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Semester 2

The Contemporary Short Story in German (ELCG08009)

Subject

European Languages and Cultures - German

College

CAHSS

Credits

10

Normal Year Taken

2

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Visiting Students should have German language skills at CEFR level B1 or above; entry to this course above introductory level may be subject to a language test on arrival and is at the discretion of the course organiser. **Please see Additional Restrictions below**

Course Summary

The short story has undergone a revival in twenty-first-century German-language literature. As a flexible genre it gives writers the freedom to 'play with' their literary ideas, that is, to try out new ways of approaching plot, character development, and/or setting. This makes the short story such an exciting genre to study, but also one through which we can learn, just on a few pages, about current trends in German-language writing. This course is particularly suited to students who wish to read, and compare, a range of different short stories by a variety of authors, develop their literary analytical skills, and gain deeper insights into the themes that are of concern to contemporary German-language writers and into the different techniques they employ to engage with them.

Course Description

In this course you will read a number of short stories by influential German-language writers. The two main aims of the course are: (1) to introduce you to themes and topics that have dominated contemporary German-language literature in order to broaden, as well as deepen, your knowledge of German literature; and (2) to develop your skills in literary analysis by practising close reading and applying comparative methodologies. Our class discussion and comparative readings will focus on: situating the stories in the contemporary German literary field; the significance of recurring themes and issues in contemporary (short story) writing; and the short story's specific narrative techniques in terms of form/composition, narrative perspective/s and voice, stylistic peculiarities, and other aesthetic devices. The key question is, then, how, as a genre, the short story can open up unique ways of engaging with the themes that have dominated recent German-language writing. Supporting critical reading will provide context to the themes/topics and/or give guidance on literary analysis when appropriate. The course starts with an introduction to the short story as a genre and to short story theory with a specific view on the short story in the German context (incl. the differences between short story and other short prose genres such as novella, Erzählung, tale, and others). You will also be introduced to close reading as a technique. We will then focus on recurring themes and examine them by reading one story by a different author in each seminar, comparing it to the stories previously read on the course and paying particular attention to narrative techniques. Themes we are likely to discuss are: the everyday and the exceptional; the local and the global; loneliness and longing; marginality and universality; alterity and otherness; individuality and collectivity; generations; and gender. We will also look at a short story cycle and explore its treatment of a specific theme as well as its narratological specificity. By way of summarising our class discussions over the course of the semester, we will think about whether there is a specifically 'German' element in the stories we have studied. The course is taught in 10 two-hour seminars over one semester. As the course focuses on student-led learning, you will prepare for the seminar in Autonomous Learning Groups. A dossier will be provided by the course organiser in advance of the course with points for discussion and other important information that will be helpful for our class discussion. You will listen to brief lecture-style presentations on theoretical/methodological issues by the course organiser when appropriate, but most of the class will center on workshop-based discussion.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 100%, Practical Exam 0%

Additional Restrictions

Visiting Students should also take as a co-requisite German 2 Language (ELCG08008).

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