Unit information: Effi Briest and her Afterlives in 2019/20

Unit name	Effi Briest and her Afterlives
Unit code	GERM20048
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Debbie Pinfold
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of German
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

Theodor Fontane’s Effi Briest (1895) is one of the best-known and best-loved of German nineteenth-century novels. It is famed in equal measure for its realist depiction of the stifling social codes of nineteenth-century Prussia and for the spontaneous, youthful protagonist who is ultimately crushed by them. The figure of seventeen-year old Effi, whose parents encourage her to marry her own mother’s former suitor in a bid to secure social advancement, and who subsequently embarks on an affair with fatal consequences, has captured the imagination not only of generations of readers, but also of film-makers. This unit focuses on Fontane’s novel and its five film adaptations, which include versions made during the Third Reich and the German Democratic Republic, as well as Werner Rainer Fassbinder’s 1974 classic of New German Cinema and Hermine Huntgeburth’s 2009 feminist reimagining of Effi’s story. The unit will thus include close analysis of both literary text and film material, and will explore questions of media transfer and adaptation, the representation of women figures in nineteenth-century and more contemporary texts, and the exploitation of canonical texts for ideological purposes.

The unit aims:

• to use close analysis of Fontane’s text to give students a solid understanding of the conventions and techniques of the German Realist novel;

• to develop students’ language competence, especially their confidence in reading extended narratives in German and their listening skills;

• to develop students’ confidence in analysing primary (literary and filmic) and secondary materials;

• to ask how film makers may adapt literary texts to their own aesthetic and ideological ends;

• to develop students’ confidence in presenting the results of their work in both written and oral form;

• to develop students’ ability to work both independently and in teams;

• to give students a solid foundation for future work in German Studies and related disciplines.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the unit, successful students will be able to:

1. analyse in detail a passage from the set text in its original language;

2. demonstrate an understanding of the conventions and techniques of the Realist novel appropriate to Level 5;

3. develop an independent analysis of a film within its historical, aesthetic and ideological contexts;

4. demonstrate an understanding of issues surrounding media transfer and adaptation appropriate to Level 5;

5. work in teams to develop and present arguments in oral form, using appropriate visual aids and supporting documentation;

6. make confident and critical use of secondary literature to support and develop their own written interpretation of literary and filmic works.

Teaching Information

2-hour seminar each week

Assessment Information

1 x 1,000 word commentary on a passage from Fontane’s Effi Briest (25%) ILO 1 and 2

1 group in-class presentation (15-20 Mins) on one of the films studied on the unit (25%) ILOs 3 and 5

1 2,000 word essay on both literary text and film versions (50%) ILOs 2, 3, 4 and 6

Reading and References

Theodor Fontane, Effi Briest (1895)

Gustaf Gründgens (dir.), Der Schritt vom Wege (1939), accessible online at

https://archive.org/details/1939DerSchrittVomWege24pGrundgens

Rudolf Jugert (dir), Rosen im Herbst (FRG, 1955)

Wolfgang Luderer (dir.), Effi Briest (GDR, 1969)

Rainer Werner Fassbinder (dir.), Effi Briest (FRG, 1974)

Hermine Huntgeburth (dir.), Effi Briest (2009)