Jazz Fiction - Einzelansicht

In this class, we will focus on the relationships between music and prose fiction more genreally, and the realtionships between jazz music and black Atlantic novels more specifically. We will read four novels: Toni Morrisons' Beloved that will allow us to discuss the historial conditions and influences that led to the formation of jazz, inlcuding the transatlatic slave trade and American plantation slavery in the 19th century; Michael Ondaatje's Coming Through Slaughter that tells the story of Buddy Bolden and takes us to the (unrecorded) beginnings of jazz in New Orleans in the early 20th century; Esi Edugyan's Half Blood Blues taking us to, among other times and places, Berlin and Paris during the Nazi Era; and finally Jackie Kay's Trumpet, a novel mostly set in Scotland in the 1960s that will allow us to discuss complex questions of music, race and gender. You do not need to know much about Jazz music to take this class, but you should look forward to do some listening and, more than anything else, be prepared to closely read four novels on time for the class sessions.

Please buy copies of and read:

Toni Morrison, Beloved

Michael Ondaatje, Coming Through Slaughter

Esi Edugyan, Half Blood Blues

Jackie Kay, Trumpet

Theory texts and additional reading material will be provided on Moodle.

short essays (2000 words in total) for 3 ECTS; an additional long term paper (6000 words) for 6 ECTS