In this workshop we will explore and experiment with contemporary methods of improvisational theater, which is the art of making up theatrical moments on the spot, without a script. It is one of the liveliest and most current forms of theater of today and ingrained in US popular culture. This workshop will introduce the basic principles of improvisational theater, reflect on its impact on popular culture and explore its practical approaches to comedic as well as dramatic narrative structures.

This course (VAK: 10-76-4-D2/WD2-01) welcomes students who wish to complete the following modules: M.A. TnL Profilmodul I: Literatur 10-M83-2; MA TnL Vertiefungsmodul 10-M83; M.A. E-SC ExMo 2 - Extension Module 2; B.A. E-SC “Key Topics in Literature”- D2-c; WD-2a and WD-2b and
for students registered in the study programme M.A. TnL, M.A. E-SC and B.A. E-SC who wish to participate in our summer excursion to London from August 5th to August 12th, 2019.

This course seeks to familiarise students with a number of selected authors, poets and writers, in general, who have held lifelong connections with London, may it be historic or contemporary. We will aim to discuss their continued engagement with the city by exploring a selection of excerpts clustered around five major topic choices: Queer London; Women Writers and London; London’s Imperial Past and Postcolonial Present; London Theatreland and the Shakespearean Stage; London and Crime, and London and the Long Eighteen Century. By virtually tracing forgotten as well as prominent landmarks of the urban centre, we seek to connect the literary representations of the city with historical and cultural developments, present and past. During the summer excursion we will continue our exploration in London.

Since some of the participants are required to submit a research paper, we will use parts of our seminar discussions to the development of topics, the formulation of a thesis statement, as well as considerations about the methodological approaches of writing such a paper.

Additional secondary sources can be accessed in the “Semesterapparat”, a reference only section on the third floor of the library building. A reader with selected secondary text materials will be made available for download on Stud. IP. Please be aware that your registration on Stud. IP. is mandatory (deadline March 15th, 2019). You may wish to check the sections "Information" and "Schedule" further details such as requirements, weekly schedule, select bibliography and modes of assessment.
For Non-E-SC students and academic exchange students: Please contact me if you require more than 3 credit points.

Requirements and Assessment
• Interest in the topics discussed and ideally a regular attendance and informed participation in class discussion (not part of your formal assessment);
• in-depth knowledge of the selected reading material,
• homework assignments,
• group projects and presentation of research paper proposals;
• Research-based term paper.
The requirements as formulated above may vary depending on your overall degree program.

In this class we will first learn about approaches and tools to literary analysis before we look at how we read texts specifically from a postcolonial perspective. We will then read and discuss two postcolonial novels: 1. The Caribbean text Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (here the Norton Critical Edition) and the Nigerian text Oil on Water by Helon Habila. Please purchase and read both texts, they are available at the university bookstore on Universitätsboulevard for 11 € each at the beginning of April. All other texts are provided via StudIP.
Class requirements are regular attendance, in-depth knowledge of reading and viewing material, and active class discussion. Reading the texts and watching the films is mandatory. Please note that prior enrollment through StudIP is mandatory.

This course examines posthumanism as lived experiences, shifting discourses, and dynamic processes co-evolving with the nonhuman turn. Contemporary issues from climate change, war, to cultural heritage centrally involve human-nonhuman entanglements. The course discusses posthumanism in relation to such nonhuman phenomena as technological devices and systems capable of nonconscious cognition; human-robot relationships; and in varied degrees anthropocentric implications on animals and the environment. Our focus lies in articulating how meaning and affects arise with and through machines. The course intersects theories, practices, and fictions in three phases. First, to problematize perspectives privileging humans as above their species others, the course provides an overview of interacting intellectual movements (e.g. critical posthumanism, transhumanism, and speculative posthumanism). Second, participants encounter various media, including digital games, to reflect on posthumanizing effects of technologies. Third, participants engage with crucial debates on posthumanism, cultural practices, and imaginaries to envision sustainable futures for and shaped by (post)humans and nonhumans alike.

Starting with an exploration of critical approaches to tourism and tourist films in a transnational world we will analyze contemporary narrative films and how they construct and exploit touristic fantasies. We will critically examine narrative tropes such as postcolonial encounters, romantic entanglements and sexual adventures; we will assess the consumer-oriented aesthetics of these films; and moreover, we will reflect on the particular ideologies that come into play when the tourist experience becomes the focus of a filmic text.
Essential readings will be available for download on Stud-IP. You should also consult the 'Semesterapparat' (SuUB) for further readings.
Please note that prior enrollment via Stud.IP is mandatory.

In this workshop we will explore and experiment with contemporary methods of improvisational theater, which is the art of making up theatrical moments on the spot, without a script. It is one of the liveliest and most current forms of theater of today and ingrained in US popular culture. This workshop will introduce the basic principles of improvisational theater, reflect on its impact on popular culture and explore its practical approaches to comedic as well as dramatic narrative structures.

This course (VAK: 10-76-4-D2/WD2-01) welcomes students who wish to complete the following modules: M.A. TnL Profilmodul I: Literatur 10-M83-2; MA TnL Vertiefungsmodul 10-M83; M.A. E-SC ExMo 2 - Extension Module 2; B.A. E-SC “Key Topics in Literature”- D2-c; WD-2a and WD-2b and
for students registered in the study programme M.A. TnL, M.A. E-SC and B.A. E-SC who wish to participate in our summer excursion to London from August 5th to August 12th, 2019.

This course seeks to familiarise students with a number of selected authors, poets and writers, in general, who have held lifelong connections with London, may it be historic or contemporary. We will aim to discuss their continued engagement with the city by exploring a selection of excerpts clustered around five major topic choices: Queer London; Women Writers and London; London’s Imperial Past and Postcolonial Present; London Theatreland and the Shakespearean Stage; London and Crime, and London and the Long Eighteen Century. By virtually tracing forgotten as well as prominent landmarks of the urban centre, we seek to connect the literary representations of the city with historical and cultural developments, present and past. During the summer excursion we will continue our exploration in London.

Since some of the participants are required to submit a research paper, we will use parts of our seminar discussions to the development of topics, the formulation of a thesis statement, as well as considerations about the methodological approaches of writing such a paper.

Additional secondary sources can be accessed in the “Semesterapparat”, a reference only section on the third floor of the library building. A reader with selected secondary text materials will be made available for download on Stud. IP. Please be aware that your registration on Stud. IP. is mandatory (deadline March 15th, 2019). You may wish to check the sections "Information" and "Schedule" further details such as requirements, weekly schedule, select bibliography and modes of assessment.
For Non-E-SC students and academic exchange students: Please contact me if you require more than 3 credit points.

Requirements and Assessment
• Interest in the topics discussed and ideally a regular attendance and informed participation in class discussion (not part of your formal assessment);
• in-depth knowledge of the selected reading material,
• homework assignments,
• group projects and presentation of research paper proposals;
• Research-based term paper.
The requirements as formulated above may vary depending on your overall degree program.

This course is designed as a colloquium for young researchers. Depending on particpants and their research topics, we will read theoretical texts suggested by the participants. Participants are invited to present their research topic, proposal, table of contents and/or written chapters and get constructive feedback in plenum discussions.

This course is dedicated to thorough readings of essential theoretical interventions. Students will study a variety of theoretical approaches and frameworks that can give them a better understanding of texts, artifacts and media objects. A list of required readings will be uploaded before the beginning of the lecture period.

In this class we will first learn about approaches and tools to literary analysis before we look at how we read texts specifically from a postcolonial perspective. We will then read and discuss two postcolonial novels: 1. The Caribbean text Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (here the Norton Critical Edition) and the Nigerian text Oil on Water by Helon Habila. Please purchase and read both texts, they are available at the university bookstore on Universitätsboulevard for 11 € each at the beginning of April. All other texts are provided via StudIP.
Class requirements are regular attendance, in-depth knowledge of reading and viewing material, and active class discussion. Reading the texts and watching the films is mandatory. Please note that prior enrollment through StudIP is mandatory.

In this class we will look critically at various forms of tourism in our globalized world. We will have approximately six guest speakers/presentations of the INPUTS Forum lecture series integrated into our class. And we will read some critical texts, literary texts and watch one or two documentary films.
Class requirements are regular attendance, in-depth knowledge of reading and viewing material, and active class discussion. Reading the texts and watching the films is mandatory. Please note that prior enrollment through StudIP is mandatory.

This course examines posthumanism as lived experiences, shifting discourses, and dynamic processes co-evolving with the nonhuman turn. Contemporary issues from climate change, war, to cultural heritage centrally involve human-nonhuman entanglements. The course discusses posthumanism in relation to such nonhuman phenomena as technological devices and systems capable of nonconscious cognition; human-robot relationships; and in varied degrees anthropocentric implications on animals and the environment. Our focus lies in articulating how meaning and affects arise with and through machines. The course intersects theories, practices, and fictions in three phases. First, to problematize perspectives privileging humans as above their species others, the course provides an overview of interacting intellectual movements (e.g. critical posthumanism, transhumanism, and speculative posthumanism). Second, participants encounter various media, including digital games, to reflect on posthumanizing effects of technologies. Third, participants engage with crucial debates on posthumanism, cultural practices, and imaginaries to envision sustainable futures for and shaped by (post)humans and nonhumans alike.