230568 The First World War in British Literary and Cultural Memory (S) (WiSe 2006/2007)

The World War of 1914 to 1918 has been regarded as a crucial catastrophe of the 20th century and it has retained a dominant position the literary and cultural memory of Britain. From the war years to today, trench warfare on the Western front in particular has led to the production of a plethora of texts of various genres (including poetry, drama and narrative, both fictional and autobiographical), films, museums, monuments, and other artefacts which have kept the memory alive. Studying texts and films that span this whole period, we will investigate the mechanisms of construction of British cultural memory of the First World War as well as the phases of its development.
Texts to be discussed will include poetry by the war poets (Wilfred Owen, Edmund Blunden, Siegfried Sassoon, and others), extracts from autobiographies (Edmund Blunden's Untertones of War and Siegfried Sassoon's Memoir's of an Infantry Officer), a theatre play (R.C. Sherriff's, Journey's End) and a novel (Pat Barker's Regeneration).
The poems, extracts from autobiographies and the play will be made available in a reader that can be purchased from mid-September on. Please buy your own copy of Pat Barker's Regeneration (any edition).

Requirements: A Schein (and/or 3 credit points) will be awarded for regular attendance and active participation, contribution to an expert-group paper and a term paper.