Intendierte Lernergebnisse
Students will gain an understanding of the characteristics and evolution of the genre of the robinsonade and of a founding text of the history of the English novel, Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. They will practice interpretation skills, working with a selection of texts from different media, including prose fiction, poetry, film; they will advance their competence in interpreting texts within their specific socio-cultural and historical contexts. The class is also designed to enable them to identify and apply concepts and terminology from postcolonial and gender studies, as well as adaptation theory.
Lehrmethodik
in-class exploration of theoretical and primary texts, close textual analysis short lecture inputs guided readingoral presentations, student-led tasks
Inhalt/e
Arguably the first English novel in history, Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719) has acquired mythological status over the last three centuries and has seen countless adaptations in prose fiction and other media and art forms. Why does the story of a single man stranded on a supposedly deserted island continue to capture our imagination? What motivates and shapes rewritings and the genre of the robinsonade – which also thrives beyond the realist novel in speculative stories about adventures in space? In what way do these stories perpetuate notions of adventure, race, colonialism, and masculinity? What if a female castaway landed on Crusoe's island and told us her story, or a group of teen-aged boys? We will approach these questions and the texts from the critical perspectives offered by postcolonial and gender studies and also look at concepts from adaptation theory. Readings include the following novels: Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, William Golding’s Lord of the Flies (1954), Yann Martel’s Life of Pi (2001), J.M. Coetzee’s Foe (1986), as well as some examples from poetry (Elizabeth Bishop, “Crusoe in England”) and film (Cast Away, dir. R. Zemeckis, 2000).
Literatur
Required texts (Please purchase!)Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (Oxford World's Classics recommended)William Golding, Lord of the Flies (any edition)J.M. Coetzee, Foe (any edition)Yann Martel. Life of Pi (any edition)All other materials will be made available by the instructor on Moodle.