|
Lecturer(s)
|
|
|
|
Course content
|
A number of Jewish German-writing authors from Czechoslovakia, Austria, and Germany decided, in response to intensifying anti-Jewish persecution in the 1930s, to emigrate to Palestine, then under British Mandate. Despite initial difficulties, most of the "Jeckes" gradually integrated, to varying degrees, into the Hebrew-speaking society of the newly emerging State of Israel (founded in 1948), and many learned Hebrew. However, German largely remained the language of their literary works, written either in the new country or after an early return to Europe. Language and a deep connection to German cultural tradition, in tension with varying degrees of engagement with the new Jewish state, placed these texts and their authors in a kind of "in-between" space. This literature, constantly oscillating between "there" and "here," between a "home" defined more by linguistic and cultural space than by geographical borders and the "land of the fathers," exhibits a high degree of hybridity and must therefore be understood beyond the framework of a single literary history. The seminar will focus on the specific features of texts by German-writing authors from Israel, with particular attention to the discrepancies between cultural-Zionist visions of a new Jewish homeland and the political reality of the State of Israel, the concept of a new Jewish society, and the literary representation of the "lost and sought-after home"elements that can be seen as attempts at constructing a literary (Jewish) identity.
|
|
Learning activities and teaching methods
|
|
Dialogic Lecture (Discussion, Dialog, Brainstorming), Work with Text (with Book, Textbook), Projection (static, dynamic)
|
|
Learning outcomes
|
The aim of the course is to acquaint participants with the specific features of the literature of German-language authors who, in the 1930s, came to Mandatory Palestine as a result of political developments in Europe and gradually, to varying degrees, integrated into the Hebrew-speaking society of the newly established State of Israel.
Graduates of the course will gain insight into the historical and political context of German-speaking immigration to Palestine/Israel. They will become familiar with the reasons for the problematic status of the German language in the newly emerging society of the Jewish state and will acquire an overview of German-language literature produced under these specific conditions between the "old" and the "new" homeland. They will also be able to discuss the factors that influenced the development of the so-called "new Jewish identity" and its literary construction.
|
|
Prerequisites
|
Knowledge of German is a prerequisite for participation in the course, as many of the primary texts we will work with are written in German. If there is greater interest among participants without knowledge of German, the texts will be read in translation (and the selection will be adjusted accordingly).
|
|
Assessment methods and criteria
|
Student performance, Analysis of Creative works (Music, Pictorial,Literary), Didactic Test, Dialog, Seminar Work
Active participation in seminar discussions, reading of texts and independent preparation, and the preparation of an individual presentation (paper) on a selected topic/text. A maximum of 20% excused absence is permitted.
|
|
Recommended literature
|
-
+ V závislosti na tématu semináře/Depending on the topic of seminar.
-
(1983). DTV Atlas deutsche Literatur.
-
V závislosti na zvolené epoše, tématu/Depending on the period, topic.
-
AMIR, Dov, ed. (1980). Leben und Werk der deutschsprachigen Schriftsteller in Israel. Eine Bio-Bibliographie.. München.
-
Braak, Ivo. (1980). Poetik in Stichworten. Kiel.
-
EREL, Schlomo. (1983). Neue Wurzeln. 50 Jahre Immigration deutschsprachiger Juden in Israel.. Gerlingen.
-
Frenzel. (1962). Daten deutscher Dichtung, DTV.
-
Freund, Winfried. (1990). Deutsche Lyrik. München.
-
GILBERT, Martin. (2008). Israel: A History. Harper Perennial; Revised, Updated edition..
-
Gumbrecht/Link-Heer (Hrsg.). (1985). Epochenschwellen und Epochenstrukturen im Diskurs der Literatur und Sprachtheorie. Frankfurt/M. Suhrkamp.
-
HOBA, Katharina. (2017). Generation in Übergang. Beheimatungsprozesse deutscher Juden in Israel.. Köln.
-
JAKOBS, Miriam a Gerhart SCHICK. (2008). Der Klang der Worte. Deutsche Sprache in Jerusalem.. München.
-
Jauß. (1970). Literaturgeschichte als Provokation. Frankfurt/M Suhrkamp.
-
KILCHER, Andreas a Eva EDELMANN-OHLER. (2016). Deutsche Sprachkultur in Palästina/Israel.. Oldenbourg.
-
Petrů, Eduard. (2000). Úvod do studia literární vědy. Olomouc.
-
SEEGER, Gisela, ed. (1987). Exil in der Tschechoslowakei, in Grossbritannien, Skandinavien und Palästina. 2. erweiterte Auflage.. Leipzig.
-
Strelka. (2000). Literarische Interpretation. Tübigen.
-
Wellek/Warren. (1972). Theorie der Literatur. Frankfurt.
|