WiSe 19/20: HS-Constr.Difference:Liter.+Cult.Hist.: Reading the (Man) Booker Prize
Sabine Schülting
Kommentar
The Booker Prize is the most important literary prize awarded in the UK. We will explore the cultural politics of literary prizes in general and the history and more recent development of the Booker Prize in particular. This will include an assessment of both the lasting legacy of the British Empire and the changes through postcolonialism and today’s global book market. Our readings will include the novel that has become the most prominent of all winners: Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children (1981), which won the Booker Prize in 1981, the Booker of Bookers in 1993 and the Best of Booker Prize in 2008. In addition, we will read the novels that won the prize in the last five years. We will discuss the novels in their respective cultural and literary contexts but also consider the media coverage, the judging process as well as the criteria for awarding the prize. Our seminar will begin with a discussion of this year’s Booker Prize winner, who will be announced on the first day of the semester (14 October).
Texts: Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s Children (1981); Richard Flannagan, The Narrow Road to the Deep North (2014); Marlon James, A Brief History of Seven Killings (2015); Paul Beatty, The Sellout (2016); George Saunders, Lincoln in the Bardo (2017); and Anna Burns, Milkman (2018). Students should purchase these novels, all of which are available as inexpensive paperbacks.
Assessment will be on the basis of regular attendance, active participation in classroom activities (incl. presentations and response papers) and the submission of an essay of c. 7500 words or, alternatively, a portfolio of 3 essays of c. 2500 words each. Please note that the reading load will be heavy, so you may wish to read some of the novels during the term break (we will start with Midnight’s Children and then proceed chronologically).
Schließen16 Termine
Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung