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 |
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:
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.
2-hour seminar each week
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
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)