Through the International Campus Program, the Amerika-Institut has been able to invite distinguished scholar Pofessor Leonard Cassuto to teach a Blockseminar at Frankurt.
Due to organizational issues the course is being offered on very short notice, but we hope that many of you will nonetheless be able to take to opportunity to study with one of the leading figures in US American Studies. The seminar program and further details are attached below and as a pdf-file and here's a bit about Professor Cassuto:
"Prof. Cassuto ist Professor of English an der Fordham University in New York. In der internationalen Amerikanistik und der akademisch interessierten Öffentlichkeit in den USA ist er als wichtige Stimme und führende Forscherpersönlichkeit angesehen. Sein Renommee lässt sich bereits an seinen Veröffentlichungen ablesen. Er ist Herausgeber von epochemachenden Standardwerken wie The Cambridge History of the American Novel und er hat für seine Monographien zur Sklaverei und zur amerikanischen Crime Fiction zahlreiche Preise erhalten. Auch für seine Lehre wurde er mehrfach ausgezeichnet. Die Northeast Association of Graduate Schools hat ihm im Jahr 2015 den Geoffrey Marshall Mentoring Award verliehen, die Fordham Universität zeichnete ihn 2009 als „Fordham Graduate Teacher of the Year“ aus und die Zeitung New York Observer führte ihn 2016 unter “New York’s Leading Professors”. Zuletzt lieferte er in der wissenschaftspolitischen Debatte um die Ausbildung des wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchses mit seiner regelmäßigen Kolumne im Chronicle of Higher Education und seiner Studie The Graduate School Mess (Harvard UP, 2016) international viel beachtete Beiträge."
Blockseminar B.A. and M.A. American Studies / Lehramt Englisch
Prof. Leonard Cassuto
American Literary Darwinism
American Literary Darwinism is a course organized around a scientific idea. Charles Darwin's Origin of
Species is a landmark book detailing a big idea, one of the biggest in the history of the West. His
Descent of Man elaborates upon that idea. We'll be reading about Darwin's theory of evolution and
some of the fiction and poetry that has been influenced directly and indirectly by it. We'll consider how
Darwin shaped the ways that writers looked at big questions of fate and determinism--and also
everyday realms like business. The object of the course is to consider the impact of a scientific idea
across disciplines, an impact that continues to reverberate today. Authors will include Darwin, Jack
London, Edith Wharton, and Robert Frost.
The class is part of the curricula B.A. American Studies, M.A. American Studies, and Lehramt
Englisch. Please see LSF listing for module eligibility.
The class will meet on June 1, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, and 29. We will meet from 10:00 to 12:45 on all dates
except June 15. On that day we will meet from 12:00 to 14:45. Please see LSF listing for room
numbers. There will be readings for each session and 2 additional film screenings (specifics tba).
Please obtain the following books:
Charles Darwin, Origin of Species (please be sure to obtain the first edition, dated 1859. Darwin
revised the book five times, and other editions are also available. But we will work from the original
version, which is available from Penguin and other publishers.)
Edith Wharton, The Custom of the Country (Penguin edition preferred)
Jack London, Northland Stories (Penguin; ed, Jonathan Auerbach)
Stephen Crane, The Open Boat and Other Stories (Dover Thrift edition). If you have trouble locating
this edition, note that we will be reading the novella Maggie: A Girl of the Streets and the short story
"The Open Boat."
Please also obtain a course reader at Skript and Kopie (will be available on the first day of the class).
For preparation for our first meeting, please read Darwin's Origin of Species, chapters 1-4.
To register, please email Prof. Leonard Cassuto at cassuto@fordham.edu by May 25th