Inhalte
For the last decade,
Patrick Ness has established himself a reputation as a highly acclaimed
writer of young adult fiction, whose novels have deservedly and
repeatedly won some of the most prestigious awards, including the
Carnegie Medal. His themes are not only concerned with ‘typical’ young
adult topics - such as coming of age, friendship, love, anxiety of the
future (e.g. The Rest of Us Just Live Here), but frequently also address the darker sides of life - death, illness and disorder or loss (e.g. A Monster Calls or More Than This).
The protagonists of Ness’s novels are often plunged into a world in
which good and bad are not crystal clear and where, therefore, they have
to make difficult choices. His award winning Chaos Walking
Trilogy, for instance, is a remarkable dystopia that - unlike some
popular blockbusters - does not eventually lead its readers to easy,
sugarcoated solutions.
In our seminar, we are going to explore this complexity of Patrick
Ness’s fiction, looking at his strong, peculiar characters, his complex
narrative strategies and humorous storytelling, as well as his
thoughtful and critical treatment of issues that are by no means too
advanced for young adult readers.
Zwingende Voraussetzung
Bitte
beachten Sie, dass dies ein Kurs im Masterstudiengang ist, d.h. Sie
können in diesem Kurs nur SL und PL erwerben, wenn Sie Ihr
Bachelorstudium bis zum Stichtag 30. Mai komplett (d.h. ALLE Fächer)
erfolgreich abgeschlossen haben. Ein Voraberwerb von später
anzurechnenden Punkten ist nicht möglich.
Studierende, die zum Zeitpunkt der Kurseinschreibung in Unisono noch
nicht ihren BA komplett abgeschlossen haben, werden daher nicht den
Status "zugelassen" erhalten.
Wenn ein Abschluss bis 30.5. absehbar ist, können Sie aber nach
Rücksprache mit der Dozentin und unter Vorbehalt des erfolgreichen
Abschlusses bis 30.5. - einen Platz erhalten, wenn Sie in der ersten
Sitzung erscheinen und wenn noch Plätze im Kurs verfügbar sind.
Eine Kursteilnahme rein interessehalber - d.h. ohne Erwerb von SL oder
PL - ist nach Rücksprache mit der Dozentin gerne möglich, solange im
Raum genügend Plätze sind.
Zu erbringende Prüfungsleistung
For a Prüfungsleistung, students are expected to submit an academic term paper.
Zu erbringende Studienleistung
For
a Studienleistung, students will be expected to read all the novels
listed under "Literatur", to contribute actively to all sessions, and to
act as experts for one of the novels (or to introduce one of the
volumes of the trilogy which we will not discuss in detail).
Literatur
Participants are expected to buy their own copies of and read the following novels by Patrick Ness:
The Rest of Us just Live Here
A Monster Calls (illustrated edition!)
More Than This
The Ask and the Answer (= volume II of the Chaos Walking trilogy. If you wish to read the entire trilogy, you are welcome to also read volume I: The Knife of Never Letting Go and volume III: Monsters of Men)
In order to cope with the reading load, participants should have read The Rest of Us just Live Here by the beginning of the term and they should have begun reading A Monster Calls (at least).