Poetry of the (postcolonial) Metropolis 26_27

MA 3: Modul 271432-107 English Literatures: Intertextuality in Intercultural Perspectives

S Poetry of the (Postcolonial) Metropolis

[M_AA_1 M_DK_3, M_AA_3 SGPhilWS]

Wednesday, 11:30-13:00, C10.106 (2/N106)                       First meeting: 14.10.2026

Conent:

From modernist examinations of the metropolis to the postmodern and postcolonial engagements with the sociocultural construction of urban spaces, literary and cultural theories have been committed to investigating “the urban condition”. The metropolitan imaginary has especially flourished in the genre of poetry, whose condensed and allusive form is particularly conducive to capturing the rhythms, contradictions and permutations of city-life and the metropolitan’s palimpsestic structure. At the same time, poems frequently enter into dialogue with other literary texts, artistic traditions and cultural contexts, making them ideal sites for exploring both intertextuality and interculturality. Central to our discussions will be the figure of the flâneur, as explored by Walter Benjamin, and its revision in postcolonial writing through concepts such as the counter-flâneur or postcolonial flâneur, whose movements through the city foreground questions of power relations, migration, diaspora, race, gender, class and cultural identity.

Objectives:

In this seminar, students will investigate the ‘imaginative geography’ of cities as represented in anglophone poetry from around the globe. We will explore poetic representations of urban spaces in poems on/from Cape Town, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London, Mumbai, Singapore, New York and Vancouver. Our readings will be informed by approaches from literary and cultural studies as well as related fields such as sociology and urban theory, postcolonial studies, visual arts, film and gender studies. Attention will be paid to intertextuality and interculturality and the figure of the flâneur, including its postcolonial transformations. A literary city tour through Chemnitz (weather permitting) and activities such as film evening featuring Comrades: Almost a Love Story (1996) and The Wooden Camera (2003) will complement our explorations.

By the end of the seminar, students will be able to apply theories of intertextuality and postcolonial studies to the analysis of poetry and film; analyse literary techniques and their contribution to meaning-making; critically discuss representations of diaspora, migration, identity, gender, home and urban space in anglophone literature; compare literary texts from different cultural contexts using appropriate theoretical frameworks; and develop and present independent critical analyses.

Requirements for Credits:

Students are expected to attend regularly, complete the assigned readings and participate actively in class discussions.

MA 1 students: Regular attendance, active participation, and successful completion of the coursework specified during the semester, including group presentations based on different pedagogical approaches and formats (including creative writing) are required.

MA 3 students: Regular attendance, active participation, and successful completion of the coursework specified during the semester, including group presentations based on different pedagogical approaches and formats (including creative writing) are required. In addition, a 25-minute oral module examination is obligatory as part of the module assessment (scheduled during the exam period). The oral examination will focus on selected texts discussed during the seminar and will require students to apply the theoretical concepts introduced throughout the course.

Set Texts/Required reading:

Barth, Adolf ([1988] 2005): London Poems. Reclam: Stuttgart (OPAL course).

Schunk, Ferdinand ([1991] 2006): New York Poems. Reclam: Stuttgart (OPAL).

A reader with seminal material will be provided at the beginning of the semester in the OPAL course.

Registration:

Please register via the OPAL course by 7 October