The First World War in Anglophone Narratives

A number of centenary events, publications and broadcasts are currently bringing the First World War - or The Great War, as it is known in many English-speaking countries - back into the people's memories. The UK and many Commonwealth countries remember a war which is seen as still relevant to the understanding of national identity, colonial and postcolonial relationships and nation building processes. This class is not going to discuss texts from the time of the war; it is rather interested in fictional texts of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries and how they are part of a remembrance culture which is still very vivid. Why is this war, of all wars of the last century, remembered in such varied cultural and political contexts? Why is the public so involved in a discussion of this historic event - more so than, for instance, of the Second World War? How is this institutionalised remembrance reflected in literature, and how do these literary texts contribute to or discuss this institutionalised remembrance culture? Texts discussed will be from various parts of the English-speaking world and reflect very different ways of dealing with the remembrance culture and the meaning of the Great War for twenty-first century culture and nationhood. This class is, of course, rooted in literary scholarship, but as we will be dealing with historical novels and their contexts, a basic knowledge of the First World War is essential when taking part in this course. Introductory works which are on a basic to medium level can be found below. Students of history (and other disciplines) are welcome to join the class in the context of the -Fächerübergreifender Wahlpflichtbereich" but should be aware that the focus is on questions of narratology and literary representation. Field Trip In cooperation with the Departments of History and Art History I will be offering a field trip for MA students of the Department of English and American Studies. The trip will take us to museums, battlefields and memorials in and around Péronne (France) and Ypres (Belgium) from June 30 to July 04. The group will be travelling by coach. Students wishing to take part in this trip should be prepared to take part in preparatory meetings and do some additional reading. Participants should also be willing to work in an interdisciplinary environment and keep an open mind for methods and approaches of other disciplines. Additional work will be required in the form of a contribution to a 'reader' which will be produced in group work. Participants will be asked to contribute about € 100,- to the overall costs and should be prepared to pay for meals during the trip when not included in the accommodation fees. (The exact amount of the contribution will be published here as soon as it is available. The language of the preparatory meetings and the trip will mainly be German. Texts in English are, of course, welcome, and a working knowledge of French might come in handy. Participants with non-EU nationalities must make sure that they are in possession of valid and appropriate visa for France and Belgium. Registration: Students wishing to take part in the field trip will need to send me an e-mail. Registration will be confirmed after this period and is binding. As the field trip involves bookings of a number of arrangements, participants will be asked not to cancel their registration unless important reasons make the journey impossible. Participants will be registered by date stamp of the e-mail application. Students registered for my seminar -The First World War in Anglophone Narratives" will have priority. Please note that there are only 10 places for students from our department. Schedule March 15-24: Registration by e-mail April 18, 16.30-18.00: First meeting May 20-21: -Blockseminar" (two-day workshop) June 27, 16.30: Organisational meeting June 30 - July 04: Field trip

Primary Texts The seminar will focus on three novels from different parts of the English-speaking world (listed in order of discussion in class): • Pat Barker. Life Class. London: Penguin 2014, ISBN 978-0141019475. • Joseph Boyden. Three Day Road. London: Phoenix 2006, ISBN 978-0753820810. • David Malouf. Fly Away Peter. London: Vintage 1999, ISBN 978-0099273820. Theoretical Framework and Secondary Literature All set texts will be made available in an online -Semesterapparat." A list of further texts of interest will be made available at the beginning of term. Introductory Literature on the First World War The following texts are meant as first introductions to the First World War. • Volker Berghahn. Der Erste Weltkrieg. München: C.H.Beck 2014. • Michael Howard. The First World War. A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: OUP 2007. • Gerd Krumeich. Die 101 wichtigsten Fragen - Der Erste Weltkrieg. München: C.H. Beck 2015. • Jeremy Paxman. Great Britain's Great War. London: Penguin 2013. Englisch (MA, PO 2013) Universität Düsseldorf SoSe 2016 Dr. Heinze Michael