Teaching method: We will meet in weekly face to face sessions on campus and students will also have access to weekly self-study and online tutorial units, worksheets and opencast podcasts. You will need a laptop or tablet with sound and audio capabilities as well as access to Stud.IP, the learning and teaching platform of Bremen University. I am offering two seminars and the content of both seminars is identical. Please register on Stud. IP and sign up for one of the two sessions.

This introductory course will offer students access to literary studies at university level and try to balance scholarly considerations with aesthetic enjoyment. It is the first part of a two-semester module, which will continue in the following Summer Term (Part II). In this first semester, we will look at the basic concepts not only of literature itself but also of literary criticism /Literaturwissenschaft. As we read our primary texts (short stories, one play and poems), we will be able to look at questions of literary genre (poetry, drama, narrative texts) and literary history (different periods and different national contexts). In addition, we will look at current theories of literature and of course, strategies of interpreting and analysing literary texts in a systematic, scholarly way, thus laying the theoretical and terminological groundwork to the study of literature, both from a methodological and a historical perspective.

All students are required to register on Stud.IP. Please explore the sections “Information” and “Schedule” on Stud. IP. for further details, such as requirements, weekly schedule, select bibliography, reference-only section in the library, modes of assessment and the exam schedule.
Academic Exchange Students - please check requirements as outlined.

Required reading materials (you will need a copy of these books for class):
Nünning, Vera, and Ansgar Nünning. An Introduction to the Study of English and American Literature (italics). 4. Auflage, Klett Lerntraining, 2018. (You may choose any available edition.)

Shakespeare, William, and Robert S. Miola. Hamlet. (italics). 1st ed., W.W. Norton & Co, 2011. (You may choose any available edition.)

Availability: Copies of the texts can be purchased at the bookstore on our campus (Universitätsbuchhandlung Bremen: www.unibuch-bremen.de). In addition, you will find copies in the library building located on the campus boulevard.

Requirements:
• 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 and course materials,
• final written test at Test Center (University Boulevard)

This class will be taught in class on campus .
Linguistics is the scientific study of language and communication. It deals with all aspects of how people use language and what they must know in order to do so. The purpose of this class is to give a systematic introduction to the variety of ways in which language can be examined scientifically. Students will be introduced to and equipped with the fundamental concepts, the adequate terminology and methodology for linguistic analysis. The class will thus provide an overview of the core areas of linguistics – phonetics and phonology (the study of speech sounds), morphology (the structure of words), syntax (the structure of sentences), semantics (the study of meaning) and pragmatics (the study of meaning and language use in context). Taking a contrastive German-English perspective whenever possible, this course will also cater to the needs and interests of students who want to become teachers of English.


RECOMMENDED LITERATURE (please buy this book):
Kortmann, Bernd (2005), English Linguistics: Essentials. Berlin: Cornelsen.

ASSESSMENT

• careful reading and preparation of assigned readings and exercises for each session
• final exam.

This class will be taught in class on campus.
Linguistics is the scientific study of language and communication. It deals with all aspects of how people use language and what they must know in order to do so. The purpose of this class is to give a systematic introduction to the variety of ways in which language can be examined scientifically. Students will be introduced to and equipped with the fundamental concepts, the adequate terminology and methodology for linguistic analysis. The class will thus provide an overview of the core areas of linguistics – phonetics and phonology (the study of speech sounds), morphology (the structure of words), syntax (the structure of sentences), semantics (the study of meaning) and pragmatics (the study of meaning and language use in context). Taking a contrastive German-English perspective whenever possible, this course will also cater to the needs and interests of students who want to become teachers of English.


RECOMMENDED LITERATURE (please buy this book):
Kortmann, Bernd (2005), English Linguistics: Essentials. Berlin: Cornelsen.

ASSESSMENT

• careful reading and preparation of assigned readings and exercises for each session
• final exam.

Linguistics is the scientific study of language and communication. It deals with all aspects of how people use language and what they must know in order to do so. The class will thus provide an overview of the core areas of linguistics – phonetics and phonology (the study of speech sounds), morphology (the structure of words), syntax (the structure of sentences), semantics (the study of meaning) and pragmatics (the study of meaning and language use in context).

Literature:
Kortmann, Bernd. 2020. English Linguistics: Essentials. 2nd ed. Berlin: Cornelsen.

The purpose of this course is to create and deepen your interest in linguistics and to give a systematic
introduction to the variety of ways in which language can be examined scientifically. You may realize that you already know a lot about how language works without being aware of it or unable to express it in technical linguistic terms. Therefore, you will be introduced to and equipped with the fundamental concepts, the adequate terminology and methodology for linguistic analysis.

This course aims to introduce students to key moments in the social and cultural histories of English-speaking countries. In analyzing selected case studies from the Renaissance to the postcolonial world we will pay particular attention to historical shifts, cultural encounters and their dynamics of difference and power. We will draw for our discussions on a wide variety of sources, such as scholarly and fictional texts, paintings, advertisements, moving pictures and photographs, and will apply a choice of theoretical and analytical concepts.

The course will run as three groups (A-B-C); students have to choose one of them. It is the first part of a two-semester module which will continue in the following summer semester as "Key Moments in the Linguistic History of the English-Speaking World". All reading material will be made available for download in Stud. IP.

Requirements:
Regular attendance and oral participation
• In-depth knowledge of the reading material
• Oral group presentation
• Three short response papers

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

This is a tutorial in which you will hone your academic reading, presenting, and writing skills for the "Key Moments in the Cultural History of the English-Speaking World" introductory class.

University Language Skills 1 (ULS 1) is the first half of the SP-1 module (“SP-1 Sprachpraxis Basismodul”) taken in the winter semester. It requires 90 hours of work and earns you 3 credit points. University Language Skills 2 (ULS 2) is the second half of this module and will be offered in the summer semester, requiring 180 hours of work and giving you 6 credit points.

The focus of this module is on academic writing in English at university level. The emphasis during ULS 1 is on planning and organising an academic essay in an academic context at university level. It emphasizes writing skills in three broad categories: paragraphing, structure, and argumentation. Not only will students practice structural elements (e.g. topic sentences, outlining strategies), but they will also be working on refining their English language skills, including word choice, grammar and syntax. In addition, they will discover the importance of cohesion and coherence as key skills in good writing.

Materials will be provided via StudIP.

University Language Skills 1 (ULS 1) is the first half of the SP-1 module (“SP-1 Sprachpraxis Basismodul”) taken in the winter semester. It requires 90 hours of work and earns you 3 credit points. University Language Skills 2 (ULS 2) is the second half of this module and will be offered in the summer semester, requiring 180 hours of work and giving you 6 credit points.

The focus of this module is on academic writing in English at university level. The emphasis during ULS 1 is on planning and organising an academic essay in an academic context at university level. It emphasizes writing skills in three broad categories: paragraphing, structure, and argumentation. Not only will students practice structural elements (e.g. topic sentences, outlining strategies), but they will also be working on refining their English language skills, including word choice, grammar and syntax. In addition, they will discover the importance of cohesion and coherence as key skills in good writing.

Materials will be provided via StudIP.

University Language Skills 1 (ULS 1) is the first half of the SP-1 module (“SP-1 Sprachpraxis Basismodul”) taken in the winter semester. It requires 90 hours of work and earns you 3 credit points. University Language Skills 2 (ULS 2) is the second half of this module and will be offered in the summer semester, requiring 180 hours of work and giving you 6 credit points.

The focus of this module is on academic writing in English at university level. The emphasis during ULS 1 is on planning and organising an academic essay in an academic context at university level. It emphasizes writing skills in three broad categories: paragraphing, structure, and argumentation. Not only will students practice structural elements (e.g. topic sentences, outlining strategies), but they will also be working on refining their English language skills, including word choice, grammar and syntax. In addition, they will discover the importance of cohesion and coherence as key skills in good writing.

Materials will be provided via StudIP.

University Language Skills 1 (ULS 1) is the first half of the SP-1 module (“SP-1 Sprachpraxis Basismodul”) taken in the winter semester. It requires 90 hours of work and earns you 3 credit points. University Language Skills 2 (ULS 2) is the second half of this module and will be offered in the summer semester, requiring 180 hours of work and giving you 6 credit points.

The focus of this module is on academic writing in English at university level. The emphasis during ULS 1 is on planning and organising an academic essay in an academic context at university level. It emphasizes writing skills in three broad categories: paragraphing, structure, and argumentation. Not only will students practice structural elements (e.g. topic sentences, outlining strategies), but they will also be working on refining their English language skills, including word choice, grammar and syntax. In addition, they will discover the importance of cohesion and coherence as key skills in good writing.

Materials will be provided via StudIP.

University Language Skills 1 (ULS 1) is the first half of the SP-1 module (“SP-1 Sprachpraxis Basismodul”) taken in the winter semester. It requires 90 hours of work and earns you 3 credit points. University Language Skills 2 (ULS 2) is the second half of this module and will be offered in the summer semester, requiring 180 hours of work for which you will receive 6 credit points.
The focus of both modules is on academic writing in English at university level, and you will develop the skills necessary to plan and write academic essays. This semester, you will be looking at structural elements such as paragraphing, writing a thesis statement and using citation etc. while also developing academic language skills in terms of word choice, grammar and syntax. Diagnostic tasks will indicate which personal areas of language you need to develop in order to achieve the academic level of writing for this level.

University Language Skills 1 (ULS 1) is the first half of the SP-1 module (“SP-1 Sprachpraxis Basismodul”) taken in the winter semester. It requires 90 hours of work and earns you 3 credit points. University Language Skills 2 (ULS 2) is the second half of this module and will be offered in the summer semester, requiring 180 hours of work and giving you 6 credit points.

The focus of this module is on academic writing in English at university level. The emphasis during ULS 1 is on planning and organising an academic essay in an academic context at university level. It emphasizes writing skills in three broad categories: paragraphing, structure, and argumentation. Not only will students practice structural elements (e.g. topic sentences, outlining strategies), but they will also be working on refining their English language skills, including word choice, grammar and syntax. In addition, they will discover the importance of cohesion and coherence as key skills in good writing.

Materials will be provided via StudIP.

University Language Skills 1 (ULS 1) is the first half of the SP-1 module (“SP-1 Sprachpraxis Basismodul”) taken in the winter semester. It requires 90 hours of work and earns you 3 credit points. University Language Skills 2 (ULS 2) is the second half of this module and will be offered in the summer semester, requiring 180 hours of work for which you will receive 6 credit points.
The focus of both modules is on academic writing in English at university level, and you will develop the skills necessary to plan and write academic essays. This semester, you will be looking at structural elements such as paragraphing, writing a thesis statement and using citation etc. while also developing academic language skills in terms of word choice, grammar and syntax. Diagnostic tasks will indicate which personal areas of language you need to develop in order to achieve the academic level of writing for this level.

University Language Skills 1 (ULS 1) is the first half of the SP-1 module (“SP-1 Sprachpraxis Basismodul”) taken in the winter semester. It requires 90 hours of work and earns you 3 credit points. University Language Skills 2 (ULS 2) is the second half of this module and will be offered in the summer semester, requiring 180 hours of work and giving you 6 credit points.

The focus of this module is on academic writing in English at university level. The emphasis during ULS 1 is on planning and organising an academic essay in an academic context at university level. It emphasizes writing skills in three broad categories: paragraphing, structure, and argumentation. Not only will students practice structural elements (e.g. topic sentences, outlining strategies), but they will also be working on refining their English language skills, including word choice, grammar and syntax. In addition, they will discover the importance of cohesion and coherence as key skills in good writing.

Materials will be provided via StudIP.

Note: We offer this class to compensate for the cancelled groups in summer 2023. Students who were registered back then will be prioritised.

University Language Skills 2 (ULS 2) is the second half of the SP-1 module. As such it builds on the basic knowledge of academic writing established in ULS 1.

NOTE on format: This is a blended learning class. That means that students will only spend 2 hours on campus. The remaining 2 hours are conducted in an asynchronous format with tasks to be completed online using various applications on StudIP.

While the focus during the winter semester is on the basic structure of an academic essay, during the summer semester you will be introduced to key rhetorical strategies. These strategies include essays of argumentation, cause & effect as well as comparison & contrast. Furthermore, grammatical structures needed for writing (e.g. syntax, passive voice, conditionals) will be part of the course’s syllabus.

Requirements:
• Regular and active participation
• Thorough preparation of each session
• Written assignments (approx. 2000 words)

Materials are provided via StudIP

University Language Skills 1 (ULS 1) is the first half of the SP-1 module (“SP-1 Sprachpraxis Basismodul”) taken in the winter semester. It requires 90 hours of work and earns you 3 credit points. University Language Skills 2 (ULS 2) is the second half of this module and will be offered in the summer semester, requiring 180 hours of work for which you will receive 6 credit points.
The focus of both modules is on academic writing in English at university level, and you will develop the skills necessary to plan and write academic essays. This semester, you will be looking at structural elements such as paragraphing, writing a thesis statement and using citation etc. while also developing academic language skills in terms of word choice, grammar and syntax. Diagnostic tasks will indicate which personal areas of language you need to develop in order to achieve the academic level of writing for this level.

In this class, students will learn about English in the Caribbean covering arrange of topics:
• general considerations of the spread of English to the Caribbean
• language identity and language policy in the Caribbean
• grammatical variation in Caribbean Englishes
• lexical variation in Caribbean Englishes

In the course of the class, students will also investigate selected aspects of Caribbean Englishes using online databases and dictionaries.

What does it mean to learn a second language? This course will dive into this question while focusing on key concepts, theoretical approaches, and psychological and social factors driving second language acquisition (SLA). By the end of the course, you will be able to analyze the processes and principles of language learning and discuss the relationship between SLA research and your own L2 teaching/learning practices.

Suggested Literature:
Gass, S. M., Behney, J., & Plonsky, L. (2020). Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course (5th ed.). Routledge.

Hummel, K. M. (2021). Introducing Second Language Acquisition: Perspectives and Practices, 2nd Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Indianapolis, IN.

This course focuses on key issues, principles, methodological tools, and procedures for the scientific analysis of language in society. You will be introduced to various types of empirical methods, combining quantitative and qualitative research designs. We will address data collection, simple statistical procedures, discourse analytic approaches, multimodal analysis, linguistic ethnography, and narrative analysis, and learn how these methods work in practice in each case. In applying linguistics to social contexts, the students will deepen their knowledge of the subfields of sociolinguistics in regard to demographic categories such as age and gender and language in context (variation). Finally, you will take initial steps to empirical research in a selected topic in a mini study.
Literature/ Books:
Holmes, Janet and Nick Wilson. 2017. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. London: Pearson Education. (JH)

Multilingualism is a normal condition for most people in this world. Monolingual people, in turn, are the minority.
This seminar will examine different aspects of multilingualism. We will look at individual multilingualism such as bilingual language acquisition, language learning, and different forms of multilingual speech (code-switching, translanguaging, …). Moreover, we will cover aspects of multilingualism in education as well as in the society.
The class work will consist of input, discussions, and group work. The aim of the seminar is to develop your own (mock) research project in the area of multilingualism.

For the ungraded “Seminarleistung” (SL) you will be required to
(1) write an OASIS summary (https://oasis-database.org/) of an article related to multilingualism, and
(2) present your summary in class at the end of the semester.

For the graded “Prüfungsleistung” (PL) you will—additionally to the summary and presentation—complete a portfolio with tasks related to your research project ⇐ proposal of your mock research project, comparison of articles, reflection task).

Ecofeminism is a movement that connects environmental issues with intersectional feminist concerns. In this course we will study ecofeminist theories that deal with: 1) perceptions of nature, 2) interconnections between gender and nature, 3) Indigenous environmental perspectives, 4) perspectives on human-animal relations, 5) responses to capitalism, neoliberalism, and globalization and 6) queer ecologies. Students will examine definitions of ecofeminism, explore various branches within ecofeminist thought, and learn how ecological feminism differs from other branches of feminism.

This seminar will focus on three speculative fiction novels from North America/Turtle Island that delve into the violent histories of the continent: femicide of migrant workers from Mexico, the after-effects of trans-Atlantic slavery, and the governing of female bodies through settler-colonialism. All novels center the importance of ecofeminist theories and literatures in North America while interrogating histories that are often ignored.

Primary Texts:
Castro, V. Queen of the Cicadas/La Reina de las Chicharras. Flame Tree Press, 2021.
Erdrich, Louise. The Future Home of the Living God. Harper Press, 2017.
Solomon, Rivers. The Deep. Gallery, Saga Press, 2019.

Requirements:
• regular attendance
• active participation in class
• in-depth knowledge of the primary and secondary reading materials

PLEASE NOTE: Participation in our E-SC Student Conference held at the beginning of February is obligatory for completing this class with either a graded or ungraded assignment (project/poster presentation & term paper).

Astronomy is usually associated with men - Nikolaus Kopernikus, Johannes Kepler or Stephen Hawking are just a few of those male scientists that come to mind. But women have been involved in the sweeping of the heavens for centuries, even if history has omitted their contribution. This class will take a look at the history of women in science and specifically at historical female astronomers, in greater detail their portrayal in contemporary literature by example of Caroline Herschel and Henrietta Swan Leavitt. A detailed course plan as well as further reading material will be provided by the beginning of October.

Primary Texts:
Brown, Carrie. The Stargazer's Sister. Anchor Books, 2016.
Gunderson, Lauren. Silent Sky. Dramatists Play Service, 2015.

The drama is available through the university library. Please obtain a copy of the novel before the start of the class. The university book shop will have a couple of copies on hand for you to buy by the beginning of September (17,50€ per book). If possible, support your local bookstore!

Requirements:
• regular attendance
• active participation in class
• in-depth knowledge of the primary and secondary reading materials
• oral presentation or term paper (depending on your module)

Please note that prior enrolment via StudIP is mandatory.

This class will be conducted within the theme teaching year on SUSTAINABILITY and within the research area Blue Humanities. Blue Humanities studies oceans, rivers, and coastal areas in terms of (colonial) histories, migration and travel, sustainability and ecological issues, circulation of people and ideas, marine and Indigenous knowledges, literature and cultures, new geographies, extractivism, energy and economic issues, among others.

Please note that the course will be conducted in connection with a lecture series in the Blue Humanities, which takes place Wednesdays 18.15-19.45 at the Cartesium on campus. You are cordially invited to come and listen to all lectures; however 4 lectures are mandatory for you to attend, which ones will be specified at the start of the course, the first one on 25 Oct.

As well, as part of the first class on 26 October, we will do a short study excursion to the MARKK Museum in Hamburg and their exhibition “Wasserbotschaften” with a guided tour. https://markk-hamburg.de/veranstaltungen/wasser-botschaften-9/
We will leave on a train around 11.30 after our first class and have the guided tour in the afternoon. After that you can explore the museum on your own. You will use your semester ticket to use regional trains to go to Hamburg and back for free. This study excursion is not mandatory. And yet all students are invited to join us; there is limited capacity for the tour. Those who wish to go to Hamburg, pls register on the Etherpad here on StudIP with your full name and email address by 3 October.

After discussing sustainability and the sustainable development goals of the UN in the class, we will read and discuss the two novels The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh and People of the Whale by Linda Hogan. The novels are ready for purchase at the University bookstore at the beginning of the semester: The Hungry Tide (13 €) and People of the Whale (17,50 €). Other texts will be uploaded on StudIP.
Pls note that regular attendance and class participation and preparation are mandatory. You must register on StudIP for this class.

The ensemble of linguistic and semiotic traces in public space forms a caleidoskop of cultural and social diversity in a given territory, as well as it shows a representation of social dynamics with regard to linguistic developments and repertoires, negotiations of social identity, and other subjects of social change in multilingual contexts. The investigation of languages in public space is the objective of the emerging research field of linguistic landscapes. In line with 'expanding the linguistic landscape', the course aims to explore 'linguistic diversity, multimodality and the use of space as a semiotic resource' (Pütz & Mundt, 2018).

In light of the interdisciplinary character of the field, we will work together on groundbreaking studies as well as innovative approaches in order to become acquainted with specific methods of data collection and analysis, their benefits and their limitations, respectively. In addition to discussing origins of the field, methodologies and their underlying research paradigms, students will gain practical experience in empirical research by discovering and analyzing linguistic landscapes in their own environments.

Take a look at the following resources in order to get a first idea of LL study:

a) Linguistic Landscape: https://benjamins.com/catalog/ll (a peer-reviewed international journal, various articles are publicly available);

b) Elena Shohamy's introductory chapter in Pütz & Mundt (2018):
Shohamy, Elana. "1. Linguistic Landscape after a Decade: An Overview of Themes, Debates and Future Directions" (https://doi.org/10.21832/9781788922166-004) (available via library)

Reference:
Pütz, M. & Mundt, N. (2018). Expanding the Linguistic Landscape: Linguistic Diversity, Multimodality and the Use of Space as a Semiotic Resource. Bristol, Blue
Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters.

The Caribbean includes more than 7,000 islands that together with islets, cays, and reefs, dot the Caribbean Sea southeast of the Gulf of Mexico, east of Central America and Mexico, and to the north of South America. In pre-colonial times, the islands were inhabited by Indigenous people, such as the Arawak, Carib, Tainos, and Ciboney. Today more than 44 million people populate this biodiverse region. They are descendants of these and other Indigenous peoples as well as African enslaved people; Spanish, British, French, and Dutch colonizers; and indentured laborers from India and China, among others. They live in thirteen sovereign island nations and islands that still remain under the control of the former colonizers, such as France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
This class introduces students to the study of the history of Caribbean island environments and their cultural representation between the United States and the Caribbean Sea. With the help of Caribbean Studies, Archipelagic American Studies, Blue Cultural Studies, and Eco-criticism, students study the diverse, intersecting histories of colonialism, slavery, military occupation, and multidirectional migration in conversation with select cultural products (e.g. maps, films, sculptures, paintings, or literary texts) and key cultural and political movements, such as abolitionism, decolonization, maroonage, the Harlem Renaissance, Négritude, and environmental struggles. Using discourse and cultural analysis, students explore the topics, concepts, and (trans)cultural practices that are involved when the environments of Caribbean islands are written into the cultural history of North America and when Caribbean islanders and their American descendants share their own perspectives on the islands, the United States, and the sea in-between. Key concerns are, among others, racial, ethnic, or national identities; cultural hybridity; sea migration and borders; and the cultural ecospheres of islands and their beaches, coastal seas, the Caribbean Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The class is open to B.A. E-SC students studying the D1b, D1c, WD1b, and WD1c modules as well as international exchange students and students doing ‘Freiwillige Zusatzleistungen,’ general studies, or ‘Ersatzleistungen.’ To complete this class, students are required not only to regularly and actively participate in seminar sessions but also to actively contribute to our first ‘E-SC Literatures and Cultures Student Conference’ held at the beginning of February 2024. Ungraded assignments will be poster presentations at the conference; graded assignments include a project presentation at the conference and a term paper or portfolio submitted in the teaching-free period, depending on your module choice. Prior enrolment via Stud.IP is mandatory and admission is limited to a maximum of thirty-five students. Further information will be made available on Stud.IP. Please check Stud.IP regularly for updates.

Ecofeminism is a movement that connects environmental issues with intersectional feminist concerns. In this course we will study ecofeminist theories that deal with: 1) perceptions of nature, 2) interconnections between gender and nature, 3) Indigenous environmental perspectives, 4) perspectives on human-animal relations, 5) responses to capitalism, neoliberalism, and globalization and 6) queer ecologies. Students will examine definitions of ecofeminism, explore various branches within ecofeminist thought, and learn how ecological feminism differs from other branches of feminism.

This seminar will focus on three speculative fiction novels from North America/Turtle Island that delve into the violent histories of the continent: femicide of migrant workers from Mexico, the after-effects of trans-Atlantic slavery, and the governing of female bodies through settler-colonialism. All novels center the importance of ecofeminist theories and literatures in North America while interrogating histories that are often ignored.

Primary Texts:
Castro, V. Queen of the Cicadas/La Reina de las Chicharras. Flame Tree Press, 2021.
Erdrich, Louise. The Future Home of the Living God. Harper Press, 2017.
Solomon, Rivers. The Deep. Gallery, Saga Press, 2019.

Requirements:
• regular attendance
• active participation in class
• in-depth knowledge of the primary and secondary reading materials

PLEASE NOTE: Participation in our E-SC Student Conference held at the beginning of February is obligatory for completing this class with either a graded or ungraded assignment (project/poster presentation & term paper).

This class will be conducted within the theme teaching year on SUSTAINABILITY and within the research area Blue Humanities. Blue Humanities studies oceans, rivers, and coastal areas in terms of (colonial) histories, migration and travel, sustainability and ecological issues, circulation of people and ideas, marine and Indigenous knowledges, literature and cultures, new geographies, extractivism, energy and economic issues, among others.

Please note that the course will be conducted in connection with a lecture series in the Blue Humanities, which takes place Wednesdays 18.15-19.45 at the Cartesium on campus. You are cordially invited to come and listen to all lectures; however 4 lectures are mandatory for you to attend, which ones will be specified at the start of the course, the first one on 25 Oct.

As well, as part of the first class on 26 October, we will do a short study excursion to the MARKK Museum in Hamburg and their exhibition “Wasserbotschaften” with a guided tour. https://markk-hamburg.de/veranstaltungen/wasser-botschaften-9/
We will leave on a train around 11.30 after our first class and have the guided tour in the afternoon. After that you can explore the museum on your own. You will use your semester ticket to use regional trains to go to Hamburg and back for free. This study excursion is not mandatory. And yet all students are invited to join us; there is limited capacity for the tour. Those who wish to go to Hamburg, pls register on the Etherpad here on StudIP with your full name and email address by 3 October.

After discussing sustainability and the sustainable development goals of the UN in the class, we will read and discuss the two novels The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh and People of the Whale by Linda Hogan. The novels are ready for purchase at the University bookstore at the beginning of the semester: The Hungry Tide (13 €) and People of the Whale (17,50 €). Other texts will be uploaded on StudIP.
Pls note that regular attendance and class participation and preparation are mandatory. You must register on StudIP for this class.

In this class, students will learn about English in the Caribbean covering arrange of topics:
• general considerations of the spread of English to the Caribbean
• language identity and language policy in the Caribbean
• grammatical variation in Caribbean Englishes
• lexical variation in Caribbean Englishes

In the course of the class, students will also investigate selected aspects of Caribbean Englishes using online databases and dictionaries.

What does it mean to learn a second language? This course will dive into this question while focusing on key concepts, theoretical approaches, and psychological and social factors driving second language acquisition (SLA). By the end of the course, you will be able to analyze the processes and principles of language learning and discuss the relationship between SLA research and your own L2 teaching/learning practices.

Suggested Literature:
Gass, S. M., Behney, J., & Plonsky, L. (2020). Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course (5th ed.). Routledge.

Hummel, K. M. (2021). Introducing Second Language Acquisition: Perspectives and Practices, 2nd Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Indianapolis, IN.

This course focuses on key issues, principles, methodological tools, and procedures for the scientific analysis of language in society. You will be introduced to various types of empirical methods, combining quantitative and qualitative research designs. We will address data collection, simple statistical procedures, discourse analytic approaches, multimodal analysis, linguistic ethnography, and narrative analysis, and learn how these methods work in practice in each case. In applying linguistics to social contexts, the students will deepen their knowledge of the subfields of sociolinguistics in regard to demographic categories such as age and gender and language in context (variation). Finally, you will take initial steps to empirical research in a selected topic in a mini study.
Literature/ Books:
Holmes, Janet and Nick Wilson. 2017. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. London: Pearson Education. (JH)

Multilingualism is a normal condition for most people in this world. Monolingual people, in turn, are the minority.
This seminar will examine different aspects of multilingualism. We will look at individual multilingualism such as bilingual language acquisition, language learning, and different forms of multilingual speech (code-switching, translanguaging, …). Moreover, we will cover aspects of multilingualism in education as well as in the society.
The class work will consist of input, discussions, and group work. The aim of the seminar is to develop your own (mock) research project in the area of multilingualism.

For the ungraded “Seminarleistung” (SL) you will be required to
(1) write an OASIS summary (https://oasis-database.org/) of an article related to multilingualism, and
(2) present your summary in class at the end of the semester.

For the graded “Prüfungsleistung” (PL) you will—additionally to the summary and presentation—complete a portfolio with tasks related to your research project ⇐ proposal of your mock research project, comparison of articles, reflection task).

The Caribbean includes more than 7,000 islands that together with islets, cays, and reefs, dot the Caribbean Sea southeast of the Gulf of Mexico, east of Central America and Mexico, and to the north of South America. In pre-colonial times, the islands were inhabited by Indigenous people, such as the Arawak, Carib, Tainos, and Ciboney. Today more than 44 million people populate this biodiverse region. They are descendants of these and other Indigenous peoples as well as African enslaved people; Spanish, British, French, and Dutch colonizers; and indentured laborers from India and China, among others. They live in thirteen sovereign island nations and islands that still remain under the control of the former colonizers, such as France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
This class introduces students to the study of the history of Caribbean island environments and their cultural representation between the United States and the Caribbean Sea. With the help of Caribbean Studies, Archipelagic American Studies, Blue Cultural Studies, and Eco-criticism, students study the diverse, intersecting histories of colonialism, slavery, military occupation, and multidirectional migration in conversation with select cultural products (e.g. maps, films, sculptures, paintings, or literary texts) and key cultural and political movements, such as abolitionism, decolonization, maroonage, the Harlem Renaissance, Négritude, and environmental struggles. Using discourse and cultural analysis, students explore the topics, concepts, and (trans)cultural practices that are involved when the environments of Caribbean islands are written into the cultural history of North America and when Caribbean islanders and their American descendants share their own perspectives on the islands, the United States, and the sea in-between. Key concerns are, among others, racial, ethnic, or national identities; cultural hybridity; sea migration and borders; and the cultural ecospheres of islands and their beaches, coastal seas, the Caribbean Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The class is open to B.A. E-SC students studying the D1b, D1c, WD1b, and WD1c modules as well as international exchange students and students doing ‘Freiwillige Zusatzleistungen,’ general studies, or ‘Ersatzleistungen.’ To complete this class, students are required not only to regularly and actively participate in seminar sessions but also to actively contribute to our first ‘E-SC Literatures and Cultures Student Conference’ held at the beginning of February 2024. Ungraded assignments will be poster presentations at the conference; graded assignments include a project presentation at the conference and a term paper or portfolio submitted in the teaching-free period, depending on your module choice. Prior enrolment via Stud.IP is mandatory and admission is limited to a maximum of thirty-five students. Further information will be made available on Stud.IP. Please check Stud.IP regularly for updates.

This is course is a mixture between a lecture course and a regular class. Scholars and teachers both from FB 10 and from other universities will deliver lectures on various aspects of our general topic initiating a transdisciplinary discourse on "Gender - Culture - Feminism". In the sessions between the lectures we will discuss corresponding texts and resources to prepare ourselves for the diverse subject matters of the presentations and to critically reflect on their respective ideas and arguments.
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

The ensemble of linguistic and semiotic traces in public space forms a caleidoskop of cultural and social diversity in a given territory, as well as it shows a representation of social dynamics with regard to linguistic developments and repertoires, negotiations of social identity, and other subjects of social change in multilingual contexts. The investigation of languages in public space is the objective of the emerging research field of linguistic landscapes. In line with 'expanding the linguistic landscape', the course aims to explore 'linguistic diversity, multimodality and the use of space as a semiotic resource' (Pütz & Mundt, 2018).

In light of the interdisciplinary character of the field, we will work together on groundbreaking studies as well as innovative approaches in order to become acquainted with specific methods of data collection and analysis, their benefits and their limitations, respectively. In addition to discussing origins of the field, methodologies and their underlying research paradigms, students will gain practical experience in empirical research by discovering and analyzing linguistic landscapes in their own environments.

Take a look at the following resources in order to get a first idea of LL study:

a) Linguistic Landscape: https://benjamins.com/catalog/ll (a peer-reviewed international journal, various articles are publicly available);

b) Elena Shohamy's introductory chapter in Pütz & Mundt (2018):
Shohamy, Elana. "1. Linguistic Landscape after a Decade: An Overview of Themes, Debates and Future Directions" (https://doi.org/10.21832/9781788922166-004) (available via library)

Reference:
Pütz, M. & Mundt, N. (2018). Expanding the Linguistic Landscape: Linguistic Diversity, Multimodality and the Use of Space as a Semiotic Resource. Bristol, Blue
Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters.

Content-Based Integrated Skills (CBIS) is the first part of the SP-2 module (“SP-2 Sprachpraxis Aufbaumodul”) to be taken in the winter semester. Culture & Communication (C&C) is taken as the second part of the module in the summer semester. The aim of both parts of the module is to prepare you final oral exam which you can take once you have completed SP-2.

Content-Based Integrated Skills (CBIS) permits students to implement all four core language skills (speaking, writing, listening, reading) while turning a theoretical challenge into a practical success. This course is designed to give you an insight into academic research, to develop the skill of critical thinking as well as providing you with the opportunity to work on your language skills. The course content revolves around English-speaking countries and cultures. Students will learn about politics, traditions, accents and histories of the countries connected to the English language or/and the Commonwealth. Each country will be critically analysed with the goal of expanding their knowledge about an “English-speaking Culture.” Students will have the opportunity to make decisions, solve problems, and at the end of the course, present the fruits of your labours as you put your own unique ideas into practice.

Content-Based Integrated Skills (CBIS) is the first part of the SP-2 module (“SP-2 Sprachpraxis Aufbaumodul”) to be taken in the winter semester. Culture & Communication (C&C) is taken as the second part of the module in the summer semester. The aim of both parts of the module is to prepare you final oral exam which you can take once you have completed SP-2.

Content-Based Integrated Skills (CBIS) permits students to implement all four core language skills (speaking, writing, listening, reading) while turning a theoretical challenge into a practical success. This course is designed to give you an insight into academic research, to develop the skill of critical thinking as well as providing you with the opportunity to work on your language skills. The course content revolves around English-speaking countries and cultures. Students will learn about politics, traditions, accents and histories of the countries connected to the English language or/and the Commonwealth. Each country will be critically analysed with the goal of expanding their knowledge about an “English-speaking Culture.” Students will have the opportunity to make decisions, solve problems, and at the end of the course, present the fruits of your labours as you put your own unique ideas into practice.

Content-Based Integrated Skills (CBIS) is the first part of the SP-2 module (“SP-2 Sprachpraxis Aufbaumodul”) to be taken in the winter semester. Culture & Communication (C&C) is taken as the second part of the module in the summer semester. The aim of both parts of the module is to prepare you final oral exam which you can take once you have completed SP-2.
Content-Based Integrated Skills (CBIS) enables you to implement all four core language skills (speaking, writing, listening, reading) while turning a theoretical challenge into a practical success. This course is designed to give you an insight into academic research, develop the skill of critical thinking as well as providing the opportunity to work on language skills. The course content revolves around English-speaking countries and cultures. You will explore areas such as politics, traditions, important people and histories of countries connected to the English-speaking world. Different countries will be critically analysed with the goal of gaining and expanding knowledge about a specific English-speaking culture. You will have the opportunity to practice the communication skills of discussion, analysis, compromise, persuasion, problem solving etc. At the end of the course, you will present your own unique ideas, putting theory into practice.

Content-Based Integrated Skills (CBIS) is the first part of the SP-2 module (“SP-2 Sprachpraxis Aufbaumodul”) to be taken in the winter semester. Culture & Communication (C&C) is taken as the second part of the module in the summer semester. The aim of both parts of the module is to prepare you final oral exam which you can take once you have completed SP-2.
Content-Based Integrated Skills (CBIS) enables you to implement all four core language skills (speaking, writing, listening, reading) while turning a theoretical challenge into a practical success. This course is designed to give you an insight into academic research, develop the skill of critical thinking as well as providing the opportunity to work on language skills. The course content revolves around English-speaking countries and cultures. You will explore areas such as politics, traditions, important people and histories of countries connected to the English-speaking world. Different countries will be critically analysed with the goal of gaining and expanding knowledge about a specific English-speaking culture. You will have the opportunity to practice the communication skills of discussion, analysis, compromise, persuasion, problem solving etc. At the end of the course, you will present your own unique ideas, putting theory into practice.

Content-Based Integrated Skills (CBIS) is the first part of the SP-2 module (“SP-2 Sprachpraxis Aufbaumodul”) to be taken in the winter semester. Culture & Communication (C&C) is taken as the second part of the module in the summer semester. The aim of both parts of the module is to prepare you final oral exam which you can take once you have completed SP-2.

Content-Based Integrated Skills (CBIS) permits students to implement all four core language skills (speaking, writing, listening, reading) while turning a theoretical challenge into a practical success. This course is designed to give you an insight into academic research, to develop the skill of critical thinking as well as providing you with the opportunity to work on your language skills. The course content revolves around English-speaking countries and cultures. Students will learn about politics, traditions, accents and histories of the countries connected to the English language or/and the Commonwealth. Each country will be critically analysed with the goal of expanding their knowledge about an “English-speaking Culture.” Students will have the opportunity to make decisions, solve problems, and at the end of the course, present the fruits of your labours as you put your own unique ideas into practice.

Content-Based Integrated Skills (CBIS) is the first part of the SP-2 module (“SP-2 Sprachpraxis Aufbaumodul”) to be taken in the winter semester. Culture & Communication (C&C) is taken as the second part of the module in the summer semester. The aim of both parts of the module is to prepare you final oral exam which you can take once you have completed SP-2.
Content-Based Integrated Skills (CBIS) enables you to implement all four core language skills (speaking, writing, listening, reading) while turning a theoretical challenge into a practical success. This course is designed to give you an insight into academic research, develop the skill of critical thinking as well as providing the opportunity to work on language skills. The course content revolves around English-speaking countries and cultures. You will explore areas such as politics, traditions, important people and histories of countries connected to the English-speaking world. Different countries will be critically analysed with the goal of gaining and expanding knowledge about a specific English-speaking culture. You will have the opportunity to practice the communication skills of discussion, analysis, compromise, persuasion, problem solving etc. At the end of the course, you will present your own unique ideas, putting theory into practice.

Note: We offer this class to compensate for the cancelled groups in summer 2023. Students who were registered back then will be prioritised.

The aim of the Culture & Communication classes is to help you to prepare for the final SP-2 module oral exam to be taken to complete the SP-2 module.

This particular class will look at different moments which have greatly influenced events within the English-speaking world. We will investigate the processes which led to a particular event, define the event itself and explore the long-term and short-term implications that came about as a consequence. You will be required to think critically and research a topic of your own choice in detail in order to prepare for the Proficiency Interview ⇐ oral exam) at the end of the semester during which you will explain how this moment has been defining. You will also work on presentation skills and familiarise yourselves with the situation of speaking in front of others.

Materials are provided via StudIP.

Ecofeminism is a movement that connects environmental issues with intersectional feminist concerns. In this course we will study ecofeminist theories that deal with: 1) perceptions of nature, 2) interconnections between gender and nature, 3) Indigenous environmental perspectives, 4) perspectives on human-animal relations, 5) responses to capitalism, neoliberalism, and globalization and 6) queer ecologies. Students will examine definitions of ecofeminism, explore various branches within ecofeminist thought, and learn how ecological feminism differs from other branches of feminism.

This seminar will focus on three speculative fiction novels from North America/Turtle Island that delve into the violent histories of the continent: femicide of migrant workers from Mexico, the after-effects of trans-Atlantic slavery, and the governing of female bodies through settler-colonialism. All novels center the importance of ecofeminist theories and literatures in North America while interrogating histories that are often ignored.

Primary Texts:
Castro, V. Queen of the Cicadas/La Reina de las Chicharras. Flame Tree Press, 2021.
Erdrich, Louise. The Future Home of the Living God. Harper Press, 2017.
Solomon, Rivers. The Deep. Gallery, Saga Press, 2019.

Requirements:
• regular attendance
• active participation in class
• in-depth knowledge of the primary and secondary reading materials

PLEASE NOTE: Participation in our E-SC Student Conference held at the beginning of February is obligatory for completing this class with either a graded or ungraded assignment (project/poster presentation & term paper).

Astronomy is usually associated with men - Nikolaus Kopernikus, Johannes Kepler or Stephen Hawking are just a few of those male scientists that come to mind. But women have been involved in the sweeping of the heavens for centuries, even if history has omitted their contribution. This class will take a look at the history of women in science and specifically at historical female astronomers, in greater detail their portrayal in contemporary literature by example of Caroline Herschel and Henrietta Swan Leavitt. A detailed course plan as well as further reading material will be provided by the beginning of October.

Primary Texts:
Brown, Carrie. The Stargazer's Sister. Anchor Books, 2016.
Gunderson, Lauren. Silent Sky. Dramatists Play Service, 2015.

The drama is available through the university library. Please obtain a copy of the novel before the start of the class. The university book shop will have a couple of copies on hand for you to buy by the beginning of September (17,50€ per book). If possible, support your local bookstore!

Requirements:
• regular attendance
• active participation in class
• in-depth knowledge of the primary and secondary reading materials
• oral presentation or term paper (depending on your module)

Please note that prior enrolment via StudIP is mandatory.

This class will be conducted within the theme teaching year on SUSTAINABILITY and within the research area Blue Humanities. Blue Humanities studies oceans, rivers, and coastal areas in terms of (colonial) histories, migration and travel, sustainability and ecological issues, circulation of people and ideas, marine and Indigenous knowledges, literature and cultures, new geographies, extractivism, energy and economic issues, among others.

Please note that the course will be conducted in connection with a lecture series in the Blue Humanities, which takes place Wednesdays 18.15-19.45 at the Cartesium on campus. You are cordially invited to come and listen to all lectures; however 4 lectures are mandatory for you to attend, which ones will be specified at the start of the course, the first one on 25 Oct.

As well, as part of the first class on 26 October, we will do a short study excursion to the MARKK Museum in Hamburg and their exhibition “Wasserbotschaften” with a guided tour. https://markk-hamburg.de/veranstaltungen/wasser-botschaften-9/
We will leave on a train around 11.30 after our first class and have the guided tour in the afternoon. After that you can explore the museum on your own. You will use your semester ticket to use regional trains to go to Hamburg and back for free. This study excursion is not mandatory. And yet all students are invited to join us; there is limited capacity for the tour. Those who wish to go to Hamburg, pls register on the Etherpad here on StudIP with your full name and email address by 3 October.

After discussing sustainability and the sustainable development goals of the UN in the class, we will read and discuss the two novels The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh and People of the Whale by Linda Hogan. The novels are ready for purchase at the University bookstore at the beginning of the semester: The Hungry Tide (13 €) and People of the Whale (17,50 €). Other texts will be uploaded on StudIP.
Pls note that regular attendance and class participation and preparation are mandatory. You must register on StudIP for this class.

This course delves into the dynamic intersection of language, politics, and sustainability, exploring how discourse shapes and influences the perception, understanding, and implementation of sustainable practices. By analyzing various linguistic tools and strategies employed in sustainability-related communication, students will develop a critical lens to examine the power dynamics, ideologies, and social implications underlying sustainability discourse.

This seminar will explore variationist and cognitive sociolinguistic
dimensions of the use of English in multilingual Southern Africa. The
main focus will be on English(es) in the Republic of South Africa
(i.e. Black South African English, White South African English,
Afrikaans English, Cape Flats English and South African Indian
English). However, varieties of English in Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho
and Eswatini will also feature in the course.
Reading: will be made available at the beginning of the term.

This seminar will explore variationist and cognitive sociolinguistic
dimensions of the use of English in multilingual Southern Africa. The
main focus will be on English(es) in the Republic of South Africa
(i.e. Black South African English, White South African English,
Afrikaans English, Cape Flats English and South African Indian
English). However, varieties of English in Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho
and Eswatini will also feature in the course.
Reading: will be made available at the beginning of the term.

In Germany, “Gendern” is a hotly debated topic. Everyone has an opinion about it. As a linguist, could you convince your discussion partner with a good argument for or against the necessity to use gender-friendly language? In this class, we will study different attitudes and perspectives on this matter, and you will find your own view on this topic, and learn to defend it. How much do you want to include the gender aspect in your way of speaking and writing, and how can you do this in an elegant way?
We will investigate the differences in the English and German language systems (and any other language spoken by the students in class) when it comes to reference to people of all kind of genders. There will be (weekly) reading, discussions and practical tasks to analyse or re-write discourse. All genders and opinions are welcome.
Literature recommendation (no need to buy any)
Angouri, Jo & Judith Baxter (eds.). 2021. The Routledge Handbook of Language, Gender, and Sexuality. Routledge.

Intercultural communication is based in several academic disciplines. These are psychology, anthropology and linguistics. We will discuss all approaches but focus on language in intercultural contexts.
Language in context has traditionally been studied within the context of one culture, i.e. British or US American English. Variation on the sociopragmatic level, e.g. Speech Act Theory, Politeness Theory, Conversation Analysis principles, has been applied to speech communities all over the world, and a previously ethnocentric perspective has made way for research that demonstrates different communicative strategies in different English speaking cultures. First, this class introduces the major analytical frameworks that are applied in pragmatics. Second, we will look at selected studies which cover the variation in Englishes around the world.

The Caribbean includes more than 7,000 islands that together with islets, cays, and reefs, dot the Caribbean Sea southeast of the Gulf of Mexico, east of Central America and Mexico, and to the north of South America. In pre-colonial times, the islands were inhabited by Indigenous people, such as the Arawak, Carib, Tainos, and Ciboney. Today more than 44 million people populate this biodiverse region. They are descendants of these and other Indigenous peoples as well as African enslaved people; Spanish, British, French, and Dutch colonizers; and indentured laborers from India and China, among others. They live in thirteen sovereign island nations and islands that still remain under the control of the former colonizers, such as France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
This class introduces students to the study of the history of Caribbean island environments and their cultural representation between the United States and the Caribbean Sea. With the help of Caribbean Studies, Archipelagic American Studies, Blue Cultural Studies, and Eco-criticism, students study the diverse, intersecting histories of colonialism, slavery, military occupation, and multidirectional migration in conversation with select cultural products (e.g. maps, films, sculptures, paintings, or literary texts) and key cultural and political movements, such as abolitionism, decolonization, maroonage, the Harlem Renaissance, Négritude, and environmental struggles. Using discourse and cultural analysis, students explore the topics, concepts, and (trans)cultural practices that are involved when the environments of Caribbean islands are written into the cultural history of North America and when Caribbean islanders and their American descendants share their own perspectives on the islands, the United States, and the sea in-between. Key concerns are, among others, racial, ethnic, or national identities; cultural hybridity; sea migration and borders; and the cultural ecospheres of islands and their beaches, coastal seas, the Caribbean Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The class is open to B.A. E-SC students studying the D1b, D1c, WD1b, and WD1c modules as well as international exchange students and students doing ‘Freiwillige Zusatzleistungen,’ general studies, or ‘Ersatzleistungen.’ To complete this class, students are required not only to regularly and actively participate in seminar sessions but also to actively contribute to our first ‘E-SC Literatures and Cultures Student Conference’ held at the beginning of February 2024. Ungraded assignments will be poster presentations at the conference; graded assignments include a project presentation at the conference and a term paper or portfolio submitted in the teaching-free period, depending on your module choice. Prior enrolment via Stud.IP is mandatory and admission is limited to a maximum of thirty-five students. Further information will be made available on Stud.IP. Please check Stud.IP regularly for updates.

Ecofeminism is a movement that connects environmental issues with intersectional feminist concerns. In this course we will study ecofeminist theories that deal with: 1) perceptions of nature, 2) interconnections between gender and nature, 3) Indigenous environmental perspectives, 4) perspectives on human-animal relations, 5) responses to capitalism, neoliberalism, and globalization and 6) queer ecologies. Students will examine definitions of ecofeminism, explore various branches within ecofeminist thought, and learn how ecological feminism differs from other branches of feminism.

This seminar will focus on three speculative fiction novels from North America/Turtle Island that delve into the violent histories of the continent: femicide of migrant workers from Mexico, the after-effects of trans-Atlantic slavery, and the governing of female bodies through settler-colonialism. All novels center the importance of ecofeminist theories and literatures in North America while interrogating histories that are often ignored.

Primary Texts:
Castro, V. Queen of the Cicadas/La Reina de las Chicharras. Flame Tree Press, 2021.
Erdrich, Louise. The Future Home of the Living God. Harper Press, 2017.
Solomon, Rivers. The Deep. Gallery, Saga Press, 2019.

Requirements:
• regular attendance
• active participation in class
• in-depth knowledge of the primary and secondary reading materials

PLEASE NOTE: Participation in our E-SC Student Conference held at the beginning of February is obligatory for completing this class with either a graded or ungraded assignment (project/poster presentation & term paper).

Astronomy is usually associated with men - Nikolaus Kopernikus, Johannes Kepler or Stephen Hawking are just a few of those male scientists that come to mind. But women have been involved in the sweeping of the heavens for centuries, even if history has omitted their contribution. This class will take a look at the history of women in science and specifically at historical female astronomers, in greater detail their portrayal in contemporary literature by example of Caroline Herschel and Henrietta Swan Leavitt. A detailed course plan as well as further reading material will be provided by the beginning of October.

Primary Texts:
Brown, Carrie. The Stargazer's Sister. Anchor Books, 2016.
Gunderson, Lauren. Silent Sky. Dramatists Play Service, 2015.

The drama is available through the university library. Please obtain a copy of the novel before the start of the class. The university book shop will have a couple of copies on hand for you to buy by the beginning of September (17,50€ per book). If possible, support your local bookstore!

Requirements:
• regular attendance
• active participation in class
• in-depth knowledge of the primary and secondary reading materials
• oral presentation or term paper (depending on your module)

Please note that prior enrolment via StudIP is mandatory.

This is course is a mixture between a lecture course and a regular class. Scholars and teachers both from FB 10 and from other universities will deliver lectures on various aspects of our general topic initiating a transdisciplinary discourse on "Gender - Culture - Feminism". In the sessions between the lectures we will discuss corresponding texts and resources to prepare ourselves for the diverse subject matters of the presentations and to critically reflect on their respective ideas and arguments.
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

This class will be conducted within the theme teaching year on SUSTAINABILITY and within the research area Blue Humanities. Blue Humanities studies oceans, rivers, and coastal areas in terms of (colonial) histories, migration and travel, sustainability and ecological issues, circulation of people and ideas, marine and Indigenous knowledges, literature and cultures, new geographies, extractivism, energy and economic issues, among others.

Please note that the course will be conducted in connection with a lecture series in the Blue Humanities, which takes place Wednesdays 18.15-19.45 at the Cartesium on campus. You are cordially invited to come and listen to all lectures; however 4 lectures are mandatory for you to attend, which ones will be specified at the start of the course, the first one on 25 Oct.

As well, as part of the first class on 26 October, we will do a short study excursion to the MARKK Museum in Hamburg and their exhibition “Wasserbotschaften” with a guided tour. https://markk-hamburg.de/veranstaltungen/wasser-botschaften-9/
We will leave on a train around 11.30 after our first class and have the guided tour in the afternoon. After that you can explore the museum on your own. You will use your semester ticket to use regional trains to go to Hamburg and back for free. This study excursion is not mandatory. And yet all students are invited to join us; there is limited capacity for the tour. Those who wish to go to Hamburg, pls register on the Etherpad here on StudIP with your full name and email address by 3 October.

After discussing sustainability and the sustainable development goals of the UN in the class, we will read and discuss the two novels The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh and People of the Whale by Linda Hogan. The novels are ready for purchase at the University bookstore at the beginning of the semester: The Hungry Tide (13 €) and People of the Whale (17,50 €). Other texts will be uploaded on StudIP.
Pls note that regular attendance and class participation and preparation are mandatory. You must register on StudIP for this class.

The Caribbean includes more than 7,000 islands that together with islets, cays, and reefs, dot the Caribbean Sea southeast of the Gulf of Mexico, east of Central America and Mexico, and to the north of South America. In pre-colonial times, the islands were inhabited by Indigenous people, such as the Arawak, Carib, Tainos, and Ciboney. Today more than 44 million people populate this biodiverse region. They are descendants of these and other Indigenous peoples as well as African enslaved people; Spanish, British, French, and Dutch colonizers; and indentured laborers from India and China, among others. They live in thirteen sovereign island nations and islands that still remain under the control of the former colonizers, such as France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
This class introduces students to the study of the history of Caribbean island environments and their cultural representation between the United States and the Caribbean Sea. With the help of Caribbean Studies, Archipelagic American Studies, Blue Cultural Studies, and Eco-criticism, students study the diverse, intersecting histories of colonialism, slavery, military occupation, and multidirectional migration in conversation with select cultural products (e.g. maps, films, sculptures, paintings, or literary texts) and key cultural and political movements, such as abolitionism, decolonization, maroonage, the Harlem Renaissance, Négritude, and environmental struggles. Using discourse and cultural analysis, students explore the topics, concepts, and (trans)cultural practices that are involved when the environments of Caribbean islands are written into the cultural history of North America and when Caribbean islanders and their American descendants share their own perspectives on the islands, the United States, and the sea in-between. Key concerns are, among others, racial, ethnic, or national identities; cultural hybridity; sea migration and borders; and the cultural ecospheres of islands and their beaches, coastal seas, the Caribbean Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The class is open to B.A. E-SC students studying the D1b, D1c, WD1b, and WD1c modules as well as international exchange students and students doing ‘Freiwillige Zusatzleistungen,’ general studies, or ‘Ersatzleistungen.’ To complete this class, students are required not only to regularly and actively participate in seminar sessions but also to actively contribute to our first ‘E-SC Literatures and Cultures Student Conference’ held at the beginning of February 2024. Ungraded assignments will be poster presentations at the conference; graded assignments include a project presentation at the conference and a term paper or portfolio submitted in the teaching-free period, depending on your module choice. Prior enrolment via Stud.IP is mandatory and admission is limited to a maximum of thirty-five students. Further information will be made available on Stud.IP. Please check Stud.IP regularly for updates.

This is course is a mixture between a lecture course and a regular class. Scholars and teachers both from FB 10 and from other universities will deliver lectures on various aspects of our general topic initiating a transdisciplinary discourse on "Gender - Culture - Feminism". In the sessions between the lectures we will discuss corresponding texts and resources to prepare ourselves for the diverse subject matters of the presentations and to critically reflect on their respective ideas and arguments.
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

The ensemble of linguistic and semiotic traces in public space forms a caleidoskop of cultural and social diversity in a given territory, as well as it shows a representation of social dynamics with regard to linguistic developments and repertoires, negotiations of social identity, and other subjects of social change in multilingual contexts. The investigation of languages in public space is the objective of the emerging research field of linguistic landscapes. In line with 'expanding the linguistic landscape', the course aims to explore 'linguistic diversity, multimodality and the use of space as a semiotic resource' (Pütz & Mundt, 2018).

In light of the interdisciplinary character of the field, we will work together on groundbreaking studies as well as innovative approaches in order to become acquainted with specific methods of data collection and analysis, their benefits and their limitations, respectively. In addition to discussing origins of the field, methodologies and their underlying research paradigms, students will gain practical experience in empirical research by discovering and analyzing linguistic landscapes in their own environments.

Take a look at the following resources in order to get a first idea of LL study:

a) Linguistic Landscape: https://benjamins.com/catalog/ll (a peer-reviewed international journal, various articles are publicly available);

b) Elena Shohamy's introductory chapter in Pütz & Mundt (2018):
Shohamy, Elana. "1. Linguistic Landscape after a Decade: An Overview of Themes, Debates and Future Directions" (https://doi.org/10.21832/9781788922166-004) (available via library)

Reference:
Pütz, M. & Mundt, N. (2018). Expanding the Linguistic Landscape: Linguistic Diversity, Multimodality and the Use of Space as a Semiotic Resource. Bristol, Blue
Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters.

This course delves into the dynamic intersection of language, politics, and sustainability, exploring how discourse shapes and influences the perception, understanding, and implementation of sustainable practices. By analyzing various linguistic tools and strategies employed in sustainability-related communication, students will develop a critical lens to examine the power dynamics, ideologies, and social implications underlying sustainability discourse.

This seminar will explore variationist and cognitive sociolinguistic
dimensions of the use of English in multilingual Southern Africa. The
main focus will be on English(es) in the Republic of South Africa
(i.e. Black South African English, White South African English,
Afrikaans English, Cape Flats English and South African Indian
English). However, varieties of English in Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho
and Eswatini will also feature in the course.
Reading: will be made available at the beginning of the term.

This seminar will explore variationist and cognitive sociolinguistic
dimensions of the use of English in multilingual Southern Africa. The
main focus will be on English(es) in the Republic of South Africa
(i.e. Black South African English, White South African English,
Afrikaans English, Cape Flats English and South African Indian
English). However, varieties of English in Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho
and Eswatini will also feature in the course.
Reading: will be made available at the beginning of the term.

In Germany, “Gendern” is a hotly debated topic. Everyone has an opinion about it. As a linguist, could you convince your discussion partner with a good argument for or against the necessity to use gender-friendly language? In this class, we will study different attitudes and perspectives on this matter, and you will find your own view on this topic, and learn to defend it. How much do you want to include the gender aspect in your way of speaking and writing, and how can you do this in an elegant way?
We will investigate the differences in the English and German language systems (and any other language spoken by the students in class) when it comes to reference to people of all kind of genders. There will be (weekly) reading, discussions and practical tasks to analyse or re-write discourse. All genders and opinions are welcome.
Literature recommendation (no need to buy any)
Angouri, Jo & Judith Baxter (eds.). 2021. The Routledge Handbook of Language, Gender, and Sexuality. Routledge.

Intercultural communication is based in several academic disciplines. These are psychology, anthropology and linguistics. We will discuss all approaches but focus on language in intercultural contexts.
Language in context has traditionally been studied within the context of one culture, i.e. British or US American English. Variation on the sociopragmatic level, e.g. Speech Act Theory, Politeness Theory, Conversation Analysis principles, has been applied to speech communities all over the world, and a previously ethnocentric perspective has made way for research that demonstrates different communicative strategies in different English speaking cultures. First, this class introduces the major analytical frameworks that are applied in pragmatics. Second, we will look at selected studies which cover the variation in Englishes around the world.

This introductory course will provide an insight into important aspects and theoretical foundations of English Language Teaching (ELT) which is an indispensable part of every teacher's knowledge base. Participants will get an overview of theoretical as well as practical issues. Starting from a look at the history of ELT we will then move on to Foreign Language Politics in Germany and Europe before we begin to discuss more practical concerns, for example:

• In how far do the different varieties of English in the world take an effect on ELT?
• How can teachers foster the development of the students' language skills?

Apart from that, we will be looking at special forms of ELT, for example English in Primary Schools and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), and also the role of course books and literature in the classroom will be investigated. It is most important that participants actively engage with these topics, as it is crucial for teacher trainees to form an opinion about their future way of teaching.

This introductory course will provide an insight into important aspects and theoretical foundations of English Language Teaching (ELT) which is an indispensable part of every teacher's knowledge base. Participants will get an overview of theoretical as well as practical issues. Starting from a look at the history of ELT we will then move on to Foreign Language Politics in Germany and Europe before we begin to discuss more practical concerns, for example:

• In how far do the different varieties of English in the world take an effect on ELT?
• How can teachers foster the development of the students' language skills?

Apart from that, we will be looking at special forms of ELT, for example English in Primary Schools and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), and also the role of course books and literature in the classroom will be investigated. It is most important that participants actively engage with these topics, as it is crucial for teacher trainees to form an opinion about their future way of teaching.

Begleitveranstaltung zu den Praxisorientierten Elementen (POE) im Fach Englisch.

Bitte melden Sie sich unter Stud.IP im Bereich "Zentrum für Lehrerbildung - Schulpraktika" für die POE im Fach Englisch an. Nach erfolgter Schulzuweisung werden Sie im Dezember automatisch einer der Begleitveranstaltungen zugewiesen.

Begleitveranstaltung zu den Praxisorientierten Elementen (POE) im Fach Englisch.

Bitte melden Sie sich unter Stud.IP im Bereich "Zentrum für Lehrerbildung - Schulpraktika" für die POE im Fach Englisch an. Nach erfolgter Schulzuweisung werden Sie im Dezember automatisch einer der Begleitveranstaltungen zugewiesen.

Begleitveranstaltung zu den Praxisorientierten Elementen (POE) im Fach Englisch.

Bitte melden Sie sich unter Stud.IP im Bereich "Zentrum für Lehrerbildung - Schulpraktika" für die POE im Fach Englisch an. Nach erfolgter Schulzuweisung werden Sie im Dezember automatisch einer der Begleitveranstaltungen zugewiesen.

Begleitveranstaltung zu den Praxisorientierten Elementen (POE) im Fach Englisch.

Bitte melden Sie sich unter Stud.IP im Bereich "Zentrum für Lehrerbildung - Schulpraktika" für die POE im Fach Englisch an. Nach erfolgter Schulzuweisung werden Sie im Dezember automatisch einer der Begleitveranstaltungen zugewiesen.

Begleitveranstaltung zu den Praxisorientierten Elementen (POE) im Fach Englisch.

Bitte melden Sie sich unter Stud.IP im Bereich "Zentrum für Lehrerbildung - Schulpraktika" für die POE im Fach Englisch an. Nach erfolgter Schulzuweisung werden Sie im Dezember automatisch einer der Begleitveranstaltungen zugewiesen.

Begleitveranstaltung zu den Praxisorientierten Elementen (POE) im Fach Englisch.

Bitte melden Sie sich unter Stud.IP im Bereich "Zentrum für Lehrerbildung - Schulpraktika" für die POE im Fach Englisch an. Nach erfolgter Schulzuweisung werden Sie im Dezember automatisch einer der Begleitveranstaltungen zugewiesen.

Begleitveranstaltung zu den Praxisorientierten Elementen (POE) im Fach Englisch.

Bitte melden Sie sich unter Stud.IP im Bereich "Zentrum für Lehrerbildung - Schulpraktika" für die POE im Fach Englisch an. Nach erfolgter Schulzuweisung werden Sie im Dezember automatisch einer der Begleitveranstaltungen zugewiesen.

Begleitveranstaltung zu den Praxisorientierten Elementen (POE) im Fach Englisch.

Bitte melden Sie sich unter Stud.IP im Bereich "Zentrum für Lehrerbildung - Schulpraktika" für die POE im Fach Englisch an. Nach erfolgter Schulzuweisung werden Sie im Dezember automatisch einer der Begleitveranstaltungen zugewiesen.

Einführungsveranstaltung für die Zusatzqualifikation "Bilinguales Lernen und Lehren".

Das Angebot richtet sich an Lehramtsstudierende des Studiengangs English-Speaking Cultures, die ein Sachfach als Zweitfach studieren. Diese Zusatzqualifikation ist ein zusätzliches Angebot und erstreckt sich über das gesamte BA und MEd-Studium. Nähere Informationen erhalten Sie unter giesler@uni-bremen.de

Bei ausreichend freien Plätzen können auch weitere interessierte Studierende aufgenommen werden.

This course is designed for Bachelor students planning to write a paper / BA-thesisin the field of cultural history. We will discuss theoretical and methodological approaches, develop outlines and structures as well as strong thesis statements in order to focus your search for information, to tackle your subject and to specify your argument. Students will be expected to present and discuss their project in various stages of progression both in class as well as in individual monitoring sessions.
We will follow the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.

This colloquium is for all students who plan to write their BA thesis in Linguistics in the winter term. Together we will find a topic for you and go through all the steps towards your final thesis: search for literature in the library catalogue and linguistic databases, find or collect the data for the analysis, choose an appropriate methodology, and do the actual research. You will learn how to plan your time realistically and stick to the plan, how to structure your BA thesis, and you will write your thesis in less than one semester.

Recommended literature:
Cottrell, Stella. 2008/2013. The Study Skills Handbook. Palgrave Macmillan. 3rd or 4th ed.
Frank, Andrea & Stefanie Haacke & Swantje Lahm. 2013. Schlüsselkompetenzen: Schreiben in Studium und Beruf. 2. Auflage. Stuttgart: Metzler.
Rothstein, Björn. 2011. Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten für Linguisten. Tübingen: Narr.

This course is designed for Bachelor students planning to write a paper / BA-thesisin the field of cultural history. We will discuss theoretical and methodological approaches, develop outlines and structures as well as strong thesis statements in order to focus your search for information, to tackle your subject and to specify your argument. Students will be expected to present and discuss their project in various stages of progression both in class as well as in individual monitoring sessions.
We will follow the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.

This is course is a mixture between a lecture course and a regular class. Scholars and teachers both from FB 10 and from other universities will deliver lectures on various aspects of our general topic initiating a transdisciplinary discourse on "Gender - Culture - Feminism". In the sessions between the lectures we will discuss corresponding texts and resources to prepare ourselves for the diverse subject matters of the presentations and to critically reflect on their respective ideas and arguments.
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

This lecture series is open to the university public, to general studies (1CP), the M.A. E-SC SusStu Module (1CP), and three specific B.A. E-SC classes taught by Kerstin Knopf, Paula von Gleich and Corina Wieser-Cox.
The lecture series ties together ideas and knowledges in the new burgeoning field of Blue Humanities, now also established at FB 10, U Bremen. This new research field studies oceans, rivers, and coastal areas in terms of (colonial) histories and modernities, migration and travel, sustainability and ecological issues, circulation of people and ideas, marine and Indigenous knowledges, literature and cultures, new geographies, extractivism, energy and economic issues, among others.
For this lecture series we invite experts in this field who will give talks on postcolonial sea fiction, Arab Blue Humanities, refugee literature, environmental destruction, lack of water, digital Black Atlantic, legal status of rivers, marine anthropology and more.

This course is designed for Bachelor students planning to write a paper / BA-thesisin the field of cultural history. We will discuss theoretical and methodological approaches, develop outlines and structures as well as strong thesis statements in order to focus your search for information, to tackle your subject and to specify your argument. Students will be expected to present and discuss their project in various stages of progression both in class as well as in individual monitoring sessions.
We will follow the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.