Women and German writing
Silke Hesse
12 points
* 3 hours per week
* Second semester
* Clayton
*
Corequisite: GNM4625
Objectives Students doing this unit should develop an understanding of the complex and changing nature of the discrimination women encountered during the past two centuries in Germany and the phases of their struggle for emancipation; an ability to approach theory about women written by both men and women critically with a view to its innovative and constructive ideas, its biases, its place in the context of German society and the history of ideas, and its possible relevance for the interpretation of literary texts; an interdisciplinary approach to questions concerning women, including philosophical, legal, anthropological, politological, psychological, historical and aesthetic perspectives; an awareness of the hurdles faced by women writers throughout the last two centuries, their responses to these, and their attempts at creating a feminine/feminist aesthetic; a familiarity with the German terminology used by a variety of disciplines, and practice in the reading and speaking of German; the ability to present ideas clearly and concisely in both oral and written form and to design an essay topic combining several of the texts studied.
Synopsis This subject comprises a study of male and female theories about women and a series of texts in German written by women from the 18th century to the present day. Classical, Marxist and Freudian approaches are considered, and various women's movements up to the present are examined. The texts studied range from Hippel in the age of Goethe to the contentious contemporary writings of Wolf on the one hand and Jelinek on the other.
Assessment Written (7000 words): 70%
* Examination (2 hours): 30%
Recommended texts
Wolf C Voraussetzungen einer Erzählung: Kassandra Luchterhand
Other texts available from department
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