Transculturality in Im migration Literature and Film

We will be dealing with one of the most burning themes in cultural studies (and politics): the increasingly complex patterns of (im)migration which are unsettling traditional notions of culture, identity, and even nation. The concept of transculturality offers an encouraging way to view migration, but the grim borders of many types and their strict border guardians often depicted in contemporary literature and film (and again politics) tend to resist, indeed crush, transcultural impulses. The reservoir of primary literature/films to choose from here is vast, especially if we include a historical component in the course material. We will choose works from this list: Hispanic Boyle, T.C. The Tortilla Curtain, 1995. S11 ELQB 3361 Cisneros, Sandra. Caramelo, 2002. S11 ELQC 2043 Cisneros, Sandra. Woman Hollering Creek (short stories), 1991. film: A Better Life, 2011; director Chris Weitz; Demián Bichir was nominated for the Academy Award of -Best Actor” Asian American Guterson, David. Snow Falling on Cedars [about Japanese Americans interned during World War II], 1994. S11 ELQG 1924 [Haytock, Jennifer. A Reader’s Guide to David Guterson’s Snow Falling on Cedars , 2002. S03 ZZK 158472] Lahiri, Jhumpa [Indian American]. The Namesake, 2003. S11 ELQL 1806 film: The Namesake, 2006; dir. Mira Nair; with Kal Penn as -Gogol” Lahiri, Jhumpa. Unaccustomed Earth (short stories), 2008. Tan, Amy [Chinese American]. The Joy Luck Club, 1989 Tan, Amy. The Kitchen God’s Wife, 1991. S11 ELQT 1636 Tan, Amy. The Bonesetter’s Daughter, 2001; S11 ELQT 1555 > made into an opera in 2008 (San Francisco); film on the making of the opera, 2011 film: The Joy Luck Club, 1993; dir. Wayne Wang Arab American Chehade, Thérèse Soukar [Lebanese American]. Loom: A Novel. Syracuse: Syracuse U Press, 2010. Irish American Tóibín, Colm. Brooklyn: A Novel, 2009. film: In America, 2002; dir. Jim Sheridan; written by his two daughters (loosely autobiographical > an Irish family illegally immigrates to New York City in the 1980s); nominated for three Oscars film: Gangs of New York, 2002; dir. Martin Scorsese; starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis German American Foer, Jonathan. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, 2005; S11 ELQF 1882; film adaptation 2011; dir. Stephen Daldry; starring Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Max von Sydow > we will only consider the German German immigrant character played by von Sydow African American film: The Great Debaters, 2007; dir. Denzel Washington; starring Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker film: The Help, 2011; dir. Tate Taylor; Academy Award 2012 for Octavia Spencer > Best Supporting Actress; 3 other Oscar nominations > film based on the 2009 bestseller by Kathryn Stockett S11 ELZS 1035 South African Gordimer, Nadine. My Son’s Story, 1990. S11 EEZG 1505 Coetzee, J.M. Age of Iron: A Novel, 1990. S11 EEZC 1369 Coetzee, J.M. Disgrace, 1999. S11 EEZC 1474 film: Disgrace, 2008; dir. Steve Jacobs; starring John Malkovich UK Lewycka, Marina. Two Caravans, 2007. S11 EDZL 1028 film: It’s a Free World, 2007; dir. Ken Loach > has been taught at German schools because of relevance for -Zentralabitur” themes Australia Garimara, Doris Pilkington. Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence, 1996. film: Rabbit-Proof Fence, 2002 (film; dir. Phillip Noyce) A semester reader with novel excerpts, reviews, and theory will be distributed in April. A special event will be an interactive lecture (21 June) by Prof. Page Laws from Norfolk State University/Virginia, on the film adaptation of J.M. Coetzee's controversial novel Disgrace . - Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake, 2003 (any economical edition) [We will compare it to the 2006 Mira Nair film adaptation] - T.C. Boyle, The Tortilla Curtain, 1995 (any economical edition) [This novel is relevant for -Zentralabitur- themes - a detail of particular interest for the LA students - and it is still very topical; we will compare it to the 2012 Oscar-nominated movie A Better Life] If you have already read either of these two novels, you can certainly substitute another one from the respective ethnic group. Excerpts from numerous other novels, short stories, film reviews, theory texts will be contained in the seminar reader, to be distributed in April. Anglistik - Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaft Universität Siegen SoSe 2012 Ph.D. Waegner Cathy Ph.D