Taught in
English First four-week summer session
Germanic Studies / EURO: Topics in Scandinavian
Literature
The Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
May 13 – June 6, 2014
M-F, 10:20AM-12:30
GER-E363/K507 WEUR-W406/605
(3cr.)
Arts & Humanities Breadth of Inquiry credit
Global Civ & Culture Studies credit
In this course we will delve into the universe that is
Hans Christian Andersen. We will focus on his tales and examine them through
their structure and content. We’ll also address the way they relate to the
author’s life and his time, and discuss their relevance to us. The Emperor’s
New Clothes, The Ugly Duckling, and The Steadfast Tin Soldier are just some of
the extremely popular and highly beloved stories we will read. Ever relevant
and touching, they penetrate deeply into the soul of modern man. Andersen
examines this soul with all its beauty and repulsiveness, reaches to the core
of humanity, and expresses it in a previously unimagined and subsequently
unsurpassed ways. What was it in the unique personality of this
particular human being that made possible his astounding artistic achievement?
What was it in the age and the place, and in the particular life trajectory of
Hans Christian Andersen that yielded such profoundly vast and successful
oeuvre?
By the end of the course you will be able to identify and
discuss major currents in the development of European society,
philosophical thought and art in the 19th century. You will be able to analyze literary
texts in terms of form and content, as well as use them to identify and
question assumptions with which you approach the world.
The final grade will be based on two response papers,
frequent quizzes, two small exams, the core of a final paper, regular class
attendance and participation in the class discussion.
Text:
Hans Christian Andersen: The Complete Fairy Tales and
Stories
Translated from the Danish by Erik Christian Haugaard
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