Search result: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2017
GESS Science in Perspective ![]() Only the topics listed in this paragraph can be chosen as GESS Science in Perspective. Further below you will find the "type B courses Reflections about subject specific methods and content" as well as the language courses. 6 ECTS need to be acquired during the BA and 2 ECTS during the MA Students who already took a course within their main study program are NOT allowed to take the course again. | ||||||
![]() Suitable for all students Students who already took a course within their main study program are NOT allowed to take the course again. | ||||||
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Number | Title | Type | ECTS | Hours | Lecturers | |
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851-0301-10L | Title: What does the "Beautiful" mean? Elements and History of a Theory of the Beautiful | W | 3 credits | 2S | A. Kilcher | |
Abstract | The meaning of the "beautiful" seems hard to pin down. Yet intersubjective and objective criteria of the beautiful nevertheless exist. The foundation of aesthetics as a "science" of the beautiful based on sensuous experience temporarily suspended this tension. Since modernity, the question of the beautiful has been ever more open. We shall approach this question theoretically and historically. | |||||
Learning objective | The meaning of the "beautiful" seems hard to define. At first glance, it rather constitutes a merely subjective sensation. Yet, on the other hand, intersubjective, collective and cultural ideas, or even objective criteria of the beautiful exist. Since antiquity, this irresolvable tension has characterized the discourse on the beautiful in the realms of art and philosophy. With the foundation of "aesthetics" in the 18th century, however, this debate was significantly altered. This new "science" aimed at a scientific investigation of the beautiful by situating sensuous impression above logic. While art had been hitherto understood as a learnable technique, it now appears as a sensuous and therefore subjective realization. The rejection of this optimism marks the turn to modernity that defined itself through a notion of art transcending the beautiful. Ever since, the question as to the meaning of the beautiful has been continuously open for debate. In the course of this seminar, we shall approach this question from a historical as well as theoretical perspective. Texts: A reader will be supplied. | |||||
851-0301-11L | The Unconditionality of Knowledge. Faust-Literature | W | 3 credits | 2V | A. Kilcher | |
Abstract | His unconditional desire for knowledge made "Faust" the symbolic figure of the modern period. Since the Renaissance, a rich Faust-literature, ranging from Marlowe, Goethe, and up to Thomas Mann, has portrayed the highly conflictual emancipation of knowledge from theology as well as the self-assertion of a modern knowledge of nature and the human being. | |||||
Learning objective | Learning objectives: Faust is one of the most dazzling figures in European literature and cultural history. A pact with the devil, magic, sexual desire, power and knowledge, these are the great taboos of the medieval world, which, in 1500, the graduated theologian set out to dismantle. Through this demonstrative gesture of hubris, he became the much-disputed hero of the modern period. Since the "Historia von Johann Fausten" (1587), the wide range of Faust-literature also depicts the highly conflictual emancipation from theological knowledge in favor of an unconditional knowledge of nature and the human being that hides itself behind disciplines such as medicine, astrology and magic. Faust was thereby not only transformed into the epitome of the fortuneteller, he also became the cipher for the risky undertaking of modern knowledge as such, to which he then spectacularly fell victim in an experiment. Consequently, the course's treatment of this subject matter in the literature since the early modern period will center on the question of knowledge as it is negotiated through the Faust-figure. Initially, we shall take a look at examples from the early modern period (apart from the Faust-book from 1587, among others the drama version by Christopher Marlowe, 1589). Then we shall move on to new editions around 1800, which highlight the modernity of this norm-transcending and boundary-breaking knowledge paradigm (among others Goethe's Faust). Finally, we shall discuss Faust-figures of the 20th century, such as Friedrich Murnau's Faust movie (1926), Thomas Mann's novel, "Doktor Faustus", written in exile in 1947, or Klaus Mann's "Mephisto" (1936). | |||||
851-0301-12L | The "New Man" in Culture, Politics and Science | W | 3 credits | 2V | H.‑J. Hahn | |
Abstract | Since Christian Antiquity the figure of the "New Man" concentrates ambivalent knowledge of human beings and their ability to transform. The lecture focuses on contemporary manifestations of the "New Man" which can be found in culture and popular culture, in politics as well as in human and social sciences. | |||||
Learning objective | The lecture offers a critical survey of the figure of the "New Man" since Christian Antiquity until today. At the same time the lecture stimulates the theoretical analytical understanding while examining the heterogeneous functions for which this prominent figure of human transformability has been (and still is) required within culture, politics and science. Additionally analyses of cultural representations of the "New Man" also convey the importance of aesthetical aspects. | |||||
Content | Spätestens seit der Antike tritt eine Figur in vielfältigen Erscheinungsformen und historischen Augenblicken auf, die Verwandlung und Verbesserung verspricht: die Vorstellung vom Neuen Menschen. Mit ihr verbunden ist zugleich die Aussicht auf eine bessere Welt. Die Formel vom Neuen Menschen besitzt ein eigenes Narrativ, d.h. sie bildet den Kern historisch wandelbarer, sinngebender Erzählungen. Sie gehört zum Judentum ebenso wie zum paulinischen Christentum, zum Pietismus oder zu den politischen und ästhetischen Avantgarden des 20. Jahrhunderts. Offenbar hat der Neue Mensch sein utopisches Potential in den totalitären Bewegungen des 20. Jahrhunderts noch keineswegs erschöpft. So treibt die Frage nach der Perfektibilität des Menschen die Öffentlichkeit weiterhin um, wie sich an den Debatten um künstliche Intelligenz oder die Reproduktionsmedizin und deren bisweilen antimoderne Zurückweisung (etwa in Sybille Lewitscharoffs Dresdner Rede) ablesen lässt. Dabei artikulieren sich einerseits Ängste vor technischen Entwicklungen und den jeweils neuen Unübersichtlichkeiten unserer sozialen Lebenswelten. Ironisch schrieb Thomas Assheuer kürzlich in der "Zeit" (15.12.2016), dass in den Digitalmanufakturen des Silicon Valley und den Biotech-Laboren der Welt "an der Überwindung des fehlerhaften Altmenschen" gearbeitet werde. Dort scheint die Sehnsucht nach neuen Möglichkeiten und Intensitäten des Menschseins ebenso greifbar, wie sie in den utopischen Reichen der Produktwerbung oder der Esoterik immer aufs Neue in Erscheinung tritt. Schließlich eignet dem Topos vom Neuen Menschen eine universale Dimension, die in einem auch von Thomas Anz angeführten Satz des Expressionisten Ernst Toller steckt: "Wer keine Kraft zum Traum hat, hat keine Kraft zum Leben." An Gottfried Küenzlens einschlägige Studie zum Neuen Menschen in der säkularen Religionsgeschichte der Moderne anknüpfend, schlägt die Vorlesung auf der erzähltheoretischen Grundlage von Albrecht Koschorkes "Grundzügen einer Allgemeinen Erzähltheorie" einen Bogen von der antiken Figur zu unserer Gegenwart und versucht zwischen verschiedenen Disziplinen den Diskurs zu erfassen, in dem sich der Neue Mensch gebildet hat. Im Zentrum stehen vor allem gegenwärtige Auseinandersetzungen mit dem Neuen Menschen, die sich in den Human- und Gesellschaftswissenschaften (Hondrich, Sloterdijk u.a.), den Medien, in Ausstellungen, in der Populärkultur sowie auch in belletristischen Veröffentlichungen finden. | |||||
Literature | Gottfried Küenzlen: Der Neue Mensch. Eine Untersuchung zur säkularen Religionsgeschichte der Moderne. Frankfurt a. M. 1997 Further literature will be provided in form of digitalised texts (pdf). | |||||
Prerequisites / Notice | Apart from regular participation in the course there are no special requirements. | |||||
851-0129-00L | Writing for Others - Science and Public ![]() | W | 2 credits | 2V | U. J. Wenzel | |
Abstract | Learning to write texts, that can present topics from the sciences to an interested public (in newspapers, non-specialist journals but also in papers for non-specialists in an academic context); to gain insights into the cultural, historical and philosophical contexts of science and the public. | |||||
Learning objective | Learning to write texts, that can present topics from the sciences to an interested public (in newspapers, non-specialist journals but also in papers for non-specialists in an academic context); to gain insights into the cultural, historical and philosophical contexts of science and the public. | |||||
Content | Practical exercises in writing articles for the feature pages of newspapers will be combined with the theoretical work on topics relevant for the historical, sociological and philosophical aspects of writing for others. | |||||
Prerequisites / Notice | Voraussetzungen: Die Bereitschaft, sich auf ein Projekt mit experimentellem Charakter einzulassen. GUTE BEHERRSCHUNG DER DEUTSCHEN SPRACHE. Die Teilnehmerzahl ist begrenzt. SCHRIFTLICHE ANMELDUNG erforderlich (bis 31. August): uwe.justus.wenzel@nzz.ch | |||||
851-0315-01L | Writing: Precision of Language as a Field of Research for Literature ![]() | W | 1 credit | 1G | F. Kretzen | |
Abstract | When we write a literary text we enter into a set-up for experiments and explore the possibilities ensuing from the specific structure and consistency of such a text. Literary writing allows us to go over to another kind of knowledge. Thus, the question: what is it that I want to write about? is replaced by: what do I write? | |||||
Learning objective | In this course we shall analyze and apply conditions and criteria for literary writing on the basis of our own texts. The course is intended for persons who are interested in literary approaches to exactitude. Any attempt to write literature is confronted with an unforeseeable linguistic dynamism whose feasibility is determined by laws and rules quite different from those of science and technology. For the science-oriented writer, experiencing the self-evidence produced by literary approaches in his or her own writing project opens up a field of language with new content and new methods. | |||||
Content | In the natural sciences as well as in engineering we set up experiments, analyze equation systems, and formulate theories. In order to complement these practices, the course «Writing» shall pursue precision in literary writing, its choice of word and its self-evidence. When we write a literary text we also enter into a set-up for experiments and explore the possibilities ensuing from the specific structure and overall consistency of such a text. This form of writing takes us from the question: what is it that I want to write about? to the question: what do I write? How do such literary approaches differ from the ways in which the natural sciences use language? In this course we shall analyze and apply conditions and criteria for literary writing on the basis of our own texts. The course is intended for persons who are interested in literary approaches to exactitude. Any attempt to write literature is confronted with an unforeseeable linguistic dynamism whose feasibility is determined by laws and rules quite different from those of science and technology. For the science-oriented writer, experiencing the self-evidence produced by literary approaches in his or her own writing project opens up a field of language with new content and new methods. | |||||
Prerequisites / Notice | Those wishing to participate are required to send in between two and three pages text of their own writing that will be discussed in class. The next step will be writing a text on a preset topic as a basis for discussing the various realizations of a given task. | |||||
851-0365-01L | Introduction to English Literature: Science and Fiction Part I | W | 2 credits | 2S | A. Brand-Kilcher | |
Abstract | "Plot is to the novelist what experiment is to the scientist." (Lionel Trilling) We will read Emile Zola's essay "The Experimental Novel" and other texts to look on the one hand at the scientific aspect to fiction and fiction writing and on the other hand at the narrative and fictional aspects to science. | |||||
Learning objective | Compare and find out about differences and similarities between natural sciences and fiction/ fiction writing. Maybe become aware that "to conclude that what happens in the laboratory is what happens in the universe requires a leap of the imagination." (Trilling) | |||||
Content | We will look at a number of essays and texts on that subject. We will also read Zadie Smith's highly entertaining novel "White Teeth" which has a very elaborate not to say artificial plot. One line of the story is about the geneticist Marcus Chalfen and the "Future Mouse" he designed. | |||||
Literature | Recommended Reading: Zadie Smith: White Teeth; Emile Zola: The Experimental Novel | |||||
851-0334-04L | Politics and Sciences in Israel | W | 2 credits | 1S | N. Zadoff | |
Abstract | One of the central aspects of the Zionist project was to explore and understand the Land of Israel and Jewish nationalism with contemporary scientific tools. The aim of this seminar is to examine different Zionist ideologies - before and after the establishment of the State of Israel - through the prism of academic disciplines such as Sociology, History, Botany, Archeology and Religious Studies. | |||||
Learning objective | 1. To increase knowledge on the Zionist Movement, and the role of science and humanities in nation building process in general. 2. To provide a deeper and more differenciated view on the political role of the academic world and the role of intellectuals in society. 3. Improve the ability to read texts and analyze them in their historical context. | |||||
851-0334-05L | Semiotics, Literature, and Sociopolitical Discourse | W | 3 credits | 2V | D. Bertrand | |
Abstract | The course will concern three major aspects. The first concerns the insights of semiotics with regard to current political and media discourses, and through the lens of the literary imaginary. The second aspect deepens the recent semiotic evolutions concerning the expression of sensation, and the third one concerns the specifically literary question of genre theory. | |||||
Learning objective | After an introductory session concerning the emergence, the history, the method, and the objectives of semiotics, illustrated through small examples, the course will address three major aspects. The first, "Literature and society in the eyes of the semiotician", concerns the insights of semiotics with regard to current political and media discourses, and through the lens of the literary imaginary. The second aspect deepens the recent semiotic developments concerning the "expression of sensation" by combining the benefits of phenomenology with textual analysis. We will then use the semiotic approach to understand scientific and fictional literature (e.g. Zola and his "experimental novel"). Finally, we will focus on the more specifically literary question of "genre theory", and analyze the novel via one of its specific dimensions, namely the meta-novel inside of the novel (from Cervantes to Perec). Our last object of study will be the "Faux monnayeurs" from André Gide. | |||||
851-0334-06L | SHIPWRECKED HEARTS. Two Centuries of Expatriate in The Italian Literature and Culture | W | 3 credits | 2V | M. G. Mazzucco | |
Abstract | The course explores the history of migration from and within Italy over two centuries. Through the study of images (paintings, pictures, movies) and texts (short stories, poems, letters, diaries, reports), we will retrace the mass expatriation that contributed to the formation of the national character by founding it, first, on the need of escape and, second, on the fear of the escape of others. | |||||
Learning objective | We will compare the aspects characterizing the imaginary of migration across the literature of almost two centuries (journey, disorientation in a foreign country, homesickness, aphasia, loss of identity). We will also discuss the aspects brought up by contemporary authors (dry roots, liquid identity, never-ending displacement), thus aiming at a better understanding of a continuously changing world. |
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