NJII_747B Austrian Literature

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2021
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mag. phil. Johanna Lenhart, M.A. (lecturer)
Erkan Osmanović, MA (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Aleš Urválek, Ph.D.
Department of German, Scandinavian and Netherland Studies – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of German, Scandinavian and Netherland Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 18:00–19:40 G22
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 1/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 10 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
Apocalypses are a recurring motif in Austrian literature - from Christian-influenced doomsdays to eco-apocalypses, the demise of the world as we know it is thematized. These doomsday fantasies oscillate between redemption and catastrophe and also tell of social problems and discussions in the extra-literary world.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, students will be familiar with various realizations of the literary motif of the apocalypse, will be able to apply theoretical/cultural-historical aspects to the texts, and will gain an in-depth insight into the literary history of Austria in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Syllabus
  • Using texts from Austrian literature of the 20th and 21st centuries, we will address the following questions, among others:
  • - How is catastrophe/utopia narrated? What motifs and linguistic/stylistic devices are used in the texts?
  • - How do the fictional doomsdays reflect social discussions? What does the world look like before/after its demise?
  • - How can narratives of the end of the world be classified in terms of literary theory/history?
  • - What differences and similarities do the various doomsday stories have?
  • (preliminary) selection of texts:
  • Hugo von Hofmannsthal – Die Ballade des äußeren Lebens (1894/1896)
  • Alfred Kubin – Die andere Seite (1908)
  • Hannelore Valencak – Die Höhlen Noahs (1961)
  • Otto Basil – Wenn das der Führer wüßte (1966)
  • Christian Mähr – Carbon (2020)
  • Valerie Fritsch – Winters Garten (2015)
  • Christoph Ransmayr – Strahlender Untergang (1982) / Die letzte Welt (1988)
  • Elfriede Jelinek - Die Kinder der Toten (1995)
  • The course will also address aspects raised in the following video:
  • Weltuntergang: Steht die Welt am Abgrund? | Gespräch | Sternstunde Philosophie | SRF Kultur: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHdWWJcbejY
Teaching methods
(recorded) lectures, independent reading, class discussions of texts and concepts
Assessment methods
This final exam is a tandem interview, with the following key points:
. - 15-20 minutes
- via MS teams
- Questions about all input recordings; all presentations; all texts
. Procedure: 1. students receive text
. 2. discussion of author and content of text
. 3. student answers questions about the text
.
Language of instruction
German
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
General note: Na jaře 2021 zde E. Osmanovič a J. Lenhart přednášejí na téma Österreichische Weltuntergänge.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2021, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2021/NJII_747B