851-0365-02L Introduction to English Literature: Science and Fiction Part II
Semester | Spring Semester 2017 |
Lecturers | A. Brand-Kilcher |
Periodicity | two-yearly recurring course |
Language of instruction | English |
Abstract | Who are we? Why are we here? Both science and literature alike are often motivated by a deep desire to answer life's big questions. We will look at differences and similarities in approach, methods and output in search for answers. |
Objective | Find out more about shared ground between sciences and humanities and how that relationship changed over the last three centuries. Develop a critical awareness about concepts such as a neat distinction between dry objectivity and emotional subjectivity which breaks down when the human identity of scientists is considered. |
Content | What will save us in the end: surgery or poetry? That is one of the questions posed in Ian McEwan's novel "Saturday". Mc Ewan's novel and other texts and essays will be read and discussed. Today there is not one scientific style anymore but rather a multiplicity of scientific genres. You can bring your own scientific text to class in order to analyze, discuss and possibly improve it. |
Literature | Recommended reading: Ian Mc Ewan: Saturday (2005); Charlotte Sleigh: Literature and Science (2011). |