German 340
Exile: Theoretical and Literary Configurations
Full course for one semester. The course explores multifaceted
experiences of exile represented in twentieth-century literature
and theory. A small selection of film screenings complements
textual analyses. Varying definitions of exile, ranging from
catastrophe to a new state of freedom, will be discussed. The
autobiographical aspects of exilic texts will be a major tenet of
the course. The transformation of lived experiences into literary
themes and techniques will be discussed. While emphasizing the
heterogeneity of the approaches, we will also aim at establishing a
working definition of an "aesthetics of exile." Literary readings
include works by Kafka, Nabokov, Bachmann, Ch. Wolf, Rushdie, Orhan
Pamuk, and Turkish expatriates in Germany. Studies of exile
associated with the Frankfurt School, postcolonial theory,
poststructuralism, and new feminist thought constitute the
theoretical framework. Fassbinder's Ali and Steam: The
Turkish Bath are the films to be discussed. Conducted in
English. Students taking the course for German literature credit
will meet once a week in an extra seminar. Conference. Cross-listed
as Literature 340. Not offered 2005-06.
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