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Comic Perspectives on German History in Literature and Film

Module description

The module examines the comic treatment of selected periods and topics of nineteenth- and twentieth-century German history in literature and film. It will focus on the critique of post-Enlightenment Absolutism at the beginning of the nineteenth century, women in the Weimar Republic, the Jewish experience of National Socialism, and the divided post-war Germany. We will identify which aspects of these periods and topics are treated comically, analyse the point of view from which they are being treated comically and infer any implied positive norm by examining the specific kinds of comic genre conventions used at different times.

Module aims - intentions of the module

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate a sound general understanding of the chosen texts/films/theme, including reference to their place in the historical/literary/cultural context of their time

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 2. With some guidance from the course tutor, evaluate and apply a range of critical approaches to the material covered
• 3. Mount a detailed argument in the appropriate register of English, mustering a range of textual or other evidence in its support
• 4. Understand and use, in written and oral contexts, a range of literary- and film-critical terms
• 5. Access and use critically printed and, where appropriate, electronic learning resources identified as useful by the course tutor, and, to a limited extent, discover other useful materials independently
• 6. Analyse selected TL texts/films, relating them to significant elements in their cultural/historical/generic context

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Undertake defined learning activities with a measure of autonomy, asking for guidance where necessary.
• 8. Adopt a critical approach to the selection and organisation of material in order to produce, to a deadline, a written or oral argument
• 9. Present a cogent and sustained argument orally/in writing, in English/in the TL, on a topic chosen from a range of options provided, following broad guidelines but selecting and adapting them as required
• 10. Using course material provided, research, plan and write an essay on a chosen aspect of the subject, to a specified length and deadline
• 11. Demonstrate general competence in word-processing and in use of the Internet

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics for discussion:

• Introduction to the comic in relation to political position, and to comic strategies in literature and film.
• Hoffmann’s Klein Zaches: The comic reigns of Fürst Paphnutius and Fürst Barsanuph and the German political situation around 1800.
• Hoffmann’s Klein Zaches: The ridiculing of post-Enlightenment academia and science.
• Irmgard Keun: Das kunstseidene Mädchen: A comic perspective on mass unemployment and poor jobs in Weimar Germany.
• Irmgard Keun: Das kunstseidene Mädchen: Victim or perpetrator? The protagonist and her political convictions and cultural values.
• Jurek Becker: Jakob der Lügner: The comic treatment of Jewish stereotypes.
• Jurek Becker: Jakob der Lügner: Nazi Germany’s comic exposure.
• Peter Timm: Meier: Comic party officials and nice people.
• Peter Timm: Meier: Subversion or confirmation of the status quo?

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• E.T.A. Hoffmann, Klein Zaches genannt Zinnober (Stuttgart: Reclam UB 306)
• Irmgard Keun, Das kunstseidene Mädchen. Textausgabe mit Materialien (Stuttgart: Klett Schulbuch, 1981)
• Jurek Becker, Jakob der Lügner (Frankfurt/Main: Suhrkamp, 1999)

Film:

• Peter Timm, Meier (FRG, 1986)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=2323

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

• Frevert, Ute, Women in German History. From Bourgeois Emancipation to Sexual Liberation (Oxford: Berg, 1990). 301.4120943 FRE
• Fulbrook, Mary, A Concise History of Germany (Cambridge: CUP, 1990). 943 FUL
• Fulbrook, Mary, Anatomy of a Dictatorship. Inside the GDR 1949-1989 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995). 943.1087 FUL
• Hampson, Norman, The Enlightenment (London: Penguin, 1990).
• Monaco, James, How to Read a Film (New York: OUP, 1977). (Also: revised and expanded ed. 1997) 791.43 MON
• Olson, Elder, The Theory of Comedy (London, Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1968). 809.252 OLS

Key words search

History, comic, literature, film