Undergraduate Course: German Colonialism: History, Memory, Controversy (ELCG08014)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This course examines the history and legacy of German colonialism using literary texts, historical sources and coverage of public debates from the late 19th century to the present day. The course prepares students for Honours-level study by familiarising them with the use of critical theory and training them to carry out research into public discourse. |
| Course description |
This course follows a format common in German universities, taking as its point of departure a single novel, which we will use as an initial source of examples and basis for in-depth analysis. The central text is Imperium by Christian Kracht (2011), a post-modern comical novel that draws on a range of discourses around the German colonial past. As a class, we will put Imperium into context by looking at representations of race and imperial ideology in excerpts of literary texts, political speeches and mass media including advertising and film from the late 19th and early 20th century. We will consider the relationship between imperialism and white nationalism in Europe and examine the ongoing debate around the extent to which National Socialist policy was influenced by earlier colonial ideology and practice. After that, we will look at the way the debate about the history and legacy of German colonialism has developed in Germany in the post-war period, focusing on issues around public space, statues and street names from the 1960s to the present day. Finally, we will turn to the resurgence of colonialism as a theme in recent literature and historiography and examine the state of play in contemporary (international) debates about the colonial past. Imperium, and the controversy surrounding it, will provide a wealth of examples upon which you will draw to develop a toolbox of critical tools and historical examples through which to understand German colonialism as a historical event and determining factor in contemporary discussions of race and social justice. Weekly online tasks will reinforce what you have learned and provide opportunities to ask questions.
In addition to producing an individual close reading of an excerpt of Imperium, which will provide a testing ground for your analytical skills and theoretical learning, this course will develop your abilities at independent research, synthesising information, collaborative working and writing for a non-academic audience. You will each join an ALG (Autonomous Learning Group) of 4-5 students, who will work together throughout the course to support one another and discuss reading between our sessions. In the second half of the course, your ALG will select a specific topic related to Germany's colonial past and carry out independent research into this theme using both academic and non-academic sources. You will be collectively responsible for dividing up research questions, assembling information - which may include interviews, pictures, primary historical documents or information from social media alongside your own research - and judging how best to present it to your audience through the medium of audio or video. This is an opportunity to be creative and play to your strengths as well as learning new skills from your fellow students. The final product of your group project, a 10-minute clip conceptualized and edited by you, will be presented to staff and students from DELC and offered to appropriate external partners. Your ALG will meet with me for small-group tutorial sessions and receive feedback on your ideas, as well as support with approaches to your topic.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | Students MUST also take:
German 2 Language (ELCG08008)
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| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Students should have German language skills at CEFR level B1 or above; entry to this course above introductory level may be subject to a language test on arrival and is at the discretion of the course organiser. Visiting Students should also take as a co-requisite German 2 Language (ELCG08008). |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2020/21, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 22 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
76 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
100% Coursework
Participation 10% (ALG)
Participation 10% (Individual)
Close reading exercise 40%
Group project 40% |
| Feedback |
Students will receive feedback on their group project and extended essay prior to submission.
Students will participate in peer feedback prior to submission of assessment. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Summarise and explain key issues related to German colonialism and European overseas imperialism, National Socialism, anti-imperialist protest, public space and commemoration.
- Offer a confident and well-supported analysis of historical and cultural dimensions of German imperialism on the basis of primary sources.
- Analyse literary texts using critical theory and present this analysis in a high-quality academic essay using appropriate style, register and structure.
- Present key information and independent research in formats appropriate for a non-expert, non-academic audience.
- Independently plan and execute a group research project in accordance with a specific brief, reflecting critically on its effectiveness.
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Reading List
Essential:
Short excerpts from Karl May's Durch Wüste und Harem (1892) and Theodor Fontane's Effi Briest (1895).
Stephan Wackwitz's Ein unsichtbares Land (2005)
Christian Kracht's Imperium (2012)
Various online sources taken from newspapers, advertising, museums, protest movements.
Recommended:
Monika Albrecht, 'Post-Colonialism and Migration in Germany's Colonial Past', German Life and Letters, July 2012, Vol.65(3), pp.363-377.
David Ciarlo, 'Mass- Marketing the Empire: Colonial Fantasies and Advertising Visions', in Bradley Naranch, Geoff Eley (eds.) German Colonialism in a Global Age, Duke University Press, 2014.
Dirk Göttsche, Remembering Africa: The Rediscovery of Colonialism in Contemporary German Literature, London, Camden House, 2013.
Birthe Kundrus, 'Colonialism, Imperialism, National Socialism: How Imperial Was the Third Reich?' in Bradley Naranch, Geoff Eley (eds.) German Colonialism in a Global Age, Duke University Press, 2014.
Dörte Lerp, 'Farmers to the Frontier: Settler Colonialism in the East Prussian Provinces and German Southwest Africa', The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 01 November 2013, Vol.41(4), p.567-583
Liesbeth Minnaard, 'Transnational Contact-Narratives: Dutch Postcoloniality from a Turkish-German Viewpoint' in Elleke Boehmer (Ed.) The Post-Colonial Low Countries: Literature, Colonialism and Multi-Culturalism, Lexington Books, 2012.
Robert L. Nelson 'The Baltics as Colonial Playground: Germany in the East 1914-18', Journal of Baltic Studies, Vol. 42, No. 1, 2011, pp. 9-19
Michael Perraudin (Ed.), German Colonialism and National Identity, London, Routledge, 2010.
Edward Said, Orientalism (1978), London, Penguin, 2003.
Britta Schilling, 'Imperial Heirlooms: The Private Memory of Colonialism in Germany', The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, Volume 41, 2013 - Issue 4: German Colonialism, pp. 663-682
Tharoor, Shashi, 'Imperial amnesia: The messy afterlife of colonialism'. Griffith REVIEW, No. 59, 2018: 62-67.
Gloria Wekker, White Innocence: Paradoxes of Colonialism and Race, Durham, Duke University Press, 2016.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
During this course, students will further develop graduate attributes and personal and professional skills in the following areas:
Research and enquiry: analytical thinking; social criticism; knowledge integration and application; understanding critical theory; handling complexity and ambiguity; discourse analysis; critical close reading of literary texts; independent research skills including evaluating sources.
Personal and intellectual autonomy: self-awareness and reflection; independent learning and development; creative and inventive thinking; engagement with contemporary debates beyond academia.
Personal effectiveness: planning, organising and time management; team working; project management; assertiveness and confidence; flexibility.
Communication: interpersonal skills; verbal and written communication; translation; presentation of information to non-expert audience; IT skills including designing printed material and engaging with social media; editing and proofreading skills; peer feedback.
Feedback: Students will receive feedback on their group project and on their essay plans in advance of their submission.
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| Keywords | colonialism,memory,race,ideology,literature,history,public discourse,media,commemoration,museums |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Jennifer Watson
Tel: (0131 6)50 8980
Email: jenny.watson@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Ashley Stein
Tel: (0131 6)50 4465
Email: Ashley.Stein@ed.ac.uk |
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