Golden Door: Italian Perspectives on the USA and Vice Versa (Ü Cultural Studies Basismodul)

Dozent/in:

Nicole K. Konopka

Termine:

Fr, 14:00 - 16:00, U5/02.18

Inhalt:

The United States are often described as a nation of immigrants, the 'golden door' to the West, a land in which people from all over the world have sought – and apparently found – new homes and new lives. However, the myth of the Promised Land and the cultural narrative of the American Dream are as much exclusive as they are inclusive, thus encouraging new beginnings and personal aspirations, but also breaking individuals and their hopes and dreams.

In the first part of the semester, the course centers on American ideals and realities as seen from an Italian immigrant perspective. We will be looking at how Italian immigrants and their descendants participated and still participate in the creation of core American values and narratives, and influenced debates about inclusion of newcomers into the Promised Land.

In the second half of the class we will then take a look at the influence of Italy on the writing of past and present US-American writers, such as Emerson, Tennessee Williams and Elizabeth Spencer. Italy seems to have had and still plays a special role in American Literature, where especially Rome is everything at once: ancient playground, great peak of the grand tour, self-imposed exile, and unsettling mirror of existentialist anxieties.

This course has two key goals, which are related to "history from below" and the "development of a myth". First, this course seeks to help students interrogate their own notions of American history, literature and culture. Immigrants are neither the helpless victims, nor are they agents of pure individualism. To help students understand the many layers of the stories of migration, and how they are entwined with one aspect of American history in particular, shall be one objective of this class. The second goal is to show the gradual emancipation of popular narratives and how the ideas of the Promised Land and the American Dream become ideal or real against a particular ethnic background: Italian immigrants and their descendants in the US.

To understand the American fascination with Italy, we will do a lot of reading, speaking, thinking and possibly even traveling. Our main reading material will consist of several novels, which are listed below. Students are encouraged to start reading the novels before the semester! More material will then be provided via the VC during the semester.

Required reading October - December 2016:

• Pietro di Donato, Christ in Concrete (1939)
• Mario Puzo, The Fortunate Pilgrim (1965) OR Stuart Cooper's movie "Mama Lucia" (1988, available in the "Semesterapparat"!)
• Helen Barolino, Umbertina (1979)

Required reading January - February 2017:

• Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms (1929)
• Tennessee Williams, The Roman Spring Of Mrs. Stone (1950)

This class will include a field trip to Rome (Italy), which will take place in the end of February or the beginning of March. Participants will receive generous funding from the American Studies Section and will be expected to contribute to the field trip with a presentation on site.

Disturbing Paradigms: Mental Illness in US American Culture (Aufbaumodul)

Dozent/in:

Nicole K. Konopka

Termine:

Mi, 12:00 - 14:00, U9/01.11

Inhalt:

Mental illness has always played an important role in popular culture and general human awareness. The aspect of public attention has always been part of that, and due to simultaneously causing fear and fascination mental illness has figured largely in literature, visual art, and music. Artistic works have confirmed and challenged belief and value systems: the mad scientist, the horror of the asylum, the mentally ill relative in the family closet, fear of close proximity to mental institutions, the mental patient's desolation -- all these are perceptions of mental illness. In this course we will explore the concept of madness as presented in literature.

We will primarily explore texts from authors that are part of the department's reading list, such as Edgar Alan Poe, Theodore Dreiser, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Graham Greene, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jack London, Tennessee Williams and H. P. Lovecraft. Four novels shall be the key texts of this class, and students are expected to read the first two novels before the beginning of our seminar:

• Joseph Heller, Catch-22 (1961) – preferred edition: Vintage; ISBN 9780099536017.
• Ken Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962) – preferred edition: Signet; ISBN 0451163966.
• Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar (1963) – preferred edition: FF Classics; ISBN 0571200338.
• Gwyn Hyman Rubio, Icy Sparks (1998) – preferred edition: Penguin; ISBN 0142000205.

Additional course material will be provided well ahead of class via the Virtual Campus. It is important for participants to do the assigned reading, attend class regularly and contribute to class discussions. You are welcome to bring in materials from outside of class (newspaper articles, handouts etc.) and you can also plan class room activities – e.g. mock debates. Your input will be welcome!

Attention: This is a READING class! Participants must be able to read and review quite a lot of material between the weekly sessions. The class is also designed to assist you with the reading list of the American Studies Section and aims to contribute to your understanding of key narratives of North American literature and culture. Most of the material will be provided via the Virtual Campus ahead of each session. Students are, however, required to read some texts before the beginning of the semester – either in print or as e-book.

Golden Door: Italian Perspectives on the USA and Vice Versa (PS Cultural Studies)

Dozent/in:

Nicole K. Konopka

Termine:

Fr, 14:00 - 16:00, U5/02.18

Inhalt:

The United States are often described as a nation of immigrants, the 'golden door' to the West, a land in which people from all over the world have sought – and apparently found – new homes and new lives. However, the myth of the Promised Land and the cultural narrative of the American Dream are as much exclusive as they are inclusive, thus encouraging new beginnings and personal aspirations, but also breaking individuals and their hopes and dreams.

In the first part of the semester, the course centers on American ideals and realities as seen from an Italian immigrant perspective. We will be looking at how Italian immigrants and their descendants participated and still participate in the creation of core American values and narratives, and influenced debates about inclusion of newcomers into the Promised Land.

In the second half of the class we will then take a look at the influence of Italy on the writing of past and present US-American writers, such as Emerson, Tennessee Williams and Elizabeth Spencer. Italy seems to have had and still plays a special role in American Literature, where especially Rome is everything at once: ancient playground, great peak of the grand tour, self-imposed exile, and unsettling mirror of existentialist anxieties.

This course has two key goals, which are related to "history from below" and the "development of a myth". First, this course seeks to help students interrogate their own notions of American history, literature and culture. Immigrants are neither the helpless victims, nor are they agents of pure individualism. To help students understand the many layers of the stories of migration, and how they are entwined with one aspect of American history in particular, shall be one objective of this class. The second goal is to show the gradual emancipation of popular narratives and how the ideas of the Promised Land and the American Dream become ideal or real against a particular ethnic background: Italian immigrants and their descendants in the US.

To understand the American fascination with Italy, we will do a lot of reading, speaking, thinking and possibly even traveling. Our main reading material will consist of several novels, which are listed below. Students are encouraged to start reading the novels before the semester! More material will then be provided via the VC during the semester.

Required reading October - December 2016:

• Pietro di Donato, Christ in Concrete (1939)
• Mario Puzo, The Fortunate Pilgrim (1965) OR Stuart Cooper's movie "Mama Lucia" (1988, available in the "Semesterapparat"!)
• Helen Barolino, Umbertina (1979)

Required reading January - February 2017:

• Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms (1929)
• Tennessee Williams, The Roman Spring Of Mrs. Stone (1950)

This class will include a field trip to Rome (Italy), which will take place in the end of February or the beginning of March. Participants will receive generous funding from the American Studies Section and will be expected to contribute to the field trip with a presentation on site.

Golden Door: Italian Perspectives on the USA and Vice Versa (Ü Cultural Studies Aufbaumodul)

Dozent/in:

Nicole K. Konopka

Termine:

Fr, 14:00 - 16:00, U5/02.18

Inhalt:

The United States are often described as a nation of immigrants, the 'golden door' to the West, a land in which people from all over the world have sought – and apparently found – new homes and new lives. However, the myth of the Promised Land and the cultural narrative of the American Dream are as much exclusive as they are inclusive, thus encouraging new beginnings and personal aspirations, but also breaking individuals and their hopes and dreams.

In the first part of the semester, the course centers on American ideals and realities as seen from an Italian immigrant perspective. We will be looking at how Italian immigrants and their descendants participated and still participate in the creation of core American values and narratives, and influenced debates about inclusion of newcomers into the Promised Land.

In the second half of the class we will then take a look at the influence of Italy on the writing of past and present US-American writers, such as Emerson, Tennessee Williams and Elizabeth Spencer. Italy seems to have had and still plays a special role in American Literature, where especially Rome is everything at once: ancient playground, great peak of the grand tour, self-imposed exile, and unsettling mirror of existentialist anxieties.

This course has two key goals, which are related to "history from below" and the "development of a myth". First, this course seeks to help students interrogate their own notions of American history, literature and culture. Immigrants are neither the helpless victims, nor are they agents of pure individualism. To help students understand the many layers of the stories of migration, and how they are entwined with one aspect of American history in particular, shall be one objective of this class. The second goal is to show the gradual emancipation of popular narratives and how the ideas of the Promised Land and the American Dream become ideal or real against a particular ethnic background: Italian immigrants and their descendants in the US.

To understand the American fascination with Italy, we will do a lot of reading, speaking, thinking and possibly even traveling. Our main reading material will consist of several novels, which are listed below. Students are encouraged to start reading the novels before the semester! More material will then be provided via the VC during the semester.

Required reading October - December 2016:

• Pietro di Donato, Christ in Concrete (1939)
• Mario Puzo, The Fortunate Pilgrim (1965) OR Stuart Cooper's movie "Mama Lucia" (1988, available in the "Semesterapparat"!)
• Helen Barolino, Umbertina (1979)

Required reading January - February 2017:

• Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms (1929)
• Tennessee Williams, The Roman Spring Of Mrs. Stone (1950)

This class will include a field trip to Rome (Italy), which will take place in the end of February or the beginning of March. Participants will receive generous funding from the American Studies Section and will be expected to contribute to the field trip with a presentation on site.