Satirical takes on the hardships, ennui and folly accompanying the undertaking of travel have been specifically poignant in exposing the Western practice of modern expeditions. The goal of this seminar is to familiarise students with the expedition as a cultural formation, the connections between Euro-American travel and the book market, and the space for self-criticism provided by satire. We will analyse the forms and functions of humour and irony in travel writing from the eighteenth century in the context of Captain James Cook’s Pacific Voyages, to the Heroic Era of Polar Exploration around Captain Robert Falcon Scott, to more recent mountaineering and environmental expeditions. In order to compose a conceptual toolbox and prepare for a historically grounded analysis of satirical travel writing, we will start by comparing Monty Python’s 1970s sketch (which reimagines the national myth of “Scott of the Antarctic” into a “Scott of the Sahara”) with Ursula K. Le Guin’s short story “Sur” (1982) about a fictional female-led expedition to Antarctica. We will read and discuss one of the earliest satires of travel in the English language, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1726), again in dialogue with historical and theoretical contexts. In order to probe the affordances and limits of satire and its critique of the ‘topoi of exploration’, we will then compare and contrast our previous observations with two salient twentieth-century satires of travel: W.E. Bowman’s The Ascent of Rum Doodle (1956) and J.G. Ballard’s Rushing to Paradise (1994).

Please, buy and read:
- Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels (1726), ideally in a critical edition, e.g., The Essential Writing of Jonathan Swift, ed. Claude Rawson and Ian Higgins. London and New York: Norton, 2010.
- W.E. Bowman. The Ascent of Rum Doodle [1956]. Introd. by Bill Bryson. London: Vintage Books, 2010. ISBN: 978-0-09-953038-1
- J.G. Ballard. Rushing to Paradise [1994]. London and New York: Liveright, 2013. ISBN: 978-0-87140-337-7

Course description:
Even though the gothic originates in the eighteenth century, with Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto (1764) as the first text to call itself “A Gothic Story” in its subtitle, it is around the turn of the nineteenth century that the gothic suddenly gains in popularity, above all with a female readership. Even though it was criticised, looked down upon, and satirised for its sensationalism, the gothic remained an influential genre throughout the century and well until today. In the course of the nineteenth century, it significantly influenced the main Victorian genre, realism, and many realist novels, such as Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights and different novels by Charles Dickens contain gothic elements and scenes. Towards the mid-century, the gothic developed into a new genre, sensation fiction, but re-asserted itself in more clearly gothic form in the 1890s. It remains a profoundly influential mode in contemporary literature, film, and culture more generally.
In this seminar, we will explore the evolution of the gothic across the nineteenth century. We will focus on three central texts in order to tease out continuities and developments: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret (1862), and Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897). Together, we will consider several questions, such as whether there is a specific gothic/sensation aesthetics, why the gothic and sensation might have been so attractive for female readers and authors, why these modes were frowned upon, what role specific landscapes and environments play for the gothic and sensation fiction, and how ‘the other’ and the exotic feature in the gothic.

Reading: Please buy the following texts, which have been ordered by the university bookshop deinunibuch.
Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley’s Secret (1862)
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818)
Bram Stoker, Dracula (1897)
Preferred editions are Penguin Classics, Oxford World’s Classics, and Norton Critical Editions. In any case, please buy an edition that contains an introduction and explanatory notes. No digital editions, please. Copies have been ordered by the Universitätsbuchhandlung Bremen, on campus.

Important note on course preparation: As is normally the case with nineteenth-century literature, the texts are relatively long, so please plan enough time for reading. We will read the texts in this order: Shelley – Braddon – Stoker. This means that all students should have read Frankenstein by the time the course starts, though knowledge of all texts at this stage will, of course, be an advantage.

Edgar Allan Poe is considered the father of the American short story and modern detective story. In a review of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tales he outlined what we now take as his ‘theory’ of the short story. We will discuss this ‘theory’ as well as Joseph Urgo’s take on the American short story upon which we will base the readings of some of the finest examples of American short stories from the Romantic period to the present. They will include classics by Poe, Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Kate Chopin as well as stories by African American, Native American, Hispanic and Asian American authors.

Class requirements are regular attendance, in-depth knowledge of reading material, and active class discussion. Reading the texts is mandatory.

This course takes a closer look at the literary north of England as portrayed in contemporary women's writing. Northern England is often treated as an internal 'other' within English national consciousness and political history and subjected to stereotypes many of which are traceable to the region's industrial history, working-class and neglect during the Thatcher era. In this course, we will attempt to locate 'the North' geographically, conceptually and imaginatively by considering its representation in a range of literary works ranging from psychogeographical poetry to gothic fiction. Taking into account the complex histories and current political debates in the region, we will discuss literary representations of gender, sexuality, working-class culture and race, national identity and environmental politics and examine the role literary form and genre play in contemporary women writers' constructions of the North.

Please acquire a copy of the following books:
* Sarah Hall, The Wolf Border (2015)
* Sarah Moss, Ghost Wall (2018)
* Anita Sethi, I Belong Here (2022)

Shorter readings will be provided. Please be aware that this is a reading-intensive course.

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 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 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.

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) 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.

This class is for students who have already completed CBIS as it is the last preparation phase for the oral proficiency interview taken upon completetion of CBIS and C&C.
Students who have previously taken but not successfully passed the oral exam are also welcome to join.
The aim of the Culture and Communication class is to help you prepare for the final SP-Proficiency module oral exam taken when you have completed the SP-Proficiency module. This class will deal with two different areas from which you will be able to develop ONE research project as the basis for your oral exam.
You will be looking at defining moments which have greatly influenced events within the English-speaking world. Your task will be to investigate the processes which led to a particular event, define the event itself and explore the long-term and short-term consequences. A critical analytic approach be will necessary as you explore the causes and implications of the topic of your choice.
In addition, we will work on improving important aspects of grammar, pronunciation, intonation as well as developing the confidence and fluency needed to successfully pass the exam. Whereas CBIS was more about collaboration and teamwork, Culture and Communication allows you to build upon the research skills developed last semester as you move forward with your own project.

Satirical takes on the hardships, ennui and folly accompanying the undertaking of travel have been specifically poignant in exposing the Western practice of modern expeditions. The goal of this seminar is to familiarise students with the expedition as a cultural formation, the connections between Euro-American travel and the book market, and the space for self-criticism provided by satire. We will analyse the forms and functions of humour and irony in travel writing from the eighteenth century in the context of Captain James Cook’s Pacific Voyages, to the Heroic Era of Polar Exploration around Captain Robert Falcon Scott, to more recent mountaineering and environmental expeditions. In order to compose a conceptual toolbox and prepare for a historically grounded analysis of satirical travel writing, we will start by comparing Monty Python’s 1970s sketch (which reimagines the national myth of “Scott of the Antarctic” into a “Scott of the Sahara”) with Ursula K. Le Guin’s short story “Sur” (1982) about a fictional female-led expedition to Antarctica. We will read and discuss one of the earliest satires of travel in the English language, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1726), again in dialogue with historical and theoretical contexts. In order to probe the affordances and limits of satire and its critique of the ‘topoi of exploration’, we will then compare and contrast our previous observations with two salient twentieth-century satires of travel: W.E. Bowman’s The Ascent of Rum Doodle (1956) and J.G. Ballard’s Rushing to Paradise (1994).

Please, buy and read:
- Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels (1726), ideally in a critical edition, e.g., The Essential Writing of Jonathan Swift, ed. Claude Rawson and Ian Higgins. London and New York: Norton, 2010.
- W.E. Bowman. The Ascent of Rum Doodle [1956]. Introd. by Bill Bryson. London: Vintage Books, 2010. ISBN: 978-0-09-953038-1
- J.G. Ballard. Rushing to Paradise [1994]. London and New York: Liveright, 2013. ISBN: 978-0-87140-337-7

Course description:
Even though the gothic originates in the eighteenth century, with Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto (1764) as the first text to call itself “A Gothic Story” in its subtitle, it is around the turn of the nineteenth century that the gothic suddenly gains in popularity, above all with a female readership. Even though it was criticised, looked down upon, and satirised for its sensationalism, the gothic remained an influential genre throughout the century and well until today. In the course of the nineteenth century, it significantly influenced the main Victorian genre, realism, and many realist novels, such as Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights and different novels by Charles Dickens contain gothic elements and scenes. Towards the mid-century, the gothic developed into a new genre, sensation fiction, but re-asserted itself in more clearly gothic form in the 1890s. It remains a profoundly influential mode in contemporary literature, film, and culture more generally.
In this seminar, we will explore the evolution of the gothic across the nineteenth century. We will focus on three central texts in order to tease out continuities and developments: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret (1862), and Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897). Together, we will consider several questions, such as whether there is a specific gothic/sensation aesthetics, why the gothic and sensation might have been so attractive for female readers and authors, why these modes were frowned upon, what role specific landscapes and environments play for the gothic and sensation fiction, and how ‘the other’ and the exotic feature in the gothic.

Reading: Please buy the following texts, which have been ordered by the university bookshop deinunibuch.
Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley’s Secret (1862)
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818)
Bram Stoker, Dracula (1897)
Preferred editions are Penguin Classics, Oxford World’s Classics, and Norton Critical Editions. In any case, please buy an edition that contains an introduction and explanatory notes. No digital editions, please. Copies have been ordered by the Universitätsbuchhandlung Bremen, on campus.

Important note on course preparation: As is normally the case with nineteenth-century literature, the texts are relatively long, so please plan enough time for reading. We will read the texts in this order: Shelley – Braddon – Stoker. This means that all students should have read Frankenstein by the time the course starts, though knowledge of all texts at this stage will, of course, be an advantage.

Edgar Allan Poe is considered the father of the American short story and modern detective story. In a review of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tales he outlined what we now take as his ‘theory’ of the short story. We will discuss this ‘theory’ as well as Joseph Urgo’s take on the American short story upon which we will base the readings of some of the finest examples of American short stories from the Romantic period to the present. They will include classics by Poe, Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Kate Chopin as well as stories by African American, Native American, Hispanic and Asian American authors.

Class requirements are regular attendance, in-depth knowledge of reading material, and active class discussion. Reading the texts is mandatory.

This course takes a closer look at the literary north of England as portrayed in contemporary women's writing. Northern England is often treated as an internal 'other' within English national consciousness and political history and subjected to stereotypes many of which are traceable to the region's industrial history, working-class and neglect during the Thatcher era. In this course, we will attempt to locate 'the North' geographically, conceptually and imaginatively by considering its representation in a range of literary works ranging from psychogeographical poetry to gothic fiction. Taking into account the complex histories and current political debates in the region, we will discuss literary representations of gender, sexuality, working-class culture and race, national identity and environmental politics and examine the role literary form and genre play in contemporary women writers' constructions of the North.

Please acquire a copy of the following books:
* Sarah Hall, The Wolf Border (2015)
* Sarah Moss, Ghost Wall (2018)
* Anita Sethi, I Belong Here (2022)

Shorter readings will be provided. Please be aware that this is a reading-intensive course.

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 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 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.

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) 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.

This class is for students who have already completed CBIS as it is the last preparation phase for the oral proficiency interview taken upon completetion of CBIS and C&C.
Students who have previously taken but not successfully passed the oral exam are also welcome to join.
The aim of the Culture and Communication class is to help you prepare for the final SP-Proficiency module oral exam taken when you have completed the SP-Proficiency module. This class will deal with two different areas from which you will be able to develop ONE research project as the basis for your oral exam.
You will be looking at defining moments which have greatly influenced events within the English-speaking world. Your task will be to investigate the processes which led to a particular event, define the event itself and explore the long-term and short-term consequences. A critical analytic approach be will necessary as you explore the causes and implications of the topic of your choice.
In addition, we will work on improving important aspects of grammar, pronunciation, intonation as well as developing the confidence and fluency needed to successfully pass the exam. Whereas CBIS was more about collaboration and teamwork, Culture and Communication allows you to build upon the research skills developed last semester as you move forward with your own project.