Canada is not commonly perceived as a violent country. Nonetheless, as in all societies, acts of violence at both the individual and societal level occasionally disrupt the social peace calling forth responses in an attempt at understanding if not explanation. Likewise, Canadian literature is not generally characterised by depictions of violence. And yet, here too, individual depictions of violence are to be found in works of literature inviting closer investigation of the sources of their prompting.
In this Hauptseminar, we will examine a selection of works of Canadian literature which feature acts and forms of violence. Our goal will be to analyse these texts in the attempt to discern the source and motivation of the violence. We will begin under the assumption that the literary representation of violence in Canadian literature is motivated by analytical, investigative ends: e.g. that violence is presented not in the resolution of a (social or individual) conflict, but as a strategic means of broaching the discussion of societal concerns. As the course proceeds, we will test the hypothesis of the analytically purposefulness of literary violence while also examining the treatment of the various social issues raised in the texts.
Tentative List of Required Reading:
Leonard Cohen, Beautiful Losers, 1966
Timothy Findley, The Wars, 1977
Margaret Atwood, The Penelopiad, 2005
Eden Robinson, Traplines (short stories), 1995
N.B. Course Requirements: Presentation on a relevant topic of the student’s choice
Final essay of approximately 15 pp. |
