WiSe 18/19: PS-Introduction to Cultural Studies II
Lea von der Linde
Comments
The Old English epic Beowulf is, superficially speaking, a story about heroes, monsters, and cultures long gone, and yet continues to be remarkably productive and relevant even in the twenty-first century since it raises lasting questions that reach far beyond the boundaries of its genre and presumed cultural context. In this course, we will review a variety of these questions and look at how they have been addressed throughout the history of the poem’s critical reception, examining shifting focuses and changes in approaches to the text. We will take a transmedia approach, covering discourses ranging from the first transcriptions of the manuscript, to translations into Modern English, to contemporary adaptations of the poem in varying contexts, genres, and media such as novels and films.
The course aims at furthering the students’ understanding of the issues connected to reading a text, especially one that is as old and culturally remote as Beowulf, and of how literary interpretations perform to shape the text itself.
Students attending this course are expected to have read Beowulf in translation before the beginning of the semester, preferably the prose translation by E. Talbot Donaldson (Donaldson, E. Talbot, trans. Beowulf: A Prose Translation. Backgrounds and Context s, Criticism. Ed. Nicholas Howe. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 2002). Additional readings and materials will be announced during the course of the semester.
close14 Class schedule
Additional appointments
Sat, 2019-01-12 10:00 - 13:00Regular appointments