Fachbereich 05: Sprache, Literatur, Kultur - Anglistik - Bachelor of Arts (Studienbeginn ab Wintersemester 2020/21)

Welcome! This lecture focuses on important paradigm shifts in the literature of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. More specifically, we will look at the development from modernism to postmodernism and from there to post-postmodernism. In other words, we will start out with novels that were written after WWI (such as Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway [1925]) in which the representation of consciousness or character interiority (i.e., thoughts, feelings, and emotions) figures prominently. We will then move on to the playful and self-reflexive (or metafictional) texts that were written (roughly speaking) after the 1960s (such as the rewrites of traditional fairy tales in Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber [1979]). Finally, we will discuss literary writings of the twenty-first century (such as Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad [2010]) that involve a new kind of sincerity, the return of the real, and a renewed interest in ethical questions. Some theoreticians refer to such (contemporary) novels in terms of ‘post-postmodernism’; others prefer to use terms such as ‘metamodernism,’ ‘cosmodernism,’ or ‘digimodernism’ to describe this kind of writing. Generally speaking, this lecture seeks to introduce students to theories of modernism, postmodernism, and post-postmodernism as well as types of modernist, postmodernist, and post-postmodernist narratives. On the one hand, we will discuss definitions and theoretical approaches, and, on the other hand, we will look at representative examples.

This course aims at familiarizing students with approaches to the study of human language in general and to the study of the English language in particular. Attention will be paid to important concepts and terminology from the core areas of theoretical linguistics (phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics) and to their relevance to the fields of applied linguistics, such as language acquisition, sociolinguistics and cognitive linguistics.


Module Exam (Modulabschlussprüfung): Details will be provided at the beginning of the semester!

The study of the history of the English language offers highly relevant insights into how the language has changed over the course of the centuries and into how the English language is structured and functions all around the world today. Therefore, we will pay particular attention to the different periods in the history of the English language, i.e. Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, Late Modern English and Present-day English, in order to follow the structural changes on the levels of phonology, lexis, syntax and semantics that have led to the English language as we use it today.


Module Exam (Modulabschlussprüfung): Details will be provided at the beginning of the semester!

This course offers an introduction into the qualitative and quantitative methods for analyzing English language structures on the various levels of linguistic description. We will not only provide an overview of these methods, but will also make sure that you have ample opportunities to practice their application to small-scale studies (with the help of data analysis software and simple statistical measures). We will also place an emphasis on how to discuss and present empirical findings.

Module Exam (Modulabschlussprüfung): Details will be provided at the beginning of the semester!

This course offers an introduction into the qualitative and quantitative methods for analyzing English language structures on the various levels of linguistic description. We will not only provide an overview of these methods, but will also make sure that you have ample opportunities to practice their application to small-scale studies (with the help of data analysis software and simple statistical measures). We will also place an emphasis on how to discuss and present empirical findings.


Module Exam (Modulabschlussprüfung): Details will be provided at the beginning of the semester!

This course offers an introduction into the qualitative and quantitative methods for analyzing English language structures on the various levels of linguistic description. We will not only provide an overview of these methods, but will also make sure that you have ample opportunities to practice their application to small-scale studies (with the help of data analysis software and simple statistical measures). We will also place an emphasis on how to discuss and present empirical findings.


Module Exam (Modulabschlussprüfung): Details will be provided at the beginning of the semester!

This seminar aims to explore how war has been narrated in the American lyrical and musical tradition. From the draft era to the War on Terror, song lyrics have offered a running commentary on how war has been justified, mourned, questioned, and remembered. This seminar traces the shifting narratives of war in American popular music from the late 1960s to the present day, asking how musical genres and lyrical strategies shape public understanding of conflict, military service, and peace.

We will begin by asking what it means to narrate war through songs by asking which stories get told, which are left out, and how music’s emotional and mnemonic power complicates any simple reading of a lyric. From there, we will move chronologically and thematically from Vietnam-era protest anthems and patriotic counterpoints, through the mythologizing of the “good soldier” in post-9/11 country music, to the morally ambiguous veteran narratives found in contemporary rock and metal. We will also consider anti-war songs, peace anthems, and narratives of military trauma, including the thematization or omission of mental health topics such as post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt. Throughout the seminar, we will explore how music genres further condition what can be said and how these musical frames both reflect and shape wider public debate.

Toward the end of our seminar, we will broaden our perspective by comparing American war narratives to musical traditions from other countries, asking which narrative patterns are specific to the U.S. and which transcend national and cultural boundaries.

n the broadest sense, semantics is the study of meaning. In this class we will expore what that exactly entails on various levels and from different perspectives. For instance, we will outline the core concepts concerning lexical semantics, i.e. word meaning and the relationship between words of a language, and phrasal/sentential semantics, i.e. sentence meaning. We will also consider in more detail how the study of meaning is variously approached by taking a structural semantic perspective vs. a cognitive semantic perspective.

Choice between an exam or term paper: Details will be provided at the beginning of the semester

Does Taylor Swift use more terms of endearment in her lyrics than Justin Bieber? How do people in Sri Lanka address each other? Do women hedge their statements more often than men?

With a view to finding answers to these questions and understanding how speakers of English – as well as speakers of other languages – communicate with one another, the empirical analysis of authentic language data via linguistic corpora, i.e. text collections from song lyrics, face-to-face conversation or other textual resources, has become a generally accepted standard. In order to be in a position to devise empirical answers to some of the above questions and perspectives on English and its different varieties, several steps need to be taken and we will take them together in the course of this class.

The sequencing of a full-fledged corpus-linguistic analysis structures this class. We will familiarise ourselves with characteristics of linguistic corpora and techniques of corpus compilation and annotation. Subsequently, we will focus on how to extract data from linguistic corpora and how to add information we deem relevant for its analysis. In a last step, we will explore how different statistical approaches can help us profile central trends in our data to find answers to the questions we set out to tackle. To facilitate the individual steps, we will become acquainted with tools for corpus creation and annotation, software for corpus querying as well as for statistical analysis.

Exam date: 10 February 2027
Term paper deadline: 15 March 2027

What is Critical Masculinities Studies, and why should we talk about it now? This course introduces students to the emerging field of Critical Masculinities Studies through the lens of American Literary and Cultural Studies.

Drawing on perspectives from Critical Masculinities Studies, we will examine evolving representations of gender and sexuality in contemporary American literature and other cultural products. We will consider how these representations raise broader questions about the crisis of masculinity, power dynamics, ecological crisis, female production, loneliness, and other social and cultural issues in today's context. The course also invites students to think about how Critical Masculinities Studies might be applied to other disciplines.

Regarding course materials, students are expected to acquire Hua Hsu’s memoir Stay True (2022). Other reading materials will be uploaded to Stud.IP by the instructor. While the course focuses primarily on literature, students will also watch and discuss two films during the semester.

Detailed information about the syllabus, course requirements, and assessment will be introduced and explained during the first week of the course.

Expected exam date: 5 February 2027
Term paper deadline: 15 March 2027

This seminar aims to explore how war has been narrated in the American lyrical and musical tradition. From the draft era to the War on Terror, song lyrics have offered a running commentary on how war has been justified, mourned, questioned, and remembered. This seminar traces the shifting narratives of war in American popular music from the late 1960s to the present day, asking how musical genres and lyrical strategies shape public understanding of conflict, military service, and peace.

We will begin by asking what it means to narrate war through songs by asking which stories get told, which are left out, and how music’s emotional and mnemonic power complicates any simple reading of a lyric. From there, we will move chronologically and thematically from Vietnam-era protest anthems and patriotic counterpoints, through the mythologizing of the “good soldier” in post-9/11 country music, to the morally ambiguous veteran narratives found in contemporary rock and metal. We will also consider anti-war songs, peace anthems, and narratives of military trauma, including the thematization or omission of mental health topics such as post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt. Throughout the seminar, we will explore how music genres further condition what can be said and how these musical frames both reflect and shape wider public debate.

Toward the end of our seminar, we will broaden our perspective by comparing American war narratives to musical traditions from other countries, asking which narrative patterns are specific to the U.S. and which transcend national and cultural boundaries.

What is Critical Masculinities Studies, and why should we talk about it now? This course introduces students to the emerging field of Critical Masculinities Studies through the lens of American Literary and Cultural Studies.

Drawing on perspectives from Critical Masculinities Studies, we will examine evolving representations of gender and sexuality in contemporary American literature and other cultural products. We will consider how these representations raise broader questions about the crisis of masculinity, power dynamics, ecological crisis, female production, loneliness, and other social and cultural issues in today's context. The course also invites students to think about how Critical Masculinities Studies might be applied to other disciplines.

Regarding course materials, students are expected to acquire Hua Hsu’s memoir Stay True (2022). Other reading materials will be uploaded to Stud.IP by the instructor. While the course focuses primarily on literature, students will also watch and discuss two films during the semester.

Detailed information about the syllabus, course requirements, and assessment will be introduced and explained during the first week of the course.

Expected exam date: 5 February 2027
Term paper deadline: 15 March 2027

n the broadest sense, semantics is the study of meaning. In this class we will expore what that exactly entails on various levels and from different perspectives. For instance, we will outline the core concepts concerning lexical semantics, i.e. word meaning and the relationship between words of a language, and phrasal/sentential semantics, i.e. sentence meaning. We will also consider in more detail how the study of meaning is variously approached by taking a structural semantic perspective vs. a cognitive semantic perspective.

Choice between an exam or term paper: Details will be provided at the beginning of the semester

Cognitive Sociolinguistics combines two prominent paradigms in linguistics today: Sociolinguistics, which looks at society's influence on language, and Cognitive Linguistics, which focuses on linguistic evidence for cognitive phenomena and emphasizes an embodied view of cognition. Taken together, this class will examine how these two fields mutually benefit from each other by reviewing key concepts, theories and methods that help to study cognitive variation. A special emphasis will be placed on variation phenomena in World Englishes as well as various domains of public discourse.

Choice between exam or term paper: Details will be provided at the beginning of the semester

The Early Modern English period, i.e. the period from 1500 to 1700, is characterised by the standardisation of English catalysed by William Caxton setting up the first printing press in Britain. Also Early Modern English fictional writing continues to attract a lot of attention since Shakespeare’s plays fall into this period. In contrast, it was widely assumed that very little of linguistic interest took place with regard to the (development of the) English language in the period from 1700 to 1900 – a period where only the relatively large number of prescriptive grammars used to attract linguists’ attention. Today, this period in the history of the English language is generally referred as Late Modern English and by resorting to authentic text material of the time, important structural changes on different levels of language organisation (e.g. spelling and vocabulary on the word level or the development of the subjunctive and passive construction on the sentence level) have been identified.

In this seminar, we will – as a first step – contextualise Early and Late Modern English in relation to earlier and later periods of the English language. The main focus of this class will be on the structural characteristics and developments of English in terms of spelling, vocabulary and syntax, but we will also approach different (emerging) text genres of the time and consider sociolinguistic models to identify and describe possible changes in the English language and their agents. Methodologically, we will explore different empirical ways of studying English, for example with the help of dictionaries or corpus data.

Prerequisites: Successful completion of the ‘Introduction to English Linguistics’ course.

Reading: Reading material will be provided for download via Stud.IP.

Registration: Please register with FlexNow.

Ungraded credit: Regular attendance, completion of reading and homework assignments, active participation in class and an oral presentation, which may involve group activities and class discussions, or a written report.
Graded credit: In addition to the above, a final exam or a term paper.

Exam period: Final exam on 09 February 2027; deadline for term paper submission: 15 March 2027.

Syntax is the part of grammar which deals with the various ways languages combine words into sentences. In this course, we will first look at some key concepts in syntax from a structuralist perspective, starting with smaller syntactic units such as the word and the notion of different word classes. Phrases are another key concept syntactically superordinate to words, which function as constituents in clauses. In this context, we will also explore the dichotomy of form and function in mind. Apart from analyzing different types of clauses (and sentences) and different ways of ordering elements in a clause (and a sentence), we will also examine the semantic roles of clause elements to discover the close connection between syntax and meaning. We will then briefly look into other approaches to syntax, before we explore syntactic variation in selected varieties of English and the differences between spoken and written grammars.

Choice between an exam or term paper: Details will be provided at the beginning of the semester

Course description

Epicentres in World Englishes are regional varieties of English that exhibit structural influences on neighbouring Englishes, i.e. it has – for instance – repeatedly been shown that Indian English can be regarded as influencing other varieties in South Asia such as Sri Lankan or Pakistani English. Epicentral configurations can consequently be found in South Asia, but also in Southeast Asia as well as in Australia and potentially in other parts of the world. The regional focus of this class is thus on Australasia and the notion of linguistic epicentres provides the framework against which the regional varieties are going to be presented.

In the course of this class, we will introduce central models describing the evolution of postcolonial/non-native varieties of English (e.g. Moag 1982; Kachru 1985; Schneider 2003, 2007) and discuss the notion of a linguistic epicentre in the World Englishes paradigm. Against this background and on the basis of structural and sociohistorical evidence, we will discuss the development and present-day structure-related as well as sociolinguistic profile of a selection of varieties in Australasia. Methodologically, we will explore different ways of a) empirically studying the structures and usage patterns that profile each of these Australasian Englishes in a unique way and b) trying to delineate epicentral configurations.

Prerequisites: Successful completion of the ‘Introduction to English Linguistics’ course.

Reading: Reading material will be made available for download via Stud.IP.

Registration: Please register with FlexNow.

Ungraded credit: Regular attendance, completion of reading and homework assignments, active participation in class and an oral presentation, which may involve group activities and class discussions, or a written report.
Graded credit: In addition to the above, a final exam or a term paper.

Exam period: Final exam on 09 February 2027; deadline for term paper submission: 15 March 2027.

This seminar will cover the diversity of English found in North America from a sociolinguistic point of view. We will not only focus on regional varieties and major dialect areas, but also consider various other social factors that contribute to the linguistic landscape of North America. There will also be an opportunity to dive into various case studies and methodological approaches, in particular corpus linguistic approaches commonly used in variationist linguistics.

Choice between an exam or term paper: Details will be provided at the beginning of the semester

Cognitive Sociolinguistics combines two prominent paradigms in linguistics today: Sociolinguistics, which looks at society's influence on language, and Cognitive Linguistics, which focuses on linguistic evidence for cognitive phenomena and emphasizes an embodied view of cognition. Taken together, this class will examine how these two fields mutually benefit from each other by reviewing key concepts, theories and methods that help to study cognitive variation. A special emphasis will be placed on variation phenomena in World Englishes as well as various domains of public discourse.

Choice between exam or term paper: Details will be provided at the beginning of the semester

The Early Modern English period, i.e. the period from 1500 to 1700, is characterised by the standardisation of English catalysed by William Caxton setting up the first printing press in Britain. Also Early Modern English fictional writing continues to attract a lot of attention since Shakespeare’s plays fall into this period. In contrast, it was widely assumed that very little of linguistic interest took place with regard to the (development of the) English language in the period from 1700 to 1900 – a period where only the relatively large number of prescriptive grammars used to attract linguists’ attention. Today, this period in the history of the English language is generally referred as Late Modern English and by resorting to authentic text material of the time, important structural changes on different levels of language organisation (e.g. spelling and vocabulary on the word level or the development of the subjunctive and passive construction on the sentence level) have been identified.

In this seminar, we will – as a first step – contextualise Early and Late Modern English in relation to earlier and later periods of the English language. The main focus of this class will be on the structural characteristics and developments of English in terms of spelling, vocabulary and syntax, but we will also approach different (emerging) text genres of the time and consider sociolinguistic models to identify and describe possible changes in the English language and their agents. Methodologically, we will explore different empirical ways of studying English, for example with the help of dictionaries or corpus data.

Prerequisites: Successful completion of the ‘Introduction to English Linguistics’ course.

Reading: Reading material will be provided for download via Stud.IP.

Registration: Please register with FlexNow.

Ungraded credit: Regular attendance, completion of reading and homework assignments, active participation in class and an oral presentation, which may involve group activities and class discussions, or a written report.
Graded credit: In addition to the above, a final exam or a term paper.

Exam period: Final exam on 09 February 2027; deadline for term paper submission: 15 March 2027.

Syntax is the part of grammar which deals with the various ways languages combine words into sentences. In this course, we will first look at some key concepts in syntax from a structuralist perspective, starting with smaller syntactic units such as the word and the notion of different word classes. Phrases are another key concept syntactically superordinate to words, which function as constituents in clauses. In this context, we will also explore the dichotomy of form and function in mind. Apart from analyzing different types of clauses (and sentences) and different ways of ordering elements in a clause (and a sentence), we will also examine the semantic roles of clause elements to discover the close connection between syntax and meaning. We will then briefly look into other approaches to syntax, before we explore syntactic variation in selected varieties of English and the differences between spoken and written grammars.

Choice between an exam or term paper: Details will be provided at the beginning of the semester

Course description

Epicentres in World Englishes are regional varieties of English that exhibit structural influences on neighbouring Englishes, i.e. it has – for instance – repeatedly been shown that Indian English can be regarded as influencing other varieties in South Asia such as Sri Lankan or Pakistani English. Epicentral configurations can consequently be found in South Asia, but also in Southeast Asia as well as in Australia and potentially in other parts of the world. The regional focus of this class is thus on Australasia and the notion of linguistic epicentres provides the framework against which the regional varieties are going to be presented.

In the course of this class, we will introduce central models describing the evolution of postcolonial/non-native varieties of English (e.g. Moag 1982; Kachru 1985; Schneider 2003, 2007) and discuss the notion of a linguistic epicentre in the World Englishes paradigm. Against this background and on the basis of structural and sociohistorical evidence, we will discuss the development and present-day structure-related as well as sociolinguistic profile of a selection of varieties in Australasia. Methodologically, we will explore different ways of a) empirically studying the structures and usage patterns that profile each of these Australasian Englishes in a unique way and b) trying to delineate epicentral configurations.

Prerequisites: Successful completion of the ‘Introduction to English Linguistics’ course.

Reading: Reading material will be made available for download via Stud.IP.

Registration: Please register with FlexNow.

Ungraded credit: Regular attendance, completion of reading and homework assignments, active participation in class and an oral presentation, which may involve group activities and class discussions, or a written report.
Graded credit: In addition to the above, a final exam or a term paper.

Exam period: Final exam on 09 February 2027; deadline for term paper submission: 15 March 2027.

This seminar will cover the diversity of English found in North America from a sociolinguistic point of view. We will not only focus on regional varieties and major dialect areas, but also consider various other social factors that contribute to the linguistic landscape of North America. There will also be an opportunity to dive into various case studies and methodological approaches, in particular corpus linguistic approaches commonly used in variationist linguistics.

Choice between an exam or term paper: Details will be provided at the beginning of the semester

Cognitive Sociolinguistics combines two prominent paradigms in linguistics today: Sociolinguistics, which looks at society's influence on language, and Cognitive Linguistics, which focuses on linguistic evidence for cognitive phenomena and emphasizes an embodied view of cognition. Taken together, this class will examine how these two fields mutually benefit from each other by reviewing key concepts, theories and methods that help to study cognitive variation. A special emphasis will be placed on variation phenomena in World Englishes as well as various domains of public discourse.

Choice between exam or term paper: Details will be provided at the beginning of the semester

The Early Modern English period, i.e. the period from 1500 to 1700, is characterised by the standardisation of English catalysed by William Caxton setting up the first printing press in Britain. Also Early Modern English fictional writing continues to attract a lot of attention since Shakespeare’s plays fall into this period. In contrast, it was widely assumed that very little of linguistic interest took place with regard to the (development of the) English language in the period from 1700 to 1900 – a period where only the relatively large number of prescriptive grammars used to attract linguists’ attention. Today, this period in the history of the English language is generally referred as Late Modern English and by resorting to authentic text material of the time, important structural changes on different levels of language organisation (e.g. spelling and vocabulary on the word level or the development of the subjunctive and passive construction on the sentence level) have been identified.

In this seminar, we will – as a first step – contextualise Early and Late Modern English in relation to earlier and later periods of the English language. The main focus of this class will be on the structural characteristics and developments of English in terms of spelling, vocabulary and syntax, but we will also approach different (emerging) text genres of the time and consider sociolinguistic models to identify and describe possible changes in the English language and their agents. Methodologically, we will explore different empirical ways of studying English, for example with the help of dictionaries or corpus data.

Prerequisites: Successful completion of the ‘Introduction to English Linguistics’ course.

Reading: Reading material will be provided for download via Stud.IP.

Registration: Please register with FlexNow.

Ungraded credit: Regular attendance, completion of reading and homework assignments, active participation in class and an oral presentation, which may involve group activities and class discussions, or a written report.
Graded credit: In addition to the above, a final exam or a term paper.

Exam period: Final exam on 09 February 2027; deadline for term paper submission: 15 March 2027.

Syntax is the part of grammar which deals with the various ways languages combine words into sentences. In this course, we will first look at some key concepts in syntax from a structuralist perspective, starting with smaller syntactic units such as the word and the notion of different word classes. Phrases are another key concept syntactically superordinate to words, which function as constituents in clauses. In this context, we will also explore the dichotomy of form and function in mind. Apart from analyzing different types of clauses (and sentences) and different ways of ordering elements in a clause (and a sentence), we will also examine the semantic roles of clause elements to discover the close connection between syntax and meaning. We will then briefly look into other approaches to syntax, before we explore syntactic variation in selected varieties of English and the differences between spoken and written grammars.

Choice between an exam or term paper: Details will be provided at the beginning of the semester

Course description

Epicentres in World Englishes are regional varieties of English that exhibit structural influences on neighbouring Englishes, i.e. it has – for instance – repeatedly been shown that Indian English can be regarded as influencing other varieties in South Asia such as Sri Lankan or Pakistani English. Epicentral configurations can consequently be found in South Asia, but also in Southeast Asia as well as in Australia and potentially in other parts of the world. The regional focus of this class is thus on Australasia and the notion of linguistic epicentres provides the framework against which the regional varieties are going to be presented.

In the course of this class, we will introduce central models describing the evolution of postcolonial/non-native varieties of English (e.g. Moag 1982; Kachru 1985; Schneider 2003, 2007) and discuss the notion of a linguistic epicentre in the World Englishes paradigm. Against this background and on the basis of structural and sociohistorical evidence, we will discuss the development and present-day structure-related as well as sociolinguistic profile of a selection of varieties in Australasia. Methodologically, we will explore different ways of a) empirically studying the structures and usage patterns that profile each of these Australasian Englishes in a unique way and b) trying to delineate epicentral configurations.

Prerequisites: Successful completion of the ‘Introduction to English Linguistics’ course.

Reading: Reading material will be made available for download via Stud.IP.

Registration: Please register with FlexNow.

Ungraded credit: Regular attendance, completion of reading and homework assignments, active participation in class and an oral presentation, which may involve group activities and class discussions, or a written report.
Graded credit: In addition to the above, a final exam or a term paper.

Exam period: Final exam on 09 February 2027; deadline for term paper submission: 15 March 2027.

This seminar will cover the diversity of English found in North America from a sociolinguistic point of view. We will not only focus on regional varieties and major dialect areas, but also consider various other social factors that contribute to the linguistic landscape of North America. There will also be an opportunity to dive into various case studies and methodological approaches, in particular corpus linguistic approaches commonly used in variationist linguistics.

Choice between an exam or term paper: Details will be provided at the beginning of the semester

Welcome! This lecture focuses on important paradigm shifts in the literature of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. More specifically, we will look at the development from modernism to postmodernism and from there to post-postmodernism. In other words, we will start out with novels that were written after WWI (such as Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway [1925]) in which the representation of consciousness or character interiority (i.e., thoughts, feelings, and emotions) figures prominently. We will then move on to the playful and self-reflexive (or metafictional) texts that were written (roughly speaking) after the 1960s (such as the rewrites of traditional fairy tales in Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber [1979]). Finally, we will discuss literary writings of the twenty-first century (such as Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad [2010]) that involve a new kind of sincerity, the return of the real, and a renewed interest in ethical questions. Some theoreticians refer to such (contemporary) novels in terms of ‘post-postmodernism’; others prefer to use terms such as ‘metamodernism,’ ‘cosmodernism,’ or ‘digimodernism’ to describe this kind of writing. Generally speaking, this lecture seeks to introduce students to theories of modernism, postmodernism, and post-postmodernism as well as types of modernist, postmodernist, and post-postmodernist narratives. On the one hand, we will discuss definitions and theoretical approaches, and, on the other hand, we will look at representative examples.

What is Critical Masculinities Studies, and why should we talk about it now? This course introduces students to the emerging field of Critical Masculinities Studies through the lens of American Literary and Cultural Studies.

Drawing on perspectives from Critical Masculinities Studies, we will examine evolving representations of gender and sexuality in contemporary American literature and other cultural products. We will consider how these representations raise broader questions about the crisis of masculinity, power dynamics, ecological crisis, female production, loneliness, and other social and cultural issues in today's context. The course also invites students to think about how Critical Masculinities Studies might be applied to other disciplines.

Regarding course materials, students are expected to acquire Hua Hsu’s memoir Stay True (2022). Other reading materials will be uploaded to Stud.IP by the instructor. While the course focuses primarily on literature, students will also watch and discuss two films during the semester.

Detailed information about the syllabus, course requirements, and assessment will be introduced and explained during the first week of the course.

Expected exam date: 5 February 2027
Term paper deadline: 15 March 2027

This seminar aims to explore how war has been narrated in the American lyrical and musical tradition. From the draft era to the War on Terror, song lyrics have offered a running commentary on how war has been justified, mourned, questioned, and remembered. This seminar traces the shifting narratives of war in American popular music from the late 1960s to the present day, asking how musical genres and lyrical strategies shape public understanding of conflict, military service, and peace.

We will begin by asking what it means to narrate war through songs by asking which stories get told, which are left out, and how music’s emotional and mnemonic power complicates any simple reading of a lyric. From there, we will move chronologically and thematically from Vietnam-era protest anthems and patriotic counterpoints, through the mythologizing of the “good soldier” in post-9/11 country music, to the morally ambiguous veteran narratives found in contemporary rock and metal. We will also consider anti-war songs, peace anthems, and narratives of military trauma, including the thematization or omission of mental health topics such as post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt. Throughout the seminar, we will explore how music genres further condition what can be said and how these musical frames both reflect and shape wider public debate.

Toward the end of our seminar, we will broaden our perspective by comparing American war narratives to musical traditions from other countries, asking which narrative patterns are specific to the U.S. and which transcend national and cultural boundaries.

What is Critical Masculinities Studies, and why should we talk about it now? This course introduces students to the emerging field of Critical Masculinities Studies through the lens of American Literary and Cultural Studies.

Drawing on perspectives from Critical Masculinities Studies, we will examine evolving representations of gender and sexuality in contemporary American literature and other cultural products. We will consider how these representations raise broader questions about the crisis of masculinity, power dynamics, ecological crisis, female production, loneliness, and other social and cultural issues in today's context. The course also invites students to think about how Critical Masculinities Studies might be applied to other disciplines.

Regarding course materials, students are expected to acquire Hua Hsu’s memoir Stay True (2022). Other reading materials will be uploaded to Stud.IP by the instructor. While the course focuses primarily on literature, students will also watch and discuss two films during the semester.

Detailed information about the syllabus, course requirements, and assessment will be introduced and explained during the first week of the course.

Expected exam date: 5 February 2027
Term paper deadline: 15 March 2027

This seminar aims to explore how war has been narrated in the American lyrical and musical tradition. From the draft era to the War on Terror, song lyrics have offered a running commentary on how war has been justified, mourned, questioned, and remembered. This seminar traces the shifting narratives of war in American popular music from the late 1960s to the present day, asking how musical genres and lyrical strategies shape public understanding of conflict, military service, and peace.

We will begin by asking what it means to narrate war through songs by asking which stories get told, which are left out, and how music’s emotional and mnemonic power complicates any simple reading of a lyric. From there, we will move chronologically and thematically from Vietnam-era protest anthems and patriotic counterpoints, through the mythologizing of the “good soldier” in post-9/11 country music, to the morally ambiguous veteran narratives found in contemporary rock and metal. We will also consider anti-war songs, peace anthems, and narratives of military trauma, including the thematization or omission of mental health topics such as post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt. Throughout the seminar, we will explore how music genres further condition what can be said and how these musical frames both reflect and shape wider public debate.

Toward the end of our seminar, we will broaden our perspective by comparing American war narratives to musical traditions from other countries, asking which narrative patterns are specific to the U.S. and which transcend national and cultural boundaries.

Welcome! This lecture focuses on important paradigm shifts in the literature of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. More specifically, we will look at the development from modernism to postmodernism and from there to post-postmodernism. In other words, we will start out with novels that were written after WWI (such as Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway [1925]) in which the representation of consciousness or character interiority (i.e., thoughts, feelings, and emotions) figures prominently. We will then move on to the playful and self-reflexive (or metafictional) texts that were written (roughly speaking) after the 1960s (such as the rewrites of traditional fairy tales in Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber [1979]). Finally, we will discuss literary writings of the twenty-first century (such as Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad [2010]) that involve a new kind of sincerity, the return of the real, and a renewed interest in ethical questions. Some theoreticians refer to such (contemporary) novels in terms of ‘post-postmodernism’; others prefer to use terms such as ‘metamodernism,’ ‘cosmodernism,’ or ‘digimodernism’ to describe this kind of writing. Generally speaking, this lecture seeks to introduce students to theories of modernism, postmodernism, and post-postmodernism as well as types of modernist, postmodernist, and post-postmodernist narratives. On the one hand, we will discuss definitions and theoretical approaches, and, on the other hand, we will look at representative examples.

What is Critical Masculinities Studies, and why should we talk about it now? This course introduces students to the emerging field of Critical Masculinities Studies through the lens of American Literary and Cultural Studies.

Drawing on perspectives from Critical Masculinities Studies, we will examine evolving representations of gender and sexuality in contemporary American literature and other cultural products. We will consider how these representations raise broader questions about the crisis of masculinity, power dynamics, ecological crisis, female production, loneliness, and other social and cultural issues in today's context. The course also invites students to think about how Critical Masculinities Studies might be applied to other disciplines.

Regarding course materials, students are expected to acquire Hua Hsu’s memoir Stay True (2022). Other reading materials will be uploaded to Stud.IP by the instructor. While the course focuses primarily on literature, students will also watch and discuss two films during the semester.

Detailed information about the syllabus, course requirements, and assessment will be introduced and explained during the first week of the course.

Expected exam date: 5 February 2027
Term paper deadline: 15 March 2027

This seminar aims to explore how war has been narrated in the American lyrical and musical tradition. From the draft era to the War on Terror, song lyrics have offered a running commentary on how war has been justified, mourned, questioned, and remembered. This seminar traces the shifting narratives of war in American popular music from the late 1960s to the present day, asking how musical genres and lyrical strategies shape public understanding of conflict, military service, and peace.

We will begin by asking what it means to narrate war through songs by asking which stories get told, which are left out, and how music’s emotional and mnemonic power complicates any simple reading of a lyric. From there, we will move chronologically and thematically from Vietnam-era protest anthems and patriotic counterpoints, through the mythologizing of the “good soldier” in post-9/11 country music, to the morally ambiguous veteran narratives found in contemporary rock and metal. We will also consider anti-war songs, peace anthems, and narratives of military trauma, including the thematization or omission of mental health topics such as post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt. Throughout the seminar, we will explore how music genres further condition what can be said and how these musical frames both reflect and shape wider public debate.

Toward the end of our seminar, we will broaden our perspective by comparing American war narratives to musical traditions from other countries, asking which narrative patterns are specific to the U.S. and which transcend national and cultural boundaries.

What is Critical Masculinities Studies, and why should we talk about it now? This course introduces students to the emerging field of Critical Masculinities Studies through the lens of American Literary and Cultural Studies.

Drawing on perspectives from Critical Masculinities Studies, we will examine evolving representations of gender and sexuality in contemporary American literature and other cultural products. We will consider how these representations raise broader questions about the crisis of masculinity, power dynamics, ecological crisis, female production, loneliness, and other social and cultural issues in today's context. The course also invites students to think about how Critical Masculinities Studies might be applied to other disciplines.

Regarding course materials, students are expected to acquire Hua Hsu’s memoir Stay True (2022). Other reading materials will be uploaded to Stud.IP by the instructor. While the course focuses primarily on literature, students will also watch and discuss two films during the semester.

Detailed information about the syllabus, course requirements, and assessment will be introduced and explained during the first week of the course.

Expected exam date: 5 February 2027
Term paper deadline: 15 March 2027

This seminar aims to explore how war has been narrated in the American lyrical and musical tradition. From the draft era to the War on Terror, song lyrics have offered a running commentary on how war has been justified, mourned, questioned, and remembered. This seminar traces the shifting narratives of war in American popular music from the late 1960s to the present day, asking how musical genres and lyrical strategies shape public understanding of conflict, military service, and peace.

We will begin by asking what it means to narrate war through songs by asking which stories get told, which are left out, and how music’s emotional and mnemonic power complicates any simple reading of a lyric. From there, we will move chronologically and thematically from Vietnam-era protest anthems and patriotic counterpoints, through the mythologizing of the “good soldier” in post-9/11 country music, to the morally ambiguous veteran narratives found in contemporary rock and metal. We will also consider anti-war songs, peace anthems, and narratives of military trauma, including the thematization or omission of mental health topics such as post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt. Throughout the seminar, we will explore how music genres further condition what can be said and how these musical frames both reflect and shape wider public debate.

Toward the end of our seminar, we will broaden our perspective by comparing American war narratives to musical traditions from other countries, asking which narrative patterns are specific to the U.S. and which transcend national and cultural boundaries.

The aim of Business English I is to familiarise students with various forms of communication in business settings, with an aim to hone students’ competence in effective, audience-oriented and professional English-language communication. Beginning with basic principles of communication and message planning, this course confronts students with various business and academic settings, for which students will learn to use specific forms of communication to achieve practical goals.
In the course of the semester, students should manage to complete an oral portfolio of individual and group oral presentations and an individual portfolio of written work, focusing on various communication goals (informative, persuasive, etc.) and using various communicative approaches (direct vs. indirect, routine vs. non-routine, informative, persuasive, bad news, etc.), registers (formal vs. informal, familiar vs. unfamiliar, etc.), types (written, spoken, verbal, nonverbal), and channels/communication technologies (meetings, letters, memos, emails, blogs, IMs, etc.) for various audiences (internal vs. external, top-down vs. bottom-up directionality, etc.). As the objective is to prepare students for careers in international contexts, intercultural aspects of professional communication are also addressed in the course and students will be able to analyse and discuss situations, discussing widely adopted models of intercultural dimensions. While style of communication is the central focus, students will also learn to format documents professionally. Finally, there is a large focus on constructive and supportive feedback-giving, as students learn to formulate their feedback in situation-appropriate ways.
Furthermore, students will improve their listening comprehension and be able to understand and discuss excerpts from dialogues, meetings and presentations that occur on a daily basis in business settings.
By the end of the course, students will be able to analyse and produce various genres of professional speaking and writing that they will encounter in their future careers in international settings (e.g. request letters, informative emails, bad news memos, digital service encounters, process presentations, persuasive sales presentations, constructive feedback).
In additional to the written, listening and oral tasks during this class, students will complete a final written exam at the end of the semester in which they are given a set of assignments to apply the concepts learned during the semester.

Reading: Reading material will be made available for download via Stud.IP.

Registration: Please register with FlexNow.

Graded credit: Oral portfolio (40%), written portfolio (pass/fail), final exam (60%).

Exam period: Final exam on the 8th February 2027.

The aim of Business English I is to familiarise students with various forms of communication in business settings, with an aim to hone students’ competence in effective, audience-oriented and professional English-language communication. Beginning with basic principles of communication and message planning, this course confronts students with various business and academic settings, for which students will learn to use specific forms of communication to achieve practical goals.
In the course of the semester, students should manage to complete an oral portfolio of individual and group oral presentations and an individual portfolio of written work, focusing on various communication goals (informative, persuasive, etc.) and using various communicative approaches (direct vs. indirect, routine vs. non-routine, informative, persuasive, bad news, etc.), registers (formal vs. informal, familiar vs. unfamiliar, etc.), types (written, spoken, verbal, nonverbal), and channels/communication technologies (meetings, letters, memos, emails, blogs, IMs, etc.) for various audiences (internal vs. external, top-down vs. bottom-up directionality, etc.). As the objective is to prepare students for careers in international contexts, intercultural aspects of professional communication are also addressed in the course and students will be able to analyse and discuss situations, discussing widely adopted models of intercultural dimensions. While style of communication is the central focus, students will also learn to format documents professionally. Finally, there is a large focus on constructive and supportive feedback-giving, as students learn to formulate their feedback in situation-appropriate ways.
Furthermore, students will improve their listening comprehension and be able to understand and discuss excerpts from dialogues, meetings and presentations that occur on a daily basis in business settings.
By the end of the course, students will be able to analyse and produce various genres of professional speaking and writing that they will encounter in their future careers in international settings (e.g. request letters, informative emails, bad news memos, digital service encounters, process presentations, persuasive sales presentations, constructive feedback).
In additional to the written, listening and oral tasks during this class, students will complete a final written exam at the end of the semester in which they are given a set of assignments to apply the concepts learned during the semester.

Reading: Reading material will be made available for download via Stud.IP.

Registration: Please register with FlexNow.

Graded credit: Oral portfolio (40%), written portfolio (pass/fail), final exam (60%).

Exam period: Final exam on the 8th February 2027.

The aim of Business English II is to familiarize you with the language and terminology of key business concepts, including entrepreneurship, management and corporate culture, production, business strategy, marketing, finance, and a company's relationships with its major stakeholders.

The course is built around a central project in which you will work collaboratively in groups to develop your own business idea and prepare a business plan. Throughout the semester, you will apply the business concepts discussed in class to your projects while expanding your business English vocabulary and communication skills.

As part of the project, each group will create a written business plan and deliver a persuasive business pitch. In your presentation, you will communicate key aspects of your business proposal using appropriate business terminology and professional presentation techniques. These include your company’s mission and objectives, products or services, industry analysis, organizational structure, financial planning, and marketing strategies, including product, pricing, segmentation, targeting, and promotion decisions. You will also act as potential investors by listening to your classmates’ business pitches, asking critical questions, and evaluating each presentation using an assessment rubric.

The course concludes with a written final examination assessing your understanding of the business concepts, vocabulary, and language structures covered throughout the semester.

Reading: Reading materials will be made available for download via Stud.IP.
Final Exam: 09 February 2026
Graded Credit: Business Pitch, Business Plan, Final Exam

The aim of Business English II is to familiarize you with the language and terminology of key business concepts, including entrepreneurship, management and corporate culture, production, business strategy, marketing, finance, and a company's relationships with its major stakeholders.

The course is built around a central project in which you will work collaboratively in groups to develop your own business idea and prepare a business plan. Throughout the semester, you will apply the business concepts discussed in class to your projects while expanding your business English vocabulary and communication skills.

As part of the project, each group will create a written business plan and deliver a persuasive business pitch. In your presentation, you will communicate key aspects of your business proposal using appropriate business terminology and professional presentation techniques. These include your company’s mission and objectives, products or services, industry analysis, organizational structure, financial planning, and marketing strategies, including product, pricing, segmentation, targeting, and promotion decisions. You will also act as potential investors by listening to your classmates’ business pitches, asking critical questions, and evaluating each presentation using an assessment rubric.

The course concludes with a written final examination assessing your understanding of the business concepts, vocabulary, and language structures covered throughout the semester.

Reading: Reading materials will be made available for download via Stud.IP.
Final Exam: 09 February 2026
Graded Credit: Business Pitch, Business Plan, Final Exam

What is Critical Masculinities Studies, and why should we talk about it now? This course introduces students to the emerging field of Critical Masculinities Studies through the lens of American Literary and Cultural Studies.

Drawing on perspectives from Critical Masculinities Studies, we will examine evolving representations of gender and sexuality in contemporary American literature and other cultural products. We will consider how these representations raise broader questions about the crisis of masculinity, power dynamics, ecological crisis, female production, loneliness, and other social and cultural issues in today's context. The course also invites students to think about how Critical Masculinities Studies might be applied to other disciplines.

Regarding course materials, students are expected to acquire Hua Hsu’s memoir Stay True (2022). Other reading materials will be uploaded to Stud.IP by the instructor. While the course focuses primarily on literature, students will also watch and discuss two films during the semester.

Detailed information about the syllabus, course requirements, and assessment will be introduced and explained during the first week of the course.

Expected exam date: 5 February 2027
Term paper deadline: 15 March 2027

This seminar aims to explore how war has been narrated in the American lyrical and musical tradition. From the draft era to the War on Terror, song lyrics have offered a running commentary on how war has been justified, mourned, questioned, and remembered. This seminar traces the shifting narratives of war in American popular music from the late 1960s to the present day, asking how musical genres and lyrical strategies shape public understanding of conflict, military service, and peace.

We will begin by asking what it means to narrate war through songs by asking which stories get told, which are left out, and how music’s emotional and mnemonic power complicates any simple reading of a lyric. From there, we will move chronologically and thematically from Vietnam-era protest anthems and patriotic counterpoints, through the mythologizing of the “good soldier” in post-9/11 country music, to the morally ambiguous veteran narratives found in contemporary rock and metal. We will also consider anti-war songs, peace anthems, and narratives of military trauma, including the thematization or omission of mental health topics such as post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt. Throughout the seminar, we will explore how music genres further condition what can be said and how these musical frames both reflect and shape wider public debate.

Toward the end of our seminar, we will broaden our perspective by comparing American war narratives to musical traditions from other countries, asking which narrative patterns are specific to the U.S. and which transcend national and cultural boundaries.

What is Critical Masculinities Studies, and why should we talk about it now? This course introduces students to the emerging field of Critical Masculinities Studies through the lens of American Literary and Cultural Studies.

Drawing on perspectives from Critical Masculinities Studies, we will examine evolving representations of gender and sexuality in contemporary American literature and other cultural products. We will consider how these representations raise broader questions about the crisis of masculinity, power dynamics, ecological crisis, female production, loneliness, and other social and cultural issues in today's context. The course also invites students to think about how Critical Masculinities Studies might be applied to other disciplines.

Regarding course materials, students are expected to acquire Hua Hsu’s memoir Stay True (2022). Other reading materials will be uploaded to Stud.IP by the instructor. While the course focuses primarily on literature, students will also watch and discuss two films during the semester.

Detailed information about the syllabus, course requirements, and assessment will be introduced and explained during the first week of the course.

Expected exam date: 5 February 2027
Term paper deadline: 15 March 2027

This seminar aims to explore how war has been narrated in the American lyrical and musical tradition. From the draft era to the War on Terror, song lyrics have offered a running commentary on how war has been justified, mourned, questioned, and remembered. This seminar traces the shifting narratives of war in American popular music from the late 1960s to the present day, asking how musical genres and lyrical strategies shape public understanding of conflict, military service, and peace.

We will begin by asking what it means to narrate war through songs by asking which stories get told, which are left out, and how music’s emotional and mnemonic power complicates any simple reading of a lyric. From there, we will move chronologically and thematically from Vietnam-era protest anthems and patriotic counterpoints, through the mythologizing of the “good soldier” in post-9/11 country music, to the morally ambiguous veteran narratives found in contemporary rock and metal. We will also consider anti-war songs, peace anthems, and narratives of military trauma, including the thematization or omission of mental health topics such as post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt. Throughout the seminar, we will explore how music genres further condition what can be said and how these musical frames both reflect and shape wider public debate.

Toward the end of our seminar, we will broaden our perspective by comparing American war narratives to musical traditions from other countries, asking which narrative patterns are specific to the U.S. and which transcend national and cultural boundaries.

What is Critical Masculinities Studies, and why should we talk about it now? This course introduces students to the emerging field of Critical Masculinities Studies through the lens of American Literary and Cultural Studies.

Drawing on perspectives from Critical Masculinities Studies, we will examine evolving representations of gender and sexuality in contemporary American literature and other cultural products. We will consider how these representations raise broader questions about the crisis of masculinity, power dynamics, ecological crisis, female production, loneliness, and other social and cultural issues in today's context. The course also invites students to think about how Critical Masculinities Studies might be applied to other disciplines.

Regarding course materials, students are expected to acquire Hua Hsu’s memoir Stay True (2022). Other reading materials will be uploaded to Stud.IP by the instructor. While the course focuses primarily on literature, students will also watch and discuss two films during the semester.

Detailed information about the syllabus, course requirements, and assessment will be introduced and explained during the first week of the course.

Expected exam date: 5 February 2027
Term paper deadline: 15 March 2027

This seminar aims to explore how war has been narrated in the American lyrical and musical tradition. From the draft era to the War on Terror, song lyrics have offered a running commentary on how war has been justified, mourned, questioned, and remembered. This seminar traces the shifting narratives of war in American popular music from the late 1960s to the present day, asking how musical genres and lyrical strategies shape public understanding of conflict, military service, and peace.

We will begin by asking what it means to narrate war through songs by asking which stories get told, which are left out, and how music’s emotional and mnemonic power complicates any simple reading of a lyric. From there, we will move chronologically and thematically from Vietnam-era protest anthems and patriotic counterpoints, through the mythologizing of the “good soldier” in post-9/11 country music, to the morally ambiguous veteran narratives found in contemporary rock and metal. We will also consider anti-war songs, peace anthems, and narratives of military trauma, including the thematization or omission of mental health topics such as post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt. Throughout the seminar, we will explore how music genres further condition what can be said and how these musical frames both reflect and shape wider public debate.

Toward the end of our seminar, we will broaden our perspective by comparing American war narratives to musical traditions from other countries, asking which narrative patterns are specific to the U.S. and which transcend national and cultural boundaries.

What is Critical Masculinities Studies, and why should we talk about it now? This course introduces students to the emerging field of Critical Masculinities Studies through the lens of American Literary and Cultural Studies.

Drawing on perspectives from Critical Masculinities Studies, we will examine evolving representations of gender and sexuality in contemporary American literature and other cultural products. We will consider how these representations raise broader questions about the crisis of masculinity, power dynamics, ecological crisis, female production, loneliness, and other social and cultural issues in today's context. The course also invites students to think about how Critical Masculinities Studies might be applied to other disciplines.

Regarding course materials, students are expected to acquire Hua Hsu’s memoir Stay True (2022). Other reading materials will be uploaded to Stud.IP by the instructor. While the course focuses primarily on literature, students will also watch and discuss two films during the semester.

Detailed information about the syllabus, course requirements, and assessment will be introduced and explained during the first week of the course.

Expected exam date: 5 February 2027
Term paper deadline: 15 March 2027

This seminar aims to explore how war has been narrated in the American lyrical and musical tradition. From the draft era to the War on Terror, song lyrics have offered a running commentary on how war has been justified, mourned, questioned, and remembered. This seminar traces the shifting narratives of war in American popular music from the late 1960s to the present day, asking how musical genres and lyrical strategies shape public understanding of conflict, military service, and peace.

We will begin by asking what it means to narrate war through songs by asking which stories get told, which are left out, and how music’s emotional and mnemonic power complicates any simple reading of a lyric. From there, we will move chronologically and thematically from Vietnam-era protest anthems and patriotic counterpoints, through the mythologizing of the “good soldier” in post-9/11 country music, to the morally ambiguous veteran narratives found in contemporary rock and metal. We will also consider anti-war songs, peace anthems, and narratives of military trauma, including the thematization or omission of mental health topics such as post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt. Throughout the seminar, we will explore how music genres further condition what can be said and how these musical frames both reflect and shape wider public debate.

Toward the end of our seminar, we will broaden our perspective by comparing American war narratives to musical traditions from other countries, asking which narrative patterns are specific to the U.S. and which transcend national and cultural boundaries.

What is Critical Masculinities Studies, and why should we talk about it now? This course introduces students to the emerging field of Critical Masculinities Studies through the lens of American Literary and Cultural Studies.

Drawing on perspectives from Critical Masculinities Studies, we will examine evolving representations of gender and sexuality in contemporary American literature and other cultural products. We will consider how these representations raise broader questions about the crisis of masculinity, power dynamics, ecological crisis, female production, loneliness, and other social and cultural issues in today's context. The course also invites students to think about how Critical Masculinities Studies might be applied to other disciplines.

Regarding course materials, students are expected to acquire Hua Hsu’s memoir Stay True (2022). Other reading materials will be uploaded to Stud.IP by the instructor. While the course focuses primarily on literature, students will also watch and discuss two films during the semester.

Detailed information about the syllabus, course requirements, and assessment will be introduced and explained during the first week of the course.

Expected exam date: 5 February 2027
Term paper deadline: 15 March 2027

This seminar aims to explore how war has been narrated in the American lyrical and musical tradition. From the draft era to the War on Terror, song lyrics have offered a running commentary on how war has been justified, mourned, questioned, and remembered. This seminar traces the shifting narratives of war in American popular music from the late 1960s to the present day, asking how musical genres and lyrical strategies shape public understanding of conflict, military service, and peace.

We will begin by asking what it means to narrate war through songs by asking which stories get told, which are left out, and how music’s emotional and mnemonic power complicates any simple reading of a lyric. From there, we will move chronologically and thematically from Vietnam-era protest anthems and patriotic counterpoints, through the mythologizing of the “good soldier” in post-9/11 country music, to the morally ambiguous veteran narratives found in contemporary rock and metal. We will also consider anti-war songs, peace anthems, and narratives of military trauma, including the thematization or omission of mental health topics such as post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt. Throughout the seminar, we will explore how music genres further condition what can be said and how these musical frames both reflect and shape wider public debate.

Toward the end of our seminar, we will broaden our perspective by comparing American war narratives to musical traditions from other countries, asking which narrative patterns are specific to the U.S. and which transcend national and cultural boundaries.

What is Critical Masculinities Studies, and why should we talk about it now? This course introduces students to the emerging field of Critical Masculinities Studies through the lens of American Literary and Cultural Studies.

Drawing on perspectives from Critical Masculinities Studies, we will examine evolving representations of gender and sexuality in contemporary American literature and other cultural products. We will consider how these representations raise broader questions about the crisis of masculinity, power dynamics, ecological crisis, female production, loneliness, and other social and cultural issues in today's context. The course also invites students to think about how Critical Masculinities Studies might be applied to other disciplines.

Regarding course materials, students are expected to acquire Hua Hsu’s memoir Stay True (2022). Other reading materials will be uploaded to Stud.IP by the instructor. While the course focuses primarily on literature, students will also watch and discuss two films during the semester.

Detailed information about the syllabus, course requirements, and assessment will be introduced and explained during the first week of the course.

Expected exam date: 5 February 2027
Term paper deadline: 15 March 2027

This seminar aims to explore how war has been narrated in the American lyrical and musical tradition. From the draft era to the War on Terror, song lyrics have offered a running commentary on how war has been justified, mourned, questioned, and remembered. This seminar traces the shifting narratives of war in American popular music from the late 1960s to the present day, asking how musical genres and lyrical strategies shape public understanding of conflict, military service, and peace.

We will begin by asking what it means to narrate war through songs by asking which stories get told, which are left out, and how music’s emotional and mnemonic power complicates any simple reading of a lyric. From there, we will move chronologically and thematically from Vietnam-era protest anthems and patriotic counterpoints, through the mythologizing of the “good soldier” in post-9/11 country music, to the morally ambiguous veteran narratives found in contemporary rock and metal. We will also consider anti-war songs, peace anthems, and narratives of military trauma, including the thematization or omission of mental health topics such as post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt. Throughout the seminar, we will explore how music genres further condition what can be said and how these musical frames both reflect and shape wider public debate.

Toward the end of our seminar, we will broaden our perspective by comparing American war narratives to musical traditions from other countries, asking which narrative patterns are specific to the U.S. and which transcend national and cultural boundaries.

Welcome! This lecture focuses on important paradigm shifts in the literature of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. More specifically, we will look at the development from modernism to postmodernism and from there to post-postmodernism. In other words, we will start out with novels that were written after WWI (such as Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway [1925]) in which the representation of consciousness or character interiority (i.e., thoughts, feelings, and emotions) figures prominently. We will then move on to the playful and self-reflexive (or metafictional) texts that were written (roughly speaking) after the 1960s (such as the rewrites of traditional fairy tales in Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber [1979]). Finally, we will discuss literary writings of the twenty-first century (such as Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad [2010]) that involve a new kind of sincerity, the return of the real, and a renewed interest in ethical questions. Some theoreticians refer to such (contemporary) novels in terms of ‘post-postmodernism’; others prefer to use terms such as ‘metamodernism,’ ‘cosmodernism,’ or ‘digimodernism’ to describe this kind of writing. Generally speaking, this lecture seeks to introduce students to theories of modernism, postmodernism, and post-postmodernism as well as types of modernist, postmodernist, and post-postmodernist narratives. On the one hand, we will discuss definitions and theoretical approaches, and, on the other hand, we will look at representative examples.

What is Critical Masculinities Studies, and why should we talk about it now? This course introduces students to the emerging field of Critical Masculinities Studies through the lens of American Literary and Cultural Studies.

Drawing on perspectives from Critical Masculinities Studies, we will examine evolving representations of gender and sexuality in contemporary American literature and other cultural products. We will consider how these representations raise broader questions about the crisis of masculinity, power dynamics, ecological crisis, female production, loneliness, and other social and cultural issues in today's context. The course also invites students to think about how Critical Masculinities Studies might be applied to other disciplines.

Regarding course materials, students are expected to acquire Hua Hsu’s memoir Stay True (2022). Other reading materials will be uploaded to Stud.IP by the instructor. While the course focuses primarily on literature, students will also watch and discuss two films during the semester.

Detailed information about the syllabus, course requirements, and assessment will be introduced and explained during the first week of the course.

Expected exam date: 5 February 2027
Term paper deadline: 15 March 2027

This seminar aims to explore how war has been narrated in the American lyrical and musical tradition. From the draft era to the War on Terror, song lyrics have offered a running commentary on how war has been justified, mourned, questioned, and remembered. This seminar traces the shifting narratives of war in American popular music from the late 1960s to the present day, asking how musical genres and lyrical strategies shape public understanding of conflict, military service, and peace.

We will begin by asking what it means to narrate war through songs by asking which stories get told, which are left out, and how music’s emotional and mnemonic power complicates any simple reading of a lyric. From there, we will move chronologically and thematically from Vietnam-era protest anthems and patriotic counterpoints, through the mythologizing of the “good soldier” in post-9/11 country music, to the morally ambiguous veteran narratives found in contemporary rock and metal. We will also consider anti-war songs, peace anthems, and narratives of military trauma, including the thematization or omission of mental health topics such as post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt. Throughout the seminar, we will explore how music genres further condition what can be said and how these musical frames both reflect and shape wider public debate.

Toward the end of our seminar, we will broaden our perspective by comparing American war narratives to musical traditions from other countries, asking which narrative patterns are specific to the U.S. and which transcend national and cultural boundaries.