The Haitian Revolution - Einzelansicht

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Between 1791 and 1803, the opulent French colony of Saint Domingue was transformed by the largest and most successful of all slave revolutions, leading to the abolition of slavery on the island in 1793/94 and, after twelve years of desolating warfare, the founding of Haiti as the first modern independent state ruled by black people. Deeply connected with the French Revolution (with which it temporally coincides) but also with the spread of international capitalism, this truly world-historical event demonstrates how radical enlightenment demands for emancipation and self-determination were by no means restricted to Europe but rather a hallmark of a multiplicity of modernities in the global manifold. As such, the Haitian Revolution has engendered shock waves that resonate even in our own present, as we will try to explore in this joint seminar that will focus on literary, historiographical and theoretical responses to that event. Readings will include literary reflections from Kleist and Wordsworth to Heiner Müller and Australian playwright/poet Mudrooroo as well as contemporary and present-day reconstructions from German idealism to postcolonial theory.

While the seminar will be held in English, some of the reading material will be in German. However, the most relevant German literary texts (Kleist, Seghers, Müller) are also available in English translation.

• Heinrich von Kleist (1811), Die Verlobung in Santo Domingo (tr.: The Betrothal in Santo Domingo);
• Harriet Martineau (1841), The Hour and the Man;
• Anna Seghers (1949), Karibische Geschichten;
• Heiner Müller (1979), Der Auftrag (tr.: The Mission; alternatively, The Commission);
• Derek Walcott (1948/1958/1984), The Haitian Trilogy
• Mudrooroo (1993), The Aboriginal Protestors Confront the Australian Republic on 26 January 2001 with the Production of “The Commission” by Heiner Müller. In: Gerhard Fischer (ed.), The Mudrooroo/Müller Project (New South Wales University Press 1993).

Excerpts from theoretical texts (including C.L.R. James, Susan Buck-Morss, Srinivas Aravamudan and David Scott) will be made available on Moodle.

For students of Germn:

2 LP (unbenotet): regelmäßige Teilnahme + Studienleistung (MA LA 2004) 3 LP (unbenotet): regelmäßige Teilnahme + Studienleistung (MA GER + MA LA 2011) 3 LP (benotet): (MA LA 2004) 2 LP (K): Hausarbeit oder (P): andere Prüfungsleistung (MA LA 2011: Sek I) 4 LP (K): Hausarbeit oder (P): Prüfungsgespräch (MA GER 2011 + MA LA 2011: Sek II)

For students of English/Anglophone Modernities:

3 CPs will be obtained by the chairing of one session and a written summary.