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Lecturer(s)
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Voda Eschgfäller Sabine, Mgr. Dr.
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Course content
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The lecture examines German-language literature of the Enlightenment within its historical, social, and intellectual contexts. The introductory section presents the fundamental features of Enlightenment thought and the main tendencies of eighteenth-century literature. Subsequent lectures focus on selected authors and works, particularly those of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, Christoph Martin Wieland, Johann Gottfried Herder, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, and Friedrich Schiller. The course includes the analysis of selected literary works and extracts, including Lessing's dramas Nathan der Weise and Emilia Galotti, Goethe's novel Die Leiden des jungen Werthers, Schiller's drama Kabale und Liebe, selected odes by Klopstock, Herder's folk songs, and extracts from Wieland's novel Geschichte des Agathon. The texts are interpreted with regard to their thematic, poetic, and literary-historical contexts. The principal course materials consist of handouts containing key theses and information relevant to the examination. These are prepared for each topic and made available in Moodle. Where appropriate, they are supplemented by presentations, extracts from primary texts, and additional study materials.
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Lecture
- Homework for Teaching
- 12 hours per semester
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Learning outcomes
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The aim of the lecture is to introduce students to the literature of the German Enlightenment and to its historical, social, and intellectual contexts. Particular attention is paid to the fundamental features of Enlightenment thought, changes in eighteenth-century literary culture, and major authors and works of the period. Students gain an overview of the principal literary tendencies and genres and become familiar with selected works by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, Christoph Martin Wieland, Johann Gottfried Herder, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, and Friedrich Schiller. The course develops students' ability to place literary texts within their contemporary cultural and historical contexts, identify their main thematic and poetic features, and interpret selected passages.
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to characterise the main features of the German Enlightenment and explain its historical, social, and intellectual contexts. They will be familiar with the principal literary tendencies, genres, authors, and works of eighteenth-century German-language literature. They will be able to place selected texts within their contemporary cultural and literary-historical contexts, identify their main thematic and poetic features, and interpret selected passages. They will also be able to explain the significance of authors such as Lessing, Klopstock, Wieland, Herder, Goethe, and Schiller for the development of eighteenth-century German literature.
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Prerequisites
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The course is intended for students enrolled in German Studies programmes as well as for other interested students at Palacký University. A basic knowledge of eighteenth-century European history and culture is advantageous but is not a prerequisite for completing the course. German language proficiency at approximately B2 level is expected for work with selected primary and secondary texts.
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Mark, Oral exam
Students prepare for the examination on the basis of the lecture content, the handouts available in Moodle, and the assigned primary and secondary texts. The course is completed with an individual oral examination lasting approximately 20 minutes. During the examination, students demonstrate their knowledge of the main topics covered in the course, their ability to place the authors and works discussed within the historical, social, and intellectual contexts of the Enlightenment, and their familiarity with the selected literary texts. Attendance at lectures is not compulsory.
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Recommended literature
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Alt, Peter-André. Aufklärung. Weimar. 2007.
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Alt, Peter-André. Die Tragödie der Aufklärung: Eine Einführung. Tübingen. 1994.
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Kimpel, Dieter. Der Roman der Aufklärung (1670-1774). Weimar. 1977.
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