Shakespeare's Language

Dozent/in:

Manfred Krug

Termine:

Do, 16:00 - 17:30, U5/00.24

Inhalt:

This lecture will provide students with an overview of the English language for the period from about 1500 to 1700, the so-called early modern English period. This was a time during which the English language was in a state of flux and underwent some of its most radical linguistic changes, such as the establishment of periphrastic DO in questions and negations, the Great Vowel Shift or the restructuring in address forms (thou, thee vs. ye, you). We will discuss all levels of linguistic organization, i.e.: phonology, morphology, syntax and the lexicon. Various exemplary texts from the period will be analysed (both prose and poetry). The focus will be on the most famous early modern English writer, William Shakespeare. A comparative look at the language of Shakespeare s time, mediaeval texts and the English(es) spoken today will help reveal major principles of language change.

Empfohlene Literatur:

Barber, Charles. 1997. Early Modern English. Cambridge: CUP.

Vorlesung: The Roots of English

Dozent/in:

Gabriele Knappe

Termine:

Di, 14:15 - 15:45, U5/02.22

Inhalt:

Description: Why is English like that? Why is knight spelled with a kn and a gh? Why does English have so many synonyms like start, begin, commence or clever, intelligent, astute and bright? How come that we hardly have any – in fact only eight – inflectional endings in English today? And how are German and English related – as they obviously are, when we compare, for instance, goose and Gans, house and Haus, knight and Knecht, light and Licht?
This lecture addresses all these questions, and more. Students will be given an overview of the development of the English language from its earliest attestations in the late 7th century (Old English) until today in the context of the textual transmission and sociohistorical changes. Selected passages from different periods will be introduced, and special areas of interest are the development of sounds and spelling, grammar, vocabulary and syntax.
This lecture is particularly designed for students of BA "Anglistik/Amerikanistik", Aufbaumodul (2 ECTS).Students from other BA programmes can earn 2 or 4 ECTS points for their Studium Generale (pass/fail), and visiting students can earn 2 or 4 ungraded, pass/fail or graded ECTS points. Everybody elso who is interested is of course welcome, too, and may attend the lecture as a guest without getting ECTS points.
Note that students of Lehramt Gymnasium and of B.A. Medieval Studies must attend the Uebung "Englische Sprachgeschichte", not this lecture.

Empfohlene Literatur:

Suggestions for background reading:

• Norbert Schmitt and Richard Marsden. 2006. Why Is English like That? Historical Answers to Hard ELT Questions. Michigan: The University of Michigan Press.
• Albert C. Baugh & Thomas Cable. 2013. A History of the English Language. Sixth ed. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Introduction to English Linguistics

Dozent/in:

Manfred Krug

Termine:

Di, 12:00 - 14:00, U5/01.22
Die Klausur findet am 25.07.2017 von 12:00 bis 14:00 Uhr in U5/01.22 statt!

Inhalt:

This course is designed to introduce beginning students to the central terms and topics in current (English) linguistics. While the focus will be on present-day English, many modern irregularities (such as the differences between spelling and pronunciation or irregular verbs) can be explained in historical terms. We will therefore occasionally digress into the history of the English language in order to better understand the present. Topics to be dealt with include phonetics, phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax and sociolinguistics. One class will also be devoted to the major contrasts between English and German. In order to equip students with the basic analytical skills that are essential for future linguists and teachers alike, part of the course especially the accompanying tutorials and workshops will be practical in nature. We will therefore analyse authentic modern English texts from a linguistic point of view.

Pidgin and Creole languages

Dozent/in:

Geoffrey Haig

Termine:

Di, 14:15 - 15:45, OK8/02.04

Inhalt:

Pidgin is the term used to refer to simplified communication systems that sometimes arise when speakers of different languages need to communicate with each other. Pidgins may, under certain social conditions, subsequently develop into creoles, which can be considered fully-fledged languages, though traces of their origins are often still evident. Pidgins can emerge quite quickly and under very varied conditions (for example, among so-called Gastarbeiter in Germany), but the best-known and most intensely researched environment is in the context of colonialization and slavery. Speakers of many different languages were exploited as forced labour for plantations, while the language of the colonialists (e.g. English, Spanish, or French) was retained by the minority in power, and thus acquired a special status.

In this course we examine (i) the sociohistorical conditions for pidginization; (ii) typical structural characteristics of pidgins; (iii) the process and outcome of creolization. We will look at several casse-studies of pidgin and creole languages from different parts of the world, and then move on to more general theoretical issues that pidgin and creole language raise for linguistics. In particular, they can be viewed in the light of general simplification processes that may occur through language contact and second language acquisition, but also as providing evidence that may be relevant for understanding the origin of human language. They are also relevant to understanding the social factors (status and prestige) that operate in shaping language change.

Empfohlene Literatur:

Literature (general background)
John Holm. 2000. An Introduction to Pidgins and Creoles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Siegel, Jeff. 2008. The emergence of pidgin and creole languages. Oxford: OUP.
Sections in: Thomason, S. G. & Kaufman, T. 1988 , Language contact, creolization and genetic linguistics, University of California Press, Berkeley.

V History of English Poetry: Romanticism to Modernism

Dozent/in:

Pascal Fischer

Termine:

Di, 12:00 - 14:00, U5/00.24
Einzeltermin am 4.7.2017, 12:00 - 14:00, U5/02.18

Inhalt:

This lecture course gives an overview of the development of English poetry from early Romanticism in the second half of the eighteenth century to the age of Modernism at the beginning of the twentieth century. Introducing the most important periods, literary schools and movements, the lecture also tries to challenge established systems of periodization and categorization. Close readings of individual poems will provide students with some tools for their own interpretations. Even though this is the second part of a two-semester course on the history of English poetry, having attended the first part is no prerequisite for the second.

"This Double-Consciousness:" African American and Afro German Literature and Culture (Literary Studies)

Dozent/in:

Mareike Spychala

Termine:

Mo, 12:00 - 14:00, U5/01.18

Inhalt:

This interdisciplinary course has been designed especially for North-American exchange students and German students, inviting them to study each other’s cultures together. Readings and classroom discussion will be both in English and German.
African American literature and culture are vibrant and important parts of the larger literary and cultural landscape of the United States. Similarly, works by Afro German authors and artists are becoming an important part of German literature and are increasingly attracting scholarly scrutiny. In this German-American seminar, we will analyze different literary and cultural products by African American and Afro German authors and artists that deal with issues of race and national belonging in their respective countries. We will compare which narrative and artistic strategies these authors use to represent, emphasize, and contextualize the experiences of African Americans and Afro Germans in nations that still imagine themselves as primarily white.

Empfohlene Literatur:

before class stars in April:

• Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861)
• Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952)

during the semester:

• Toni Morrison,Beloved (1987)
• Ika Hügel-Marshall, Daheim unterwegs: ein deutsches Leben (1998)
• Hans-Jürgen Massaquoi, Destined to Witness/Neger, Neger, Schornsteinfeger (1999)

Further readings will be made available through the reserve shelf (Handapparat) in the library.
Films

• Audre Lorde: The Berlin Years (2012)
• Selma (2015)

From Gossip Girl to Dust Bowl Okie: The Representation of Social Class in American Literature and Culture (PS Literary Studies)

Dozent/in:

Nicole K. Konopka

Termine:

Fr, 14:00 - 16:00, U5/02.18
Einzeltermin am 2.6.2017, 12:00 - 18:00, U5/01.17

Inhalt:

Despite the persistency of the myth that US American society is a classless society, social class is a very popular topic across genres and times in American literature and culture. In this class we will trace the establishment and effects of social hierarchies throughout American literary and cultural history, in order to come to a better understanding of today s social realities in the US. Our primary reading will consist of three novels and one play (see below), as well as one movie, but additional material (short stories, poems, songs and pictures) will be part of the course curriculum, too.

NOTE: This seminar will include one block session on June 2nd (12 6 p.m.), when we will watch and critically discuss the movie Capitalism: A Love Story (Michael Moore, 2010) together with students from a seminar on Reviewing Capitalism from the Theology Department.

All course material (except for the novels see below) will be provided well ahead of class via the Virtual Campus. Make sure that you order your copy of the books well in advance! 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!

Our first meeting will take place on May 5.

Empfohlene Literatur:

Required Reading: (print or e-book)

• Upton Sinclair, The Jungle (1906)
• John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men (1937)
• Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun (1959)
• Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (2007)

"This Double-Consciousness:" African American and Afro German Literature and Culture (Cultural Studies)

Dozent/in:

Mareike Spychala

Termine:

Mo, 12:00 - 14:00, U5/01.18
Einzeltermin am 14.6.2017, 19:00 - 21:00, U5/01.17

Inhalt:

This interdisciplinary course has been designed especially for North-American exchange students and German students, inviting them to study each other s cultures together. Readings and classroom discussion will be both in English and German.
African American literature and culture are vibrant and important parts of the larger literary and cultural landscape of the United States. Similarly, works by Afro German authors and artists are becoming an important part of German literature and are increasingly attracting scholarly scrutiny. In this German-American seminar, we will analyze different literary and cultural products by African American and Afro German authors and artists that deal with issues of race and national belonging in their respective countries. We will compare which narrative and artistic strategies these authors use to represent, emphasize, and contextualize the experiences of African Americans and Afro Germans in nations that still imagine themselves as primarily white.

Empfohlene Literatur:

before class stars in April:

• Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861)
• Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952)

during the semester:

• Toni Morrison,Beloved (1987)
• Ika Hügel-Marshall, Daheim unterwegs: ein deutsches Leben (1998)
• Hans-Jürgen Massaquoi, Destined to Witness/Neger, Neger, Schornsteinfeger (1999)

Further readings will be made available through the reserve shelf (Handapparat) in the library.

Films

• Audre Lorde: The Berlin Years (2012)
• Selma (2015)

From Gossip Girl to Dust Bowl Okie: The Representation of Social Class in American Literature and Culture (PS Cultural Studies)

Dozent/in:

Nicole K. Konopka

Termine:

Fr, 14:00 - 16:00, U5/02.18
Einzeltermin am 2.6.2017, 12:00 - 18:00, U5/01.17

Inhalt:

Despite the persistency of the myth that US American society is a classless society, social class is a very popular topic across genres and times in American literature and culture. In this class we will trace the establishment and effects of social hierarchies throughout American literary and cultural history, in order to come to a better understanding of today s social realities in the US. Our primary reading will consist of three novels and one play (see below), as well as one movie, but additional material (short stories, poems, songs and pictures) will be part of the course curriculum, too.

NOTE: This seminar will include one block session on June 2nd (12 6 p.m.), when we will watch and critically discuss the movie Capitalism: A Love Story (Michael Moore, 2010) together with students from a seminar on Reviewing Capitalism from the Theology Department.

All course material (except for the novels see below) will be provided well ahead of class via the Virtual Campus. Make sure that you order your copy of the books well in advance! 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!

Our first meeting will take place on May 5.

Empfohlene Literatur:

Required Reading: (print or e-book)

• Upton Sinclair, The Jungle (1906)
• John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men (1937)
• Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun (1959)
• Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (2007)