GERST 3225

Bestseller

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2018-2019 Catalog.

Who read what, how, and why in the past? Is reading today categorically different? How does globalization affect what is read by many people locally? Is the vast segment of so-called popular literature merely a product of the "culture industry," or could kitsch, for example, be understood as something more subversive? This class investigates the emergence and historically varying constructions of "imagined communities" of German-speaking readers. Looking at examples of bestsellers from Martin Luther to the present, the course offers an overview of literary and cultural history with a focus on: the history of literacy; literary institutions like authorship, publishing houses, libraries, and literary criticism; the (often gendered) differentiation between high and low/mass culture; various print media; genres like the romance novel, SciFi serials, mysteries, and dystopic thrillers.

Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: GERST 3070 or GERST 3080.

Language Requirement Satisfies Option 1.

Distribution Category (LA-AS)

When Offered Fall.

Comments Taught in German.

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