GERM 4900-001 ST: Survey German Film

SPECIAL TOPICS: NEW TRENDS IN ECOCRITICISM: NATURE, LANDSCAPE,
AND THE ENVIRONMENT (GERM 4900)
Spring 2015
Instructor: Doris McGonagill
[email protected]
Office: Old Main 341 D
Phone: 797-9181
Class hours: T/R 9–10:15 am
Classroom:
Old Main 301
Office Hours: T/R 1:30–2:30
(and by appointment)
Course Description:
This course proposes a hybrid teaching approach that pairs the study of literary and visual texts with
an interest in the physical environment as a lens to examine cultural memory as well as
contemporary phenomena. I suggest several distinct lines of synchronic and diachronic
investigation that both focus and enrich the textual and contextual analysis: first, a focus on trees
and forests, mountains, bodies of water, and the sky/air. Second, a focus on the contrast between
the country and the city, on the German fascination with wilderness and desert landscapes (in
contrast to cultivated landscapes), and on paradigmatic landscapes of solitude. Third, a
chronological overview over the German(ic) engagement with nature/landscape/the environment
from, roughly, the Celtic period through the Christian Middle Ages to Modernity. And, fourth, this
class will discuss contemporary German approaches to recycling and renewable energy sources (in
particular solar and wind) and examine how these approaches might be seen as an amalgamation of
longstanding (mythological) forms of engagement with the natural realm and aspects of (scientific)
modern thinking and technology.
For this class, I envision the design of challenging, student-oriented curricula that draw on multiple
disciplines (e.g. Green Studies, Memory Studies, Romanticism Studies, Anthropology, Mythology,
History, and Sociology, as well as the Natural Sciences) to promote a deeper appreciation the
historical specificity of certain texts and phenomena. Simultaneously, this class will serve as an
introduction to discourse criticism, which unfolds ‘naturally’ from critical discussion of the
Germanic mystification of the forest and the disconnect between imaginary construct and historical
reality. Within the broader context of German identity formation, classroom analysis of the
historical, social, and political contexts in which sylvan and arboreal images were shaped and of the
philological and philosophical sources that—consciously or unconsciously—inform their symbolic
presentation offers profound insights into, for example, the Grimms’ romantic project of reclaiming
the German cultural memory as a contribution to the national unification process. On a yet more
abstract level, this approach also highlights the (perhaps specifically Romantic and/or German?)
attempt to compensate for experiences of longing and loss (of the alleged unity of traditions,
community, laws, customs, language, economy, institutions, beliefs, modes of thought, religion,
national character, and popular wisdom) with the nostalgia of literary imagination.
But beyond serving as a theoretically informed introduction to the German engagement with the
environment, this approach is flexible and adaptable to numerous contexts, discourses, and
disciplines.
Although most readings and classroom discussion will be in the target language, the principle course
design and many readings easily translate into other contexts. In particular, this approach serves as a
window into German history, culture, and popular traditions from the nineteenth through the
twenty-first centuries (the path to a unified nation state, Nazi and GDR exploitation of the Grimms’
tales, the formation of the Green movement, the fight against “Waldsterben,” and the creation of
BUND citizens’ movement for environmental protection). The approach may open up to a
discussion of contemporary German institutions and initiatives, including cultural and recreational
phenomena and habits (such as the German obsession with woodland adventure walks, rope forest
parks, canopy pathways, and forest kindergartens).
The suggested approach draws on three different types of sources: the first, providing the
intellectual framework, is rooted in the history of ideas and examines the representation of natural
phenomena in mythology and fairy tales (Blumenberg, Harrison, Schama). The second is rooted in
literary texts and films that focus on the role of nature and the interaction of humans with the
natural environment (Zipes, Murphy, Bottigheimer). The third connects with contemporary
Ecocriticism discourse and attempts to find new ways of making traditional texts and knowledge
relevant to contemporary cultural and personal questions (Buell, Heise, Glotfelty). Drawing on a
combination of backgrounds allows for an interdisciplinary/multi-disciplinary approach, innovative
close-readings of individual texts, topical contextualizations, and socio-historically sensitive and
informed discussions concerning philosophical, mythological, cultural, and environmental
perspectives. On an advanced level, this approach facilitates critical discussions of the problematic
Germanic mystification of forests as sanctuaries of origins and community and its ideologically
tendentious remnants in contemporary discourse. It will make us aware of both accomplishments
and pitfalls of “deep ecology” (what Buell dubbed “first-wave Ecocriticsm,” steeped in Heideggerian
thought), and — I hope — stimulate discussion of contemporary ecological questions and
perspectives that broaden and transcend the horizon of narrowly-defined German Studies. To
enrich our discussions and deepen our comparative perspectives, short guest lectures will be
delivered by guest speakers from multiple disciplines and USU programs (History, Medieval Studies,
Religious Studies, Early Modern Studies, Arabic, Chinese etc.)
OVERVIEW OF TOPICS:
THEMENGRUPPE I:
Bäume und Wälder
Berge und Gebirge
Gewässer (Flüsse, Seen, Meere)
Himmel, Luft und Wolken
Stadt vs. Land
Wüsteneien/Wildernis vs. Kulturlandschaft
Freundliche vs. feindliche Natur (Locus amoenus vs. locus terribilis)
Landschaften der Liebe und der Einsamkeit
THEMENGRUPPE II:
Germanische Mythologie
Christliches Mittelalter
Renaissance/Aufklärung
Romantik
20./21. Jh.(Nazizeit, DDR/BRD, Waldsterben, Grüne)
Parallel:
Kurzvorträge von
Gastrednern aus
verschiedenen
Disziplinen
THEMENGRUPPE III:
Erneuerbare Energien: Wind- und Solarenergie
Naturschutz und Recyling in Deutschland
Naherholungsgebiete, Walderlebnispfade, Maiwanderungen etc.
Language of instruction:
This class will be conducted primarily in German.
Texts:
Most readings for this class are in German and will be made available
via our course website or as photocopies. Some texts are available online
at Projekt Gutenberg (http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/), www.zeno.org, or
www.vorleser.net. An German online version of the Bible (different
translations) can be found at http://www.bibel-online.net.
Most of the fairy tales we will discuss are available on one of the following
websites:
http://khm.li
http://www.maerchenlexikon.de
http://www.sagen.at/texte/maerchen/maerchen.htm
http://www.maerchen-archiv.de/grimms-maerchen.php
Course requirements:
Active class participation (including one short presentation, 5-7 minutes)
Short interpretive position papers (one paragraph in German)
One in-class midterm exam
One (interpretative) final paper
One final exam
Grading:
Class Participation (including attendance, presentation)
30%
8 short Position Papers (one longer paragraph)
30%
Midterm Exam
10%
Final Paper (4-5 pp., due April 16)
20%
Final Exam (Tuesday, April 28, 9:30 a.m. – 11:20 p.m.)
10%
No Class Dates:
Feb 17 (Monday Class Schedule), March 10 and 12 (Spring Break)
Student Responsibilities:
Students are required to read the assignments listed on the class schedule
prior to class. Since all class discussions will depend heavily on students’
contributions, thorough preparation and active participation are essential.
Extra-Credit:
You may attend German Club events or a performance of Utah Opera,
watch a German movie (there are several on Netflix), or read a German
book. You may meet with a German tutor (in the TALC Language Lab;
schedule will be made available) and talk German with them, discuss
aspects of German grammar or culture, or consult help with an
assignment. (Please have the tutor send me an e-mail confirming the
meeting.) Or you may play a German song or recite a German poem that
is appropriate in class and give a brief introduction to its theme/central
vocabulary.
Students with Disabilities:
The Americans with Disabilities Act states: “Reasonable accommodation
will be provided for all persons with disabilities in order to ensure equal
participation within the program. If a student has a disability that will
likely require some accommodation by the instructor, the student must
contact the instructor and document the disability through the Disability
Resource Center (797-2444), preferably during the first week of the
course. Any request for special consideration relating to attendance,
pedagogy, taking of examination, etc. must be discussed with and
approved by the instructor.
Learning Objectives:
Based on the IDEA evaluation system, the following four objectives
apply most closely to this course:
• Gaining a broader understanding and appreciation of
intellectual/cultural activity (music, science, literature, etc.)
• Learning to analyze & critically evaluate ideas, arguments, points of
view
• Gaining factual knowledge (terminology, classifications, methods,
trends)
• Developing skill in expressing oneself orally or in writing
Academic Integrity,
“The Honor System”
(http://www.usu.edu/provost/faculty/teaching/syllabus_resources.cfm)
Each student has the right and duty to pursue his/her academic
experience free of dishonesty. The Honor System is designed to
establish the higher level of conduct expected and required of all Utah
State University students. To enhance the learning environment at
Utah State University and to develop student academic integrity, each
student agrees to the following Pledge: “ I pledge, on my honor, to
conduct myself with the foremost level of academic integrity.” A
student who lives by the Honor Pledge is a student who does more
than not cheat, falsify, or plagiarize. A student who lives by the Honor
Pledge: (1) Espouses academic integrity as an underlying and essential
principle of the Utah State University community; (2) Understands that
each act of academic dishonesty devaluates every degree that is
awarded by this institution; and (3) Is a welcomed and valued member
of Utah State University.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is defined as “Representing, by paraphrase or direct
quotation, published or unpublished work of another person as one’s
own in any academic exercise or activity without full and clear
acknowledgment. It also includes using materials prepared by another
person or by an agency engaged in the sale of term papers or other
academic materials.” The penalties for plagiarism include warning or
reprimand, grade adjustment, withholding of transcripts, probation,
suspension, expulsion, and denial or revocation of degrees.
Sekundärliteratur
Bätschmann, Oskar. 1989. Entfernung der Natur: Landschaftsmalerei 1750-1920. Cologne: Dumont 1989.
Beresford-Kroeger, Diana. 2010. The Global Forest. New York: Viking.
Blumenberg, Hans. 2012. Quellen, Ströme, Eisberge: Beobachtungen an Metaphern. Berlin: Suhrkamp.
Buell, Lawrence. 2011. “Ecocriticism: Some Emerging Trends.” Qui Parle 19: 87-115.
Coupe, Laurence, ed. 2000. The Green Studies Reader: From Romanticism to Ecocriticsm. New York:
Routledge.
Curtius, Ernst Robert. 1948. Europäische Literatur und lateinisches Mittelalter. Bern: Franke. (Kap. 10,
“Die Ideallandschaft,” 191-209)
Eberle, Matthias. 1984. Individuum und Landschaft: Zur Entstehung und Entwicklung der Landschaftsmalerei.
Gießen: Anabas.
Fisher, Jaimey, and Mennel, Barbara, eds. 2010. Spatial Turns : Space, Place, and Mobility in German
Literary and Visual Culture (Amsterdamer Beiträge zur neueren Germanistik 75). Amsterdam: Rodopi.
Glotfelty, Cheryll, and Harold Fromm, eds. 1996. The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology.
Athens: U. of Georgia Press.
Goodbody, Axel and Kate Rigby, eds. 2011. Ecocritical Theory: New European Approaches.
Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press.
Goodbody, Axel, ed. 2002. The Culture of German Environmentalism: Anxieties, Visions, Realities. New
York: Berghahn Books.
——. 2007. Nature, Technology, and Cultural Change in Twentieth-Century German Literature: The Challenge
of Ecocriticsm. New York: Palgrave-Macmillan.
Harrison, Robert Pogue. 1992. Forests: The Shadow of Civilization. Chicago: Chicago Univ. Press.
Heise, Ursula K. 2006. “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Ecocriticm,” PMLA 121. 503-516.
Jung-Kaiser, Ute. Ed. 2008. Der Wald als romantischer Topos. Bern: Peter Lang.
Küster, Hansjörg. 1998. Geschichte des Waldes: Von der Urzeit bis zur Gegenwart. Munich: Beck.
Murphy, G. Ronald. 2000. The Owl, the Raven, and the Dove: The Religious Meaning of the Grimm’s Magic
Fairy Tales. New York: Oxford University Press.
Meltzer, Françoise. 2009. “Reviving the Fairy Tree: Tales of European Sanctity.” Critical Inquiry 35.3:
493-520.
McKusick, James C. 2000. Green Writing: Romanticism and Ecology. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Rigby, Catherine E. 2004. Topographies of the Sacred: The Poetics of Place in European Romanticism.
Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press.
Röhrich, Lutz. 1988. “Der Baum in der Volksliteratur, in Märchen, Mythen und Riten.” Germanistik
aus interkultureller Perspektive: 9-26.
Reiners, William A. and Jeffrey A. Lockwood. 2010. Philosophical Foundations for the Practices of Ecology.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Rival, Laura, ed. 1998. The Social Life of Trees: Anthropological Perspectives on Tree Symbolism. Oxford:
Berg.
Ulmer, Birgit. 2010. Die Entdeckung der Landschaft in der italienischen Literatur an der Schwelle zur Moderne.
Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
Schama, Simon. 1995. Landscape and Memory. New York: Vintage.
Vavra, Elisabeth. 2008. Der Wald im Mittelalter: Funktion – Nutzung – Deutung (=Das Mittelalter:
Perspektiven mediävistischer Forschung 13.2) Oldenbourg: Akademie Verlag.
Volkmann, Helga. 2002. Märchenpflanzen-Mythenfrüchte-Zauberkräuter: Grüne Wegbegleiter in Literatur und
Kultur. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
Weyergraf, Bernd, 1987. Waldungen: Die Deutschen und ihr Wald. Berlin: Akademie der Künste.
Zipes, Jack. 2002. The Brothers Grimm: From Enchanted Forests to the Modern World. New York: PalgraveMacmillan.
Textsammlungen:
Jaenike, Djamila, ed. 2010. Baummärchen aus aller Welt. Lützelflüh, Switzerland: Mutabor.
Tatar, Maria, ed. 2004. The Annotated Brothers Grimm. New York: W.W. Norton.
—. 1999. The Classic Fairy Tales. New York: W.W. Norton.
Zipes, Jack. 2000. The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: From Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm. New
York: W. W. Norton.
Andere Texte:
• Francesco Petrarca, “Besteigung des Mont Ventoux” https://www.phil-fak.uniduesseldorf.de/fileadmin/Redaktion/Institute/Germanistik/AbteilungIII/Materialien/Materialien_
Brall/Francesco%20Petrarca_Mont%20Ventoux.pdf
• “Barnstock,” The Saga of the Volsungs, ch. 2-3 (Barnstokkr, Völsunga Saga/Sage von den Volsungen)
• Bayon, “Stell’ dich mitten in den Regen” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUw3ZcnKjQ4
• Bert Brecht, “Erinnerung an die Marie A.” http://erinnerungsort.de/erinnerung-an-die-marie-a._135.html
• Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, Undine http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/suche?q=Undine
• Daniel Kehlmann, 2009. Die Vermessung der Welt. 13th ed. Reinbeck bei Hamburg: Rowohlt.
• W. G. Sebald. 2010. Nach der Natur: Ein Elementargedicht. 5th ed. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer.
• Ludwig Tieck, Der Runenberg http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/der-runenberg-5463/1