231101 The Tip of the Iceberg: American Modernism (S) (WiSe 2013/2014)

American Modernism is classified as an artistic and cultural movement taking place in the United States from the turn of the 20th century onwards. Probably the largest amount of modernist fiction was produced during the interwar period, between World War I and World War II. With modernist writers such as Ezra Pound, Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Sterling Brown, Langston Hughes, Zora Neal Hurston (and the list could go on and on) U.S.-American literature established a voice of its own, not only in the sense of an aesthetic impact but most importantly as a political and ideological force. While this seminar can hardly cover all the groundbreaking developments in U.S.-American modernist literature, we will have a closer look at Ernest Hemingway’s so-called ‘iceberg theory’ with close readings of several of his short stories. Students can thus improve their literary analysis skills and obtain up to 3 credit points in this seminar.