Tobias Kollmann

Tobias Herbst

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2, University of Kassel (Fachbereich Sprachwissenschaften), course: The Power of Reading Books, 13 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Reading as an intellectual competence opens the way to explore culture and knowledge, to participate in cultural life and to enjoy literature. Culture and knowledge are parts of our education and are central to our ability to think critically on any topic. Studying literature plays a central role in developing these skills. According to Hesse (2002, p.50f.), there are some elementary goals of literacy teaching, such as (1) focussing on specific parts of the text, (2) the use of methods which support an active and productive reading behaviour, (3) a change of intensive and extensive phases of reading and (4) the relation to students’ interests. Literature studies offer students opportunities to work on carefully chosen texts provided by the teacher. Results from the PISA studies of 15-year-old poor readers in Germany illustrate the importance of finding adequate literature for the EFL classroom. In our term paper, we want to examine how far Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street is relevant for the EFL class. The questions which chances and opportunities the novel bears and for which purpose its plot is useful to discuss different topics are in the centre of interest. Therefore, the term paper shows didactical and methodological aspects, i.e. how the book relates to the curriculum as well as to the students’ lives, which learning strategies and social forms can be applied. Therefore, we have provided several tasks to be used in the EFL class which all bear a differentiated analysis. On the one hand, the tasks have a tendency towards creating a relationship between the text and its reader, on the other hand, they enlarge students’ abilities to use various learning strategies and methods. We can draw the conclusion that "The House on Mango Street" provides numerous essential topics and aspects for teenagers and is, therefore, highly relevant for students in the EFL class. As the book consists of many short stories, it can be used either as a whole entity or partially, a fact which makes the novel attractive to teachers and students as well.

Sandra Cisneros "The House on Mango Street" - A description

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2,0, University of Kassel (FB 02 Sprachwissenschaften Institut für Anglistik), 9 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Pride and Prejudice is nowadays regarded as Jane Austen’s most enduringly popular novel. It was first published in 1813 and is a rewritten version of her earlier work First Impressions which had been refused for publication in 1797. 1 Jane Austen worked on this novel during her most productive time, the first two decades of the nineteenth century. The setting of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ falls also to the time she lived and therefore delivers a detailed depiction of the existing society. The novel tells not only the story of love between the wealthy aristocrat Mr. Darcy and the intelligent Elizabeth Bennet, but also describes rural life in ‘Regency England’ with its ideas of values and virtues. Considerations of a class society are omnipresent in the novel and social position was established in terms of families, not individuals. Generally in those times, the family had a higher rank than today and was principally responsible for the intellectual and moral education of children. In Pride and Prejudice Austen portrays a world in which society took an interest in the private virtue of its members, mainly considering marriage. Especially the church played an important role here. As religion was an important factor of that age, the clergy also had a significant role in Pride and Prejudice and is represented by the obsequious rector Mr. Collins. As he is the only clergyman in the novel, Jane Austen expresses all her criticism considering the clergy through his character. Therefore the main part of this term paper concentrates on the way how Mr. Collins is presented in the novel. Afterwards, Austen’s crucial way of presenting him will lead to a general depiction of her criticism of the clergy, as she accuses Mr. Collins only superficially. In order to understand Jane Austen’s relation to the clergy, it is necessary to have a closer look at her clerical background. [...]

Jane Austen's Criticism of the Clergy in Pride and Prejudice

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2005 im Fachbereich Germanistik - Neuere Deutsche Literatur, Note: 2,0, Universität Kassel, 16 Quellen im Literaturverzeichnis, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: Hermann Hesses Erzählung Unterm Rad nimmt einen bedeutenden Platz in der Tradition der Schulgeschichten des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts in der deutschen Literatur ein. Unterm Rad entstand bereits zwischen Oktober 1903 und Juni 1904 und wurde zuerst als Fortsetzungsroman in der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) gedruckt. Erst 1906 erschien die Erzählung im Buchhandel bei S. Fischer als Hesses zweites großes Werk und entwickelte sich schnell zu einem seiner beliebtesten Romane neben Peter Camenzind, Demian, Steppenwolf und Das Glasperlenspiel. Ein Großteil seiner Werke enthält eine autobiographische Komponente, und auch die Novelle Unterm Rad ist in weiten Teilen eine Rückerinnerung Hesses an seine Jugendzeit in Calw und Maulbronn, mit der er versuchte, seine schwierige Jugend- und Schulzeit aufzuarbeiten. Die Erzählung beschreibt die missglückte Schulkarriere des Hans Giebenrath, einem talentierten Jungen aus bürgerlichem Hause, der sich einer permanenten Belastung schulischer Überbürdung ausgesetzt sieht und letztendlich erst durch seinen mysteriösen Tod dem Druck der Gesellschaft entfliehen kann. Im Rahmen des Seminars ‚Schule in der deutschen Literatur’ gibt Unterm Rad einige wertvolle Einblicke in die schulische Praxis und in die Lebenssituationen der Schüler zur Zeit des deutschen Kaiserreichs. Schon kurz nach seinem Erscheinen wurde der Roman primär als Schulroman gelesen und in die Reihe der damals sehr beliebten Schulgeschichten eingegliedert. Untersucht man den Roman in Bezug auf die Institution Schule, so ist es zu diesem Zwecke sinnvoll, ihn in drei Teile zu gliedern: die Zeit vor dem Eintreten in das Klosterseminar Maulbronn, die Zeit im Seminar selbst und die Zeit nach seiner Schulzeit. Hier verleiht uns besonders der Mittelteil der Erzählung einen Einblick in die schulischen Verhältnisse im theologischen Seminar, doch auch der erste Teil gibt stellenweise Auskunft über die Schule zur Zeit der Jahrhundertwende. Obwohl das Werk im Rahmen dieser Seminararbeit natürlich als Ganzes analysiert werden soll, nimmt doch gerade der zweite Teil mehr Platz für sich in Anspruch.

Schule in der deutschen Literatur - Hermann Hesses 'Unterm Rad'

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2, University of Kassel (Fachbereich Sprachwissenschaften), course: The Power of Reading Books, 13 entries in the bibliography, language: English, comment:, abstract: Reading as an intellectual competence opens the way to explore culture and knowledge, to participate in cultural life and to enjoy literature. Culture and knowledge are parts of our education and are central to our ability to think critically on any topic. Studying literature plays a central role in developing these skills. According to Hesse (2002, p.50f.), there are some elementary goals of literacy teaching, such as (1) focussing on specific parts of the text, (2) the use of methods which support an active and productive reading behaviour, (3) a change of intensive and extensive phases of reading and (4) the relation to students' interests. Literature studies offer students opportunities to work on carefully chosen texts provided by the teacher. Results from the PISA studies of 15-year-old poor readers in Germany illustrate the importance of finding adequate literature for the EFL classroom. In our term paper, we want to examine how far Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street is relevant for the EFL class. The questions which chances and opportunities the novel bears and for which purpose its plot is useful to discuss different topics are in the centre of interest. Therefore, the term paper shows didactical and methodological aspects, i.e. how the book relates to the curriculum as well as to the students' lives, which learning strategies and social forms can be applied. Therefore, we have provided several tasks to be used in the EFL class which all bear a differentiated analysis. On the one hand, the tasks have a tendency towards creating a relationship between the text and its reader, on the other hand, they enlarge students' abilities to use various learning strategies and methods

Tobias Herbst

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