123045 PS Proseminar Literature / Literary Studies (2017S)

What is the relationship between walking and racism? Walking and poverty? Walking and apartheid? Walking and injustice? Walking and trauma? Walking and politics?
If the whys and wherefores of walking are multiple and diverse, this ancient practice has always been tied to a specific history and culture. Yet, walking remains very much defined also by psychic and material conditions. We can walk for physical, intellectual or spiritual reasons; but, while walking, we might also 'abreact' repressed traumatic events, wander compulsively, even aimlessly. As it has become increasingly clear, walking is not always a matter of choice; more often than not, poverty, necropolitics, and material dispossession force people to walk.
In this course, then, we will discuss 'trauma on the move', the relationship that exists between walking and historical trauma; more specifically, we will explore how walking is mediated across different genres (poetry, fiction, drama) within the postcolonial context of South Africa.
Students will become familiar with basic skills required to analyse and interpret different literary texts (poems, short stories, novels and plays). They will also learn how to write academic papers.