Teaching method: We will meet in weekly online sessions, but students will also have access to weekly study units and worksheets. 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.
Course description: 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.

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, 2020).
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 online attendance and informed participation in class discussion (not part of your formal assessment);
• in-depth knowledge of the selected reading material,
• homework assignments,
• research-based term paper.
The requirements as formulated above may vary depending on your overall degree program.

This class will be completely taught online and is open to MA students from the E-SC Master Program at U Bremen, as well as students who participate in exchange programs. All reading and information material (except the two novels) will be made available through the U Bremen teaching and learning platform Stud.IP; hence prior enrollment via Stud.IP is mandatory.

The class will focus on Canadian literature and introduce students to the topics of solidarity and migration; it is part of the theme semester “Solidarity”, organized by the Department of Anthropology and Cultural Research (FB 9). After discussing the concepts of ‘solidarity’ and ‘migration’ based on theoretical readings, we will look at how these are contextualized in Canadian prose, mainly shorter texts and two novels by an African Canadian and immigrant Canadian writer: Lawrence Hill’s The Illegal and Sharon Bala’s The Boat People.
Class requirements are regular attendance, in-depth knowledge of reading material, and active class discussion. Reading the primary and secondary texts is mandatory. Students are required to purchase and read Lawrence Hill’s The Illegal and Sharon Bala’s The Boat People. Ten copies of each are available at the university bookstore for 15€ (Hill) and 16€ (Bala) at the beginning of October. You can also order them via amazon.de, amazon.com and amazon.marketplace (check delivery times).

The aim of this course is to introduce students to Shakespeare's only domestic tragedy. Set in Venice as well as Cyprus, Othello has become a key text in the debate about racism in early modern Europe. Since the play dramatises the social anxieties aroused by a black outsider taking centre stage, our analysis will include a discussion of the extent to which Shakespeare drew upon, contributed to, or modified notions of otherness dominating in his own day.
As of today, the seminar has to be organised as an asynchronous digital course. As far as requirements are concerned, the course will differentiate between assignments which in the absence of real meetings have to be completed by every participant and a specific task that directly corresponds with the respective module of your study programme. The design of the portfolio that you will have to hand in by March 15, 2021, will also make a difference between the work of students who need a grade (PL) and those who want to get a pass (SL). Portfolio is here generally understood as a collection of course work consisting of five short on-topic reviews, i.e. one for each act of the tragedy (obligatory for SL and PL), and one additional essay (obligatory for PL) when a grade is needed.

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

text:
Shakespeare, William. Othello. The Arden Shakespeare. London. Thomson Learning, 2004.

Dracula Goes Global. Vampire Narratives in Spanish, Mexican, Anglophone, and Chinese Film
Bram Stoker's Count Dracula is by no means the first, but surely one of the most famous vampires in the history of literature and, later, film history. The eerie aristocrat with his insatiable thirst for blood, especially the blood of young, innocent ladies, was taken up and analyzed early in academic research: e.g. as a metaphor for the suppressed sexuality of the Victorian bourgeoisie, as a figure of alterity symbolizing the fear of possible Eastern European invaders, or as a symbol of the suppression or 'sucking out' of the worker.
In the seminar, we will first look at Stoker's gothic horror novel and then deal with international film adaptations. Dracula's first appearance on screen in G. W. Murnau's Nosferatu (1922) is as much a part of the portfolio as Tod Browning's no less famous film adaptation with Bela Lugosi as the main character, who achieved international fame in 1931 through his embodiment of the Count, and Francis Ford Coppola's multiple award-winning gothic horror film Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). Less well known to the general public, however, is the Spanish version of Dracula, made parallel to Browning's 1931 adaptation of the novel, or the Mexican El vampiro of 1957, in which a woman actively finishes the vampire off in the end, or the Chinese 'answer' to Dracula, the Mr. Vampire horror series from the 1980s, in which we are dealing with Chinese jiangshi – hopping vampires.
We will first devote ourselves to the novel and then to the films, which will be analyzed regarding film aesthetics as well as theories from the fields of literary, cultural, and media studies. To this effect, we will try to find out what function the Dracula or vampire myth takes on in the respective historical, political, and social context and what conclusions can be drawn about contemporary socio-symbolic configurations.

Requirements:
The novel must be read in full by all participants by the beginning of the semester. Reading the novel is part of the course work (Studienleistung).
In addition, the course work consists of various smaller reading assignments (research articles, texts concerning historical contexts, handouts), the processing of guiding questions about the respective films, and a written assignment (approx. 6 pages) in which one of the films is analyzed using theories and secondary literature. The thesis paper serves as a basis for discussion in the respective session. The seminar concludes with a term paper (Prüfungsleistung).

Lehrveranstaltungskategorie C = Online-Modus

This course only takes place online; it is in synch with the scheduled times.

This course is all about films, and thus, it is for film lovers. But we will not just "sit around and watch films" (Sorry!). "Analysing Films" is rather about film language. Not only will we look at the language of films (sound, cinematography, editing etc.), but we will also look at the language used to talk/write about films.

The goal of this course is to learn to talk and write about films in a knowledgable, professional and academic way. In order to do so, we discuss selected films as a basis to write film-related texts (review, analysis etc.). And maybe we might have to sit around and watch a film or two...

In this workshop we will explore and experiment with contemporary methods of improvisational theater, which is the art of making up theatrical moments on the spot, without a script. It is one of the liveliest and most current forms of theater of today and ingrained in US popular culture. You will first learn the basic principles of improvisational theater and then apply them to improvised scenework. In the intensive part in the lecture-free period, we will choose one or two forms that we will develop and rehearse in order to perform in front of an audience. We will also reflect on the impact of improvisational theater on popular culture and explore its practical approaches to comedic as well as dramatic narrative structures.

There will be a regular meeting on Monday 4 - 6.15pm during the semester, in which we will cover the basics of improvisational theater, followed by an intensive in the lecture-free period from March 1 to March 12, in which we will work on a specific form and prepare for a performance. If you only want to participate in the intensive you need to have some experience, either from this or a previous semester. Depending on the situation we will have performances March 12 - 14. There is no obligation to be part of the performances. You can also support the performances by helping with the organization.

Teaching method: We will meet in weekly online sessions, but students will also have access to weekly study units and worksheets. 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.
Course description: 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.

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, 2020).
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 online attendance and informed participation in class discussion (not part of your formal assessment);
• in-depth knowledge of the selected reading material,
• homework assignments,
• research-based term paper.
The requirements as formulated above may vary depending on your overall degree program.

This class will be completely taught online and is open to MA students from the E-SC Master Program at U Bremen, as well as students who participate in exchange programs. All reading and information material (except the two novels) will be made available through the U Bremen teaching and learning platform Stud.IP; hence prior enrollment via Stud.IP is mandatory.

The class will focus on Canadian literature and introduce students to the topics of solidarity and migration; it is part of the theme semester “Solidarity”, organized by the Department of Anthropology and Cultural Research (FB 9). After discussing the concepts of ‘solidarity’ and ‘migration’ based on theoretical readings, we will look at how these are contextualized in Canadian prose, mainly shorter texts and two novels by an African Canadian and immigrant Canadian writer: Lawrence Hill’s The Illegal and Sharon Bala’s The Boat People.
Class requirements are regular attendance, in-depth knowledge of reading material, and active class discussion. Reading the primary and secondary texts is mandatory. Students are required to purchase and read Lawrence Hill’s The Illegal and Sharon Bala’s The Boat People. Ten copies of each are available at the university bookstore for 15€ (Hill) and 16€ (Bala) at the beginning of October. You can also order them via amazon.de, amazon.com and amazon.marketplace (check delivery times).