126-463 Literary Controversies

37.5 points of second/third year subjects. European studies students wishing to enrol in this subject would normally have completed 37.5 points of European studies at second/third year, see Prerequisites.

This subject concentrates on two controversies from the recent history of Germany and Austria: the debate surrounding the best known writer from the former GDR, Christa Wolf; and the outrage that ensued following the publication in 1983 of a play by Thomas Bernhard, the most important of Austria's postwar writers. The controversies will be used to examine the ways, through intellectual debate, the realities of a communist and fascist past are dealt with. The famous 'historians' debate, which flared up again in Germany at the beginning of 1994 in the context of Spielberg's film Schindler's List, will also be discussed. Students who complete this subject should be acquainted with recent German writing and literary crises; be able to assess and appreciate the impact literature has on society; have an ability to discuss, analyse and evaluate complex ideas in German; have become acquainted with recent critical theory and methodology.