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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 seminar examines the literature and culture of the Biedermeier and Vormärz periods in the German-speaking countries during the first half of the nineteenth century. Individual topics are placed within broader historical, political, and social contexts, particularly those of Restoration, censorship, liberalism, changes in the reading public, and the revolutionary tendencies preceding 1848. Particular attention is paid to the fundamental characteristics of Biedermeier literature, the literary Vormärz, the Austrian Vormärz, and the Young Germany movement. The seminar works with selected lyrical, prose, dramatic, and political-journalistic texts by authors including Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, Eduard Mörike, Nikolaus Lenau, Georg Büchner, Franz Grillparzer, Johann Nestroy, Ferdinand Raimund, and Heinrich Heine. Emphasis is placed on the joint reading and interpretation of primary texts, the identification of characteristic features of the individual literary tendencies, and discussion of the relationship between literature and the social and political conditions of the period. Course materials consist of primary texts, handouts, presentations, and worksheets made available in Moodle. Depending on the topic, these are supplemented by scholarly articles and chapters from recommended secondary literature.
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Dialogic Lecture (Discussion, Dialog, Brainstorming), Work with Text (with Book, Textbook)
- Homework for Teaching
- 14 hours per semester
- Homework for Teaching
- 14 hours per semester
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Learning outcomes
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The aim of the seminar is to introduce students to the literature and culture of the Biedermeier and Vormärz periods in the German-speaking countries and to place them within the broader historical, social, and political contexts of the first half of the nineteenth century. Particular attention is paid to Restoration, censorship, liberalism, changes in the reading public, the literary Vormärz, the Austrian Vormärz, and the Young Germany movement. Students work with selected literary texts and learn to identify the characteristic thematic and poetic features of the individual literary tendencies. The seminar develops their ability to place literary works within their contemporary contexts, formulate well-supported interpretations, and defend them in academic discussion. Particular emphasis is placed on active engagement with primary texts and on linking literary-historical knowledge with the analysis of specific works.
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be familiar with the principal literary and cultural tendencies of the Biedermeier and Vormärz periods and will be able to explain their historical, social, and political contexts. They will be able to characterise the literary Vormärz, the Austrian Vormärz, the Young Germany movement, and the specific features of Biedermeier literature. Students will be able to analyse and interpret selected texts by authors such as Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, Eduard Mörike, Nikolaus Lenau, Georg Büchner, Franz Grillparzer, Johann Nestroy, Ferdinand Raimund, and Heinrich Heine. They will be able to identify characteristic thematic and poetic features of the individual literary tendencies, place the texts within their contemporary contexts, and formulate and defend their own interpretations in academic discussion.
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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 European history and culture in the first half of the nineteenth century is advantageous but is not a prerequisite for completing the course. German language proficiency at approximately B2 level is expected for reading and interpreting selected primary and secondary texts and for active participation in seminar discussions.
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Oral exam, Student performance, Analysis of Creative works (Music, Pictorial,Literary)
Students prepare continuously for each seminar topic by reading the assigned primary texts and studying the materials made available in Moodle. They participate actively in the joint analysis of literary texts and in academic discussion and complete the assigned coursework tasks. The seminar concludes with an individual oral discussion lasting approximately 15 minutes. During the discussion, students demonstrate their familiarity with the main topics covered in the course, their ability to place the authors, works, and literary tendencies discussed within the historical, social, and political contexts of the first half of the nineteenth century, and their ability to formulate a well-supported interpretation of a selected text. To receive credit for the course, students must attend the seminar regularly and come prepared, participate actively in class, complete the assigned tasks by the specified deadlines, and complete the final oral discussion. No more than two unexcused absences are permitted.
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Recommended literature
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Bark, Joachim. Biedermeier und Vormärz/Bürgerlicher Realismus. Stuttgart. 2001.
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Bleek, Wilhelm. Vormärz. Deutschlands Aufbruch in die Moderne 1815?1848. München. 2019.
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Hein, Dieter. Deutsche Geschichte im 19. Jahrhundert. Weinheim. 2015.
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Sengle, Friedrich. Biedermeierzeit. Deutsche Literatur im Spannungsfeld zwischen Restauration und Revolution 1815-1848. Band II: Die Formenwelt. Stuttgart. 1971.
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Sengle, Friedrich. Biedermeierzeit. Deutsche Literatur im Spannungsfeld zwischen Restauration und Revolution 1815-1848. Band II: Die Formenwelt. Stuttgart. 1971.
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Sengle, Friedrich. Deutsche Literatur im Spannungsfeld Zwischen Restauration und Revolution 1815?1848: Band III: Die Dichter. Stuttgart. 1980.
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Weber-Kellermann, Ingeborg. Frauenleben im 19. Jahrhundert. Empire und Romantik, Biedermeier, Gründerzeit. Weinheim. 1990.
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