The region of the U.S.-Mexican borderlands is determined by a variety of contrasts, conflicts and confluences and - apart from a constant political and ideological struggle over questions of illegal (im)migration, has brought forth a number of hybrid forms and practices of cultural expression. Moreover, due to its (geo-)political and cultural contestedness, the region has become a topic extensively dealt with in a range of media that take a stand in border politics and contribute to making sense of the borderland experience. The seminar takes a closer look at one particular form of both commenting on and coming to terms with life on the border, examining in detail a selection of what is frequently referred to as borderland narratives. After discussing theories of hybridity and transdifference, which help conceptualize and understand processes of cultural encounter and exchange, the seminar sets out to explore literary variations of the experience of living between two cultures and particularly focusses on the strategies the texts employ to stage and to cope with the political, ideological, and cultural borders between Mexico and the United States.

Requirements:

• Regular attendance & active participation (e.g. reading assignments, in-class discussions)
• Paper on the basis of a presentation ("Referat mit schriftlicher Ausarbeitung", c. 12-15 pp.) OR Hausarbeit (c. 15-20 pp.), due March 15th 2024.

A Note on Reading Materials:

• All readings are obligatory and will be provided on Stud.IP.

A Note on Presentations:
For your presentation (individual or in pairs), please introduce the primary materials you are working with and prepare a discussion of exemplary parts (a chapter, a passage, a sequence, ...). Also, please consult the secondary text given and identify another secondary text which you consider relevant for your presentation. If there is no secondary material given, please find one that you consider relevant. Inform the class at least one week prior to your session by uploading the text in Stud.IP and sending an email to the group – please consult with me whether the text you chose is appropriate early on in your prep work, ideally two weeks before your presentation.

Apart from presenting the text and/in its contexts, you are also in charge of chairing a discussion about the materials at stake – accordingly, you may want to prepare some guiding questions that
a) relate to the overall theme of the course;
b) ideally resonate with the secondary text you chose and
c) frame the in-class activities (discussion, group work, ...).

The seminar includes a number of sessions whose thematic focus is not yet set – this might give you some room for exploration.