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Root number
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519311 |
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Semester
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HS2026 |
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Type of course
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Seminar |
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Allocation to subject
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English Languages and Literatures |
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Type of exam
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not defined |
| Title |
Literature and Fundamentalism (BA FM Seminar Literature and Religion and BA FS Seminar Literature) |
| Description |
Contesting Samuel P. Huntington’s notorious claim that our days are determined by the “clash of civilizations” (1996), Tariq Ali suggested that instead we may be living in a time of the “clash of fundamentalisms” (2002). Recent global developments have brought fundamentalist world views once again to the fore. Discourse on this variegated phenomenon is, however, fraught with misconceptions and generalizations which generate fear and intolerance and which tend to deepen the rift not only between those considered to be fundamentalists and those who are not but continues to polarize other groups which are ‘tainted’ by association. Not surprisingly therefore, fundamentalism has become the focus of much scholarly attention. Yet, although a phenomenon commonly recognized to be centered on texts, the multi-faceted and at times paradoxical relationship of fundamentalism with literature remains as yet largely unexplored.
Against the background of the all-pervading topicality of fundamentalism, brutally insisted on, inter alia, by the havoc wrought by the destruction of the World Trade Center (2001) and other terrorist attacks as well as recent military campaigns and apocalyptic scenarios, but also less dramatically, for instance, by the opening of the Creation Museum in Kentucky (2007), this course aims to further our understanding of a highly present but ill-defined phenomenon by identifying and analyzing some of the recurrent mechanisms which determine the interrelation of fundamentalism and literature.
Content warning: Some of the texts on the reading list may offend religious sensibilities.
Required Reading: The seminar is organized in thematic blocks; all texts within a thematic block must be prepared in advance of the first session of the respective block (see schedule on ILIAS).
• The Book of Revelation (Bible)
• Joseph Birkbeck Burroughs, Titan, Son of Saturn (1905; PDF)
• Flannery O’Connor, The Violent Bear it Away (1955/1960)
• Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, Left Behind (1995)
• Tova Reich, The Jewish War (1995)
• Mohsin Hamid, The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007)
• Pearl Abraham, American Taliban (2010) |
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ILIAS-Link (Learning resource for course)
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Registrations are transmitted from CTS to ILIAS (no admission in ILIAS possible).
ILIAS
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Link to another web site
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| Lecturers |
Prof. Dr.
Axel Stähler, Institute of English Languages and Literatures ✉
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ECTS
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4 |
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Recognition as optional course possible
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No |
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Grading
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passed/failed |
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| Dates |
Wednesday 16:15-18:00 Weekly
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Rooms
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| Students please consult the detailed view for complete information on dates, rooms and planned podcasts. |
User:
Öffentlicher Bereich
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