Anglophone Modernities in Literature and Culture

This course is only for students who have to do the "Übersetzungspraktikum" as part of their Master degree in Anglophone Modernities in Literature and Culture. Please note that in this semester you only have the option of writing a Review Article. Thus, the course is only open to students who have a German level of B2 or below.

In this reading intensive course, we will survey several works of classical British children's literature, published between 1860 -1960. Discussing texts ranging from fairy tales to fantasy to adventure stories, we will ask questions about common narrative tropes, the construction of childhood, the hisotric situatedness of these texts, and (the problematics) of representation.

Students are asked to obtain copies of:

Lewis Carroll: Alice in Wonderland (1865)

Robert Louis Stevenson: Treasure Island (1883)

Oscar Wilde: The Happy Prince & The Selfish Giant (1888)

Frances Hodgson Burnett: The Secret Garden (1911)

Enid Blyton: The Twins at St. Clare’s (1941)

Enid Blyton: Five On Kirrin Island Again (1947)

C.S. Lewis: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)


This research colloquium provides students in Anglophone Modernities with the opportunity to study and critically engage with various current approaches to literary and cultural studies. We will read one novel, Bernadine Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other, which allows us to apply and contexualise the critical reading. Advanced students (who take their third colloquium) must present their MA thesis projects and will receive feedback. In addition, we will make time to discuss the process of writing an MA thesis. Attention: the central approaches discussed in this particular colloquium are marxism, feminism, and queer studies: Do not choose this colloquium if you have taken one with this focus before.