This course explores hunger as a perpetual force in societies and hunger literature as the corpus on which politics, social praxis, power struggles, and cultural meanings intersect. Focusing on major famine and starvation conditions like the Bengal Famine (1943), the Irish Potato Famine (1845-49), among others, the course offers a history of such occurrences, their consequence on the social fabric, and how that in turn shapes societies in the long run. Students will read a range of famine and starvation narratives from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries from across cultures, theorize them, and will learn to see hunger and starvation beyond their biological and statistical manifestations. The course includes lectures, class, presentations, and documentary/film.

In this course we will engage in critical debates on popular culture, discuss various ways and methods of analyzing it and carry out exemplary investigations of selected cases. Employing a cultural historical perspective we will focus on categories of difference such as race, class, gender, sexuality. Students will improve their critical reading skills that can be applied to academic as well as to popular texts. Moreover, we will develop ideas how to productively use popular culture in schools.
Essential readings will be available for download on Stud-IP. You should also consult the 'Semesterapparat' (SuUB) for further readings.
Requirements:
• regular attendance and oral participation
• in-depth knowledge of the reading material
• oral presentation and handout
• term paper

This course gives a detailed overview of the growing field of multimodality, examining how different expressive resources (text, pictures, diagrams, layout, movement, sound, etc.) combine productively for effective communication. Discussion will proceed from page-paged artifacts to a focus on audiovisual (interactive) experiences, including film, comics/graphic novels, digital games, and electronic literature. The course will be example driven, looking at specific forms of multimodal communication to introduce some of the basic theoretical and practical methods for state of the art multimodality research. Several sessions will be participants-initiated, where participants analyze and discuss their selected media. Overall, the course is intended to equip participants with the theoretical and methodological knowledge for comprehensive, multimodal analyses, with specific attention on forming research questions, outlines, and structures to analyze the complexities, issues, and even failures of communication.

Course commitments include contributions to a digital multimodal archive and a multimodal analysis (including abstract and bibliography). Informing the seminar are diverse media encounters, critical discussions, works from academic and artistic sources, as well as hands-on analyses.

In the last decades, the research paradigm of World Englishes has experienced a proliferation of detailed studies of different aspects of Englishes across the world. These descriptions have largely focused on phonological, lexical, morphosyntactic, and, more recently, also pragmatic and cultural-cognitive aspects of World Englishes.

In this seminar we will review recent trends and current research topics and methods in the field (e.g. model formation, lexico-grammatical variation and innovation, pragmatics, and metaphor and idioms). Students will then develop and work on corpus-based empirical research projects in which they examine selected aspects of World Englishes.

Obligatory preparatory reading for this seminar:
Jenkins, Jennifer (2015). Global Englishes. A resource book for students. 3rd edition. London and New York: Routledge. Section A (pp. 1-56)

This course is designed for students with a profound academic pioneer spirit. And this is mainly due to the text under scrutiny in this seminar. We shall discuss Ian McEwan's recently published android novel Machines Like Me (2019), a narrative which is too young to have already entailed critical response in terms of scholarly articles, let alone monographs etc. There are, however, quite a view reviews in the quality papers, and these early reactions tend to be full of praise.
Machines Like Me can be described as a piece of speculative fiction set in a counterfactual Britain of the 1980s. We as readers are confronted with an alternative course of history, which at times even anticipates topical political developments. In a highly computerised context, some androids represent the latest achievements. One of them, Adam, oscillates between his two functions of servant and intellectual superior. Yet it is the uncompromising decision logic of the machine mind that tends to miss the nuances of a serious moral dilemma. The corresponding ethical question will surely dominate our debate about McEwan's disturbing vision.

requirements:
• active participation
• in-depth knowledge of the reading material
• oral presentation (handout) or
• research in progress and final paper

Please note that prior enrolment via Stud.IP is mandatory. The number of participants is limited to 15 students.


text:
McEwan, Ian. Machines Like Me. London: Jonathan Cape, 2019.

Assessment and evaluation play a crucial role in language learning and teaching, both in external and classroom-based contexts. The outcomes of (good quality) assessment procedures allow valuable insights into learning development and achievement. This proves beneficial for learners, who get feedback and can plan their next learning steps and goals, as well as for teachers, who gain insights into the effectiveness of their teaching.

In the seminar, we will discuss basic concepts and current notions in the field of language assessment and reflect on the complex interactions between learning, teaching and assessment. Against the backdrop of this theoretical basis, we will explore isolated and integrated assessment procedures across and beyond the four classical skills. Furthermore, we critically analyse assessment instruments applied in language learning contexts and finally develop instruments for diagnostic and assessment practices ourselves.

The overall aim of the seminar is to develop knowledge and skills with regard to language assessment and therefore to enhance “Language Assessment Literacy” (LAL), a competence which is critical for future teachers and other stakeholders in the educational context.

ASSESSMENT

regular attendance and active participation
careful reading and preparation of assigned readings and tasks
short in-class presentation
term paper

Please note that prior enrollment via Stud.IP is mandatory.

This course welcomes students who wish to complete the following modules:
M.A. E-SC: OrMO (Orientierungsmodul 1. Semester)
M.A. E-SC SpecMo (Spezialisierungsmodul 3. Semester);
M.A. TnL Vertiefungsmodul und Profilmodul Literatur
Non-E-SC students and academic exchange students

Travel writing is an increasingly popular genre in terms of text production and commercial success, encompassing a fascinating diversity of literary forms, modes and itineraries, which negate a forthright definition of the genre. As a repository for factual and fictional accounts of mobility and cross-cultural exchange, however, it has long been underestimated for its potential to contribute to a broad range of cultural, political and historical debates that seek to reassess the role of travel writing as a "vehicle for geographic, ethnographic and sociological knowledge." (Thompson 4). This seminar discusses diverse themes and characteristics of contemporary travel writing, postcolonial travel accounts and refugee writing and aims to map contemporary critical concepts regarding transnational and postcolonial perspectives in weekly readings of excerpts of selected travel accounts.

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 September 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.

Requirements and Assessment
• Interest in the topic 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.
Copies of selected travel accounts can be purchased at the bookstore on our campus (Universitätsbuchhandlung Bremen: www.unibuch-bremen.de)

This course (VAK: 10-M80-1-OrMo-06) welcomes students who wish to complete the following modules:
M.A. E-SC Orientierungsmodul;
M.A. TnL Vertiefungsmodul und Profilmodul Literatur;
B.A. E-SC “Key Topics in Cultural History”- D1b /D1c und WD1b /WD1c
Non-E-SC students and academic exchange students

William Shakespeare’s London, and in this seminar, London in the Elizabethan Age as well as at his time in the city (c.1560 – 1616), was a rapidly growing and bustling metropolis. In the duration of this course, we will travel back in time seeking to explore the history and social geography of this largest city in England. Based on a research-based learning methodology, we will attempt to map out London’s key locations as the centre of government, the law and the church as well as being the focus of politics and culture during a time of intense political and religious upheaval. In addition, this course focuses on the following topics: Stage history, playhouses; the fundamental features of dramatic composition to issues such as political structures in Renaissance England, gender roles and relations, love and sexuality, constructions of nationhood, global expansion and their representation in Shakespeare’s plays.

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 September 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.

Requirements and Assessment
• Interest in the topic 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.

Reading materials
MacGregor, Neil. Shakespeare's Restless World, Penguin Books, 2014.
Copies are available for purchase at the bookstore on our campus (Universitätsbuchhandlung Bremen: www.unibuch-bremen.de)

This course explores the ways in which debates about empire are negotiated in selected classics of British fiction. Covering a period of roughly 200 years, we shall turn to three key texts consisting of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719), Maria Edgeworth’s Castle Rackrent (1800) as well as H. G. Wells’ The Time Machine (1895) and focus on notions of gender, race, class and colonialism in order to question aspects of (British) national self-consciousness. While the seminar’s emphasis is on the socio-historical contextualization of the primary works, it will also build and expand on already existing knowledge of literary theories and cultural methods. All students are expected to participate in the discussions and activities and prepare a research-oriented (group) presentation based on their chosen topics and concepts. We will also jointly watch and discuss one film that helps to shed light on the link between the history of the British Empire and its colonial aftermath. Please note: Students must have read all three novels in advance of the very first session – familiarity with the primary literature is essential for a successful participation.

Keywords: British Empire, colonialism, cultural history, gender, class, slavery, nature, genre, science

Requirements:
• registration on Stud.IP
• in-depth knowledge of the reading material, i.e. read the text(s) in advance!
• regular attendance and oral participation
• oral presentation and handout
• term paper (optional)

Texts:
Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe. New York [et al.]: Norton, 1994. [pages 1-221]
Edgeworth, Maria. Castle Rackrent. New York [et al.]: Norton, 2015. [pages 1-62]
Wells, H. G. The Time Machine. New York [et al.]: Norton, 2009. [pages 1-73]

This lecture series provides an overview of current research trends, theories and methods in the three profile areas of the MA programme (British, North American and Postcolonial Literatures; Linguistics: Varieties, Medialities, Applications; British, North American and Postcolonial Cultural History) by addressing the three interrelated areas of language, text, and media. In the lectures, we will first provide an overview on the approaches and methods of the three fields of study and in the second part of the series highlight the research topics and methods that feature prominent-ly in the current research and publications by the faculty members teaching in the programme. We will discuss the film BlacKkKlansman (2018) in the lectures featuring case studies from the per-spectives of cultural history, linguistics, and literary studies.
Please watch the BlacKkKlansman and engage actively during discussion periods. Please note that prior enrollment via Stud.IP is mandatory.

A more in-depth introduction to further fields of specialisation is given in supporting overview seminars, which present a range of hands-on as well as theoretical and methodological case stud-ies and foundational literature for the profile areas. Two overview seminars have to be chosen in addition to the lecture series in order to complete the Orientation Module.

In this seminar we will learn about Indigenous history, issues, problems, and identities through watching documentaries and short films dealing with Indigenous topics in North America. Initially we will learn about how to assess short films and watch a few Indigenous short films before looking at some lesser known ones that have just been released. We will cooperate with the 'Indianer Inuit Filmfestival' in Stuttgart and will watch a selection of the films that will be shown there in February 2020. We will form a jury that will select the best one to be awarded the Best Short Film Award. We will also transcribe, translate and provide the German subtitles for a few films that will run at the festival in Stuttgart. As a highlight, a selection of students will go to the festival (6-9 February 2020; https://www.nordamerika-filmfestival.com/) and participate in all showings and events and present the film award on the festival stage.

This class will introduce students to the field of transcultural and postcolonial studies and will lay the basis for classes with topics relating to transcultural and postcolonial phenomena, literatures, films, and media. Through a rather dense reading program and some documentary films and webcasts we will learn about colonial histories, neocolonial relations in the globalized world, and key concepts in Postcolonial Studies, such as alterity, hybridity, transculturality, manicheanism, dichotomy, colonial discourse, colonized mind, creolization, hegemony, exoticism, orientalism, essentialism, and syncretism. We will read the writings of the foremost thinkers of postcolonial and transcultural theories, including Frantz Fanon, Edouard Glissant, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Stuart Hall, Homi Bhabha, Walter Mignolo, Edward Said, Wolfgang Welsh, Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin.
The class will be held in English. All texts will be provided electronically or through Stud IP. Requirements are regular attendance, participation in discussions, and in-depth knowledge of reading materials. Please note that prior enrollment via Stud.IP is mandatory.

The seminar will address the role representations of food, eating and cooking as well as thinking about food or the lack of (proper) food have played for contemporary transnational writing. For those recent novels - more often than not propelled by experiences of migration (voluntary or forced)- food as well as its ritual or everyday preparation and consumption has come to acquire diverse meanings; be it the evocation, negotiation and transmission of memory; the address of trauma; the recuperation of sensuality; the recovery of kinship and friendship, the joy of arrivals and reunions - as well as enabling entries into the "new countries". As well, transnational writing has always addressed issues of familiarity, strangeness, longing and belonging, cultural difference and power struggles via writing food and foodways as it were.
The seminar will be conducted in English. It will require participants to read and discuss a number of literary texts as well as secondary literature in English.
We will read the following novels:
Kamila Shamsie, Salt and Saffron
Monique Truong, The Book of Salt
Andrea Levy, Fruit of the Lemon

For a further list of required readings, as well as reading suggestions please check back in to stud ip regularly in the coming weeks.

Language and Cognition (for both BA and MA levels)
How do we produce and interpret language? By human brains. This means that for any enterprise that enhances human comprehension and knowledge, what goes on inside individuals’ heads must be a prime concern.
In this course, we will draw on sights and tools from cognitive science, cognitive linguistics, and cognitive psychology to explore the links between language, cognitive, and social/political action. Among the topics we will discuss are frame semantics, conceptual metaphor theory, conceptual binding and neural reuse, relevance theory, the discourse-knowledge interface, systems of the human mind, categorization, moral-political reasoning, cognitive grammar, contextualization, mental models of events, discourse (language use) and gender, power abuse and manipulation, and identity construction.
Here, the term 'language' is extended to include, not just words and sentences, but all forms of symbolic interaction (gesture, sign language, art, architecture, dance, music, etc.).

In the seminar, we will explore selected research approaches and analytic methods relevant for language, linguistics and cultural studies. On the one hand, the seminar aims to develop your skills in understanding and critically evaluating methodological aspects in the research literature. On the other hand, the seminar will prepare you for your own research projects and your BA or MA thesis: We will look at important steps for planning, design, data collection, analysis and presentation.
We will cover empirical and hermeneutical approaches, quantitative and qualitative analyses, mixed-methods designs, and instruments such as questionnaires, interviews and think-aloud approaches. Besides these, you are welcome to bring your own focus to the seminar. We will illustrate theoretical aspects with practical examples – you are very welcome to bring in your own ideas and projects.
At the end of the seminar, you will have developed a mock research proposal that you present in class. (You are welcome to turn this later into your “real BA or MA thesis proposal” with your supervisor.)
Learning outcomes
At the end of the seminar, students are familiar with:

• a variety of field-relevant data collection methods,
• techniques for processing data,
• methods of data evaluation,
• key components of a research proposal.

Students will develop:

• an in-depth understanding and awareness of selected key themes and approaches in language, linguistics and cultural studies,
• an advanced comprehension of sophisticated theories and methodologies,
• the ability to apply theoretical approaches and methodologies to the reading and analysis of a range of primary sources.

Students’ skills include:

• finding and formulating research questions,
• justifying the choice of appropriate research methods and methods of data evaluation,
• developing and structuring a research proposal.

Overview and dates
We meet on the following seven Mondays, in room GW2, A3220, from 10 am to 2pm.
This way we have enough space to engage in group work and discussions.
Preliminary semester plan:
21.10.2019 Introduction: research traditions, research designs, research questions, first steps in planning and structuring research
04.11.2019 Quantitative and qualitative approaches: data collection and analyses
18.11.2019 Key concepts of research quality, introduction to basic statistical terms; what do data sets look like; how do I handle my variables
02.12.2019 Interviews, think-aloud protocols, retrospective interviews: design, coding, analyses
16.12.2019 Surveys and questionnaires: Interviews: design, coding, analyses
06.01.2020 Mixed-methods approaches: design and analyses, how to handle data sets
13.01.2020 Presentation of proposals, feedback
Initial reading
Cohen, L., L. Mannion and K. Morrison. 2002. Research methods in education. Fifth edition. London and New York: Routledge Falmer.
Creswell, J. W. 2003. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Seminar 3 ECTS points (Studienleistung, unbenotet):
1. Regular and active participation in preparatory tasks, seminar groups, discussions, and teamwork.
2. Preparatory reading of the assigned texts and preparation of the tasks that will be published in advance on StudIP.
3. Development and presentation of a (mock) research proposal (which can be developed later into your real proposal with your supervisor).
For a total of 6 ECTS points and a grade, in addition to the above:
4. Final written assignment.
Further reading
Brown, J. D. & Rodgers, T. S. 2002. Doing Second Language Research. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dörnyei, Z. 2007. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hua, Z. (ed.) 2016. Research Methods in Intercultural Communication: A Practical Guide. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Mackey, A. & Gass, S. M. 2012. Research Methods in Second Language Acquisition: A Practical Guide. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
McDonough, J. & McDonough, S. 1997. Research Methods for English Language Teachers. London: Hodder.
Muijs, D. 2004. Doing Quantitative Research in Education with SPSS. London: Sage.
Nunan, D. 1992. Research Methods in Language Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Saldana, J. 2009. The coding manual for qualitative researchers. London: Sage.
Research Examples that will be discussed in the seminar
Mixed-methods design:
Harsch, C., Ushioda, E. & Ladroue, C. 2017. Investigating the predictive validity of TOEFL iBT scores and their use in informing policy in a U.K. university setting (TOEFL iBT Research Report TOEFL iBT – 30, ETS Research Report RR – 17-41). Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service (peer-reviewed). Available online at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ets2.12167/full
Quantitative design:
Harsch, C. & Hartig, J. 2016. Comparing C-tests and Yes/No vocabulary size tests as predictors of receptive language skills. Language Testing 33, 555-575. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.../0265532215594642
Qualitative design:
Harsch, C. & Poehner, M. 2016. Enhancing student experience abroad: The potential of dynamic assessment to develop student interculturality. Language and Intercultural Communication 16(3), 470-490. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/.../14708477.2016.1168043

This is a research colloquium for MA and PhD students who are planning on writing or are are currently working on their final theses in the fields of (applied) English linguistics, World Englishes or SLA.

In this class students will learn how to develop a research topic, do research and collect bibliographical material, develop the theoretical background and formulate research questions. They will then individually develop the research topic for their master’s thesis. Finally students will write research proposals and individually present these in class for peer-review.
Class requirements are regular attendance, developing theoretical and historical backgrounds of topic reading, read secondary sources at home, and active class participation. Please note that prior enrollment via Stud.IP is mandatory.

This course is intended as an accompanying course to specific research topics that will form the content of Masters theses or further research for PhD etc. Attention will be paid specifically to carrying out the necessary research, defining the form of presentation of the results, style of presentation discussion of potential further publication possibilities, and ensuring that the final product meets all the international standards of research in the area of multimodality as well as any specific areas that are being addressed as the objects of analysis.

This course examines how digital games interact with contemporary society as medium, emerging technology, and evolving experiences and creative expressions. Participants will engage with diverse (digital) games, including mainstream / independent / experimental titles, role-playing games, serious games, and more. Organizing the course are selected motifs that invite critical thought on the sociocultural, political, economic, and artistic dimensions of games, supplemented with weekly media encounters and readings across academic, journalistic, and creative sources. These materials will guide participants in thinking about game studies from several theoretical perspectives and parallel movements, such as ludology, narratology, transmedia design, and queer game studies. Throughout the course, participants will explore different contexts and critical vocabulary to reflect on dynamics among digital games and other audiovisual media, theories and research methods, associated concepts, phenomena, and social issues, ranging from multimodality, embodiment, affect, to surveillance capitalism and human-robot interaction.

This course explores hunger as a perpetual force in societies and hunger literature as the corpus on which politics, social praxis, power struggles, and cultural meanings intersect. Focusing on major famine and starvation conditions like the Bengal Famine (1943), the Irish Potato Famine (1845-49), among others, the course offers a history of such occurrences, their consequence on the social fabric, and how that in turn shapes societies in the long run. Students will read a range of famine and starvation narratives from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries from across cultures, theorize them, and will learn to see hunger and starvation beyond their biological and statistical manifestations. The course includes lectures, class, presentations, and documentary/film.

In the seminar, we will explore selected research approaches and analytic methods relevant for language, linguistics and cultural studies. On the one hand, the seminar aims to develop your skills in understanding and critically evaluating methodological aspects in the research literature. On the other hand, the seminar will prepare you for your own research projects and your BA or MA thesis: We will look at important steps for planning, design, data collection, analysis and presentation.
We will cover empirical and hermeneutical approaches, quantitative and qualitative analyses, mixed-methods designs, and instruments such as questionnaires, interviews and think-aloud approaches. Besides these, you are welcome to bring your own focus to the seminar. We will illustrate theoretical aspects with practical examples – you are very welcome to bring in your own ideas and projects.
At the end of the seminar, you will have developed a mock research proposal that you present in class. (You are welcome to turn this later into your “real BA or MA thesis proposal” with your supervisor.)
Learning outcomes
At the end of the seminar, students are familiar with:

• a variety of field-relevant data collection methods,
• techniques for processing data,
• methods of data evaluation,
• key components of a research proposal.

Students will develop:

• an in-depth understanding and awareness of selected key themes and approaches in language, linguistics and cultural studies,
• an advanced comprehension of sophisticated theories and methodologies,
• the ability to apply theoretical approaches and methodologies to the reading and analysis of a range of primary sources.

Students’ skills include:

• finding and formulating research questions,
• justifying the choice of appropriate research methods and methods of data evaluation,
• developing and structuring a research proposal.

Overview and dates
We meet on the following seven Mondays, in room GW2, A3220, from 10 am to 2pm.
This way we have enough space to engage in group work and discussions.
Preliminary semester plan:
21.10.2019 Introduction: research traditions, research designs, research questions, first steps in planning and structuring research
04.11.2019 Quantitative and qualitative approaches: data collection and analyses
18.11.2019 Key concepts of research quality, introduction to basic statistical terms; what do data sets look like; how do I handle my variables
02.12.2019 Interviews, think-aloud protocols, retrospective interviews: design, coding, analyses
16.12.2019 Surveys and questionnaires: Interviews: design, coding, analyses
06.01.2020 Mixed-methods approaches: design and analyses, how to handle data sets
13.01.2020 Presentation of proposals, feedback
Initial reading
Cohen, L., L. Mannion and K. Morrison. 2002. Research methods in education. Fifth edition. London and New York: Routledge Falmer.
Creswell, J. W. 2003. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Seminar 3 ECTS points (Studienleistung, unbenotet):
1. Regular and active participation in preparatory tasks, seminar groups, discussions, and teamwork.
2. Preparatory reading of the assigned texts and preparation of the tasks that will be published in advance on StudIP.
3. Development and presentation of a (mock) research proposal (which can be developed later into your real proposal with your supervisor).
For a total of 6 ECTS points and a grade, in addition to the above:
4. Final written assignment.
Further reading
Brown, J. D. & Rodgers, T. S. 2002. Doing Second Language Research. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dörnyei, Z. 2007. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hua, Z. (ed.) 2016. Research Methods in Intercultural Communication: A Practical Guide. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Mackey, A. & Gass, S. M. 2012. Research Methods in Second Language Acquisition: A Practical Guide. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
McDonough, J. & McDonough, S. 1997. Research Methods for English Language Teachers. London: Hodder.
Muijs, D. 2004. Doing Quantitative Research in Education with SPSS. London: Sage.
Nunan, D. 1992. Research Methods in Language Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Saldana, J. 2009. The coding manual for qualitative researchers. London: Sage.
Research Examples that will be discussed in the seminar
Mixed-methods design:
Harsch, C., Ushioda, E. & Ladroue, C. 2017. Investigating the predictive validity of TOEFL iBT scores and their use in informing policy in a U.K. university setting (TOEFL iBT Research Report TOEFL iBT – 30, ETS Research Report RR – 17-41). Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service (peer-reviewed). Available online at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ets2.12167/full
Quantitative design:
Harsch, C. & Hartig, J. 2016. Comparing C-tests and Yes/No vocabulary size tests as predictors of receptive language skills. Language Testing 33, 555-575. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.../0265532215594642
Qualitative design:
Harsch, C. & Poehner, M. 2016. Enhancing student experience abroad: The potential of dynamic assessment to develop student interculturality. Language and Intercultural Communication 16(3), 470-490. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/.../14708477.2016.1168043

This course is designed for students with a profound academic pioneer spirit. And this is mainly due to the text under scrutiny in this seminar. We shall discuss Ian McEwan's recently published android novel Machines Like Me (2019), a narrative which is too young to have already entailed critical response in terms of scholarly articles, let alone monographs etc. There are, however, quite a view reviews in the quality papers, and these early reactions tend to be full of praise.
Machines Like Me can be described as a piece of speculative fiction set in a counterfactual Britain of the 1980s. We as readers are confronted with an alternative course of history, which at times even anticipates topical political developments. In a highly computerised context, some androids represent the latest achievements. One of them, Adam, oscillates between his two functions of servant and intellectual superior. Yet it is the uncompromising decision logic of the machine mind that tends to miss the nuances of a serious moral dilemma. The corresponding ethical question will surely dominate our debate about McEwan's disturbing vision.

requirements:
• active participation
• in-depth knowledge of the reading material
• oral presentation (handout) or
• research in progress and final paper

Please note that prior enrolment via Stud.IP is mandatory. The number of participants is limited to 15 students.


text:
McEwan, Ian. Machines Like Me. London: Jonathan Cape, 2019.

This course welcomes students who wish to complete the following modules:
M.A. E-SC: OrMO (Orientierungsmodul 1. Semester)
M.A. E-SC SpecMo (Spezialisierungsmodul 3. Semester);
M.A. TnL Vertiefungsmodul und Profilmodul Literatur
Non-E-SC students and academic exchange students

Travel writing is an increasingly popular genre in terms of text production and commercial success, encompassing a fascinating diversity of literary forms, modes and itineraries, which negate a forthright definition of the genre. As a repository for factual and fictional accounts of mobility and cross-cultural exchange, however, it has long been underestimated for its potential to contribute to a broad range of cultural, political and historical debates that seek to reassess the role of travel writing as a "vehicle for geographic, ethnographic and sociological knowledge." (Thompson 4). This seminar discusses diverse themes and characteristics of contemporary travel writing, postcolonial travel accounts and refugee writing and aims to map contemporary critical concepts regarding transnational and postcolonial perspectives in weekly readings of excerpts of selected travel accounts.

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 September 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.

Requirements and Assessment
• Interest in the topic 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.
Copies of selected travel accounts can be purchased at the bookstore on our campus (Universitätsbuchhandlung Bremen: www.unibuch-bremen.de)

This course explores the ways in which debates about empire are negotiated in selected classics of British fiction. Covering a period of roughly 200 years, we shall turn to three key texts consisting of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719), Maria Edgeworth’s Castle Rackrent (1800) as well as H. G. Wells’ The Time Machine (1895) and focus on notions of gender, race, class and colonialism in order to question aspects of (British) national self-consciousness. While the seminar’s emphasis is on the socio-historical contextualization of the primary works, it will also build and expand on already existing knowledge of literary theories and cultural methods. All students are expected to participate in the discussions and activities and prepare a research-oriented (group) presentation based on their chosen topics and concepts. We will also jointly watch and discuss one film that helps to shed light on the link between the history of the British Empire and its colonial aftermath. Please note: Students must have read all three novels in advance of the very first session – familiarity with the primary literature is essential for a successful participation.

Keywords: British Empire, colonialism, cultural history, gender, class, slavery, nature, genre, science

Requirements:
• registration on Stud.IP
• in-depth knowledge of the reading material, i.e. read the text(s) in advance!
• regular attendance and oral participation
• oral presentation and handout
• term paper (optional)

Texts:
Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe. New York [et al.]: Norton, 1994. [pages 1-221]
Edgeworth, Maria. Castle Rackrent. New York [et al.]: Norton, 2015. [pages 1-62]
Wells, H. G. The Time Machine. New York [et al.]: Norton, 2009. [pages 1-73]

In this seminar we will learn about Indigenous history, issues, problems, and identities through watching documentaries and short films dealing with Indigenous topics in North America. Initially we will learn about how to assess short films and watch a few Indigenous short films before looking at some lesser known ones that have just been released. We will cooperate with the 'Indianer Inuit Filmfestival' in Stuttgart and will watch a selection of the films that will be shown there in February 2020. We will form a jury that will select the best one to be awarded the Best Short Film Award. We will also transcribe, translate and provide the German subtitles for a few films that will run at the festival in Stuttgart. As a highlight, a selection of students will go to the festival (6-9 February 2020; https://www.nordamerika-filmfestival.com/) and participate in all showings and events and present the film award on the festival stage.

In the last decades, the research paradigm of World Englishes has experienced a proliferation of detailed studies of different aspects of Englishes across the world. These descriptions have largely focused on phonological, lexical, morphosyntactic, and, more recently, also pragmatic characteristics of World Englishes. However, the field of figurative language use, as manifest e.g. in conceptual metaphors and idioms, has largely been neglected so far. The English language and its worldwide diversification provides rich potential for looking into aspects of variation in conceptual and linguistic metaphor, and for exploring how the culturally specific settings of the many Englishes may determine some of that variation. Thus, research on metaphor in World Englishes addresses the nexus of language and culture and is therefore a truly interdisciplinary research field located at the interface of Cognitive Linguistics and Conceptual Metaphor Theory, Cultural Linguistics, and World Englishes.

In this seminar, we will first deal with Conceptual Metaphor Theory as a major strand within Cognitive Linguistics and then address recent developments in Cognitive Sociolinguistics and Cultural Linguistics before reviewing the merging research on metaphor in World Englishes. The following main questions will be discussed:

­To what extent are electronic corpora viable sources of data to examine metaphor and figurative language in World Englishes, and what are state-of-the-art approaches to the identification and retrieval of metaphorical expressions and idioms from corpus data?

­What source and target domains can be identified as fruitful for the study of metaphor and idioms in World Englishes (e.g. the conceptualization of emotions, FOOD / EATING as source domains)?

­Can certain types of figurative language serve as markers of nativization / indigenization in World Englishes?

­How do metaphors and idioms relate to underlying differences in cultural conceptualizations in World Englishes?

Required preparatory reading for this class:
Kövecses, Z. (2010), Metaphor. A Practical Introduction. 2nd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapters 1 and 14.

This course is for carrying out guided projects in any areas of potential relevance to multimodality studies, for practising techniques, and learning analytic methods that can support research projects. Participants can bring their own projects or be guided towards research projects at the outset of the course. Relevant reading and literature, and other useful resources, will be discussed for each type of project carried out.

This course examines how digital games interact with contemporary society as medium, emerging technology, and evolving experiences and creative expressions. Participants will engage with diverse (digital) games, including mainstream / independent / experimental titles, role-playing games, serious games, and more. Organizing the course are selected motifs that invite critical thought on the sociocultural, political, economic, and artistic dimensions of games, supplemented with weekly media encounters and readings across academic, journalistic, and creative sources. These materials will guide participants in thinking about game studies from several theoretical perspectives and parallel movements, such as ludology, narratology, transmedia design, and queer game studies. Throughout the course, participants will explore different contexts and critical vocabulary to reflect on dynamics among digital games and other audiovisual media, theories and research methods, associated concepts, phenomena, and social issues, ranging from multimodality, embodiment, affect, to surveillance capitalism and human-robot interaction.

The seminar will address the role representations of food, eating and cooking as well as thinking about food or the lack of (proper) food have played for contemporary transnational writing. For those recent novels - more often than not propelled by experiences of migration (voluntary or forced)- food as well as its ritual or everyday preparation and consumption has come to acquire diverse meanings; be it the evocation, negotiation and transmission of memory; the address of trauma; the recuperation of sensuality; the recovery of kinship and friendship, the joy of arrivals and reunions - as well as enabling entries into the "new countries". As well, transnational writing has always addressed issues of familiarity, strangeness, longing and belonging, cultural difference and power struggles via writing food and foodways as it were.
The seminar will be conducted in English. It will require participants to read and discuss a number of literary texts as well as secondary literature in English.
We will read the following novels:
Kamila Shamsie, Salt and Saffron
Monique Truong, The Book of Salt
Andrea Levy, Fruit of the Lemon

For a further list of required readings, as well as reading suggestions please check back in to stud ip regularly in the coming weeks.