Syllabus
Organizational instructions; Postmodern novel (P. Süskind Das Parfum. Die Geschichte eines Mörders, P. Mercier: Nachzug nach Lissabon); Reflection World War II in literature (B. Schlink: Der Vorleser); women's literature
(J. Herrmann: Sommerhaus später); The german democratic republic in the literature (Claudia Rusch: Meine freie deutsche Jugend); Migrant literature (Wladimir Kaminer: Russendisco); Contemporary writers in the textbooks German as a foreign language (Danie Glattaus, Doris Dörrie); Austrian writers with the Czech culture roots (Michael Stavaric, Zdeňka Becker); Conclusion, course evaluation
Annotation
The course will concentrate on literature since the postmodernism, authors of German, Austrian as well as Swiss literature, authors of migrant literature including those with Czech or Slovac roots. The focus will lie on prose, more precisely on novels and short stories.
Literary works will be – if possible – compared to films. A special topic will be the authors represented in the textbooks for schools with the output of Das deutsche (österreichische) Sprachdiplom.
The starting point will be the bellow listed topics, one of the offered works will be analysed. The course includes the work of P.
Süskind (Perfume. The Story of a Murderer) and P.
Mercier (Night Train to Lisbon) as postmodern and postpostmodern novels; the work of B. Schlink (The Reader) and G.
Grass (Peeling the Onion) as a retrospect to the historical burden related to nacism; short stories of C. Rusch (Meine freie deutshc Jugend, Aufbau Ost) and the novel Der Turm.
Geschichte aus einem versunkenen Land by Uwe Tellmann as a retrospect to former GDR; short stories of Judith Herrmann representing the work of so called Fraüleinwunder; short stories of Inge Schulze and others. From the migrant literature, the work of Wladimir Kaminer (Russendisco) will be discussed; from the work of authors with Czech roots Michael Stavaric, with Slovak roots Zdeňka Bezděková.
From the work of authors represented in textbooks, Daniel Glattauer and Doris Dörrie can be named. From the newest literature, the novel Trafikant by the Austrian writer Robert Seethaler must not remain unmentioned.
Course is taught in German.