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Lecturer(s)
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Krappmann Joerg, doc. Mgr. Ph.D.
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Course content
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The Development of German-Language Fantastic Literature The selection of texts included in the seminar is designed to trace the development of fantastic literature from Romanticism to the present day. Fantastic adaptations of mythical narratives can be found as early as the Middle Ages. During the rationalist Enlightenment, however, such texts fell into obscurity, while popular literary forms such as ghost stories and Gothic novels were largely excluded from the literary canon. A revival of fantastic storytelling emerged only with Romanticism, particularly through the Kunstmärchen (literary fairy tale). Throughout the nineteenth century, fantastic literature became increasingly diversified and reached its quantitative and qualitative peak around 1900 in literary Modernism and later in the poetics of magical realism. Fantastic literature fulfilled a variety of functions. It served as a vehicle for the subversive critique of social conditions (the grotesque, magical realism), the construction of possible worlds (utopias and dystopias, fantasy, science fiction, and time travel), and the exploration of unconventional forms of knowledge, including occultism and Surrealism. The texts analysed in the seminar reflect this historical development by combining canonical literary works with works of popular literature. Students will thereby gain an overview of the emergence and establishment of the major subgenres of fantastic literature.
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Work with Text (with Book, Textbook)
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Learning outcomes
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The aim of the seminar is to familiarise students with the development of German-language fantastic literature from Romanticism to the present day and to demonstrate, through this example, the emergence, transformation, and differentiation of a literary genre. Students will explore the changing position of fantastic literature within the literary systemfrom its canonical status during Romanticism, through its association with popular literature, to its re-canonisation in the first half of the twentieth century. They will also acquire a historical and systematic approach to the study of literary genres that can be applied to the analysis of other literary genres and traditions.
Students will gain an overview of the development of German-language fantastic literature from Romanticism to the present day and of its major subgenres. They will be able to analyse and interpret works of fantastic literature within their historical, cultural, and generic context and explain the changing status of fantastic literature within the literary system. They will also acquire a historical and systematic approach to the study of literary genres and be able to apply it to the analysis of other literary genres and traditions.
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Prerequisites
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No specific prerequisites.
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Student performance, Seminar Work
A maximum of two absences per semester is permitted. Students are expected to participate actively in seminar discussions, complete the assigned preparatory work, and read the required texts.
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Recommended literature
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Brittnacher, Hans Richard/Markus May (Hg.). (2013). Phantastik. Ein interdisziplinäres Handbuch. S. 48-56; 59-67; 100-107; 137-141; 529-542. Stuttgart.
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Klimek, Sonja (Hg.). Funktionen der Fantastik. Heidelberg. 2017.
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Krappmann, Jörg/Alžběta Peštová/Milan Horňáček. (2024). Transdifferenz und Gattungsdynamik. Wien.
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Lachmann, Renate. (2002). Erzählte Phantastik. Frankfurt/Main.
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Müller-Funk, Wolfgang (Hg.). (2008). Faszination des Okkulten.. Tübingen.
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