Zeichen) oder Übungsaufgaben (3.000-6.000 Zeichen) fertigen. Die Prüfung muss benotet sein. Die Wahl der Prüfungsart liegt beim Dozenten. LMU München SoSe 2016 Dr. Tiedtke Silvia