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Papers by Sabine Schlüter

Literature For Our Times, 2007

Although the field of Colonial and Post-Colonial Studies is becoming increasingly popular at Germ... more Although the field of Colonial and Post-Colonial Studies is becoming increasingly popular at German universities, it has reached secondary schools in Germany only marginally. This paper deals with the challenge of acquainting high school students with Post-Colonial literature and basic principles of Post-Colonial Studies. The project which will be presented is a six-weeks teaching unit that is currently being carried out in a year-11 class at a German “Gymnasium”. The students are between 16 and 18 years old and native speakers of German. They have been learning English for six years and possess little or no knowledge about either the Commonwealth and its history or about the so-called new literatures in English. The course aim is rather complex, as the teaching unit has to combine foreign language learning with both Cultural Studies (“Landeskunde”) and literary analysis. The central question is, therefore, how so complex a subject matter can be presented in the foreign language cla...

Translation of Cultures, 2009

Conference Presentation, published in: P. Rüdiger and K. Gross, eds. Translation of Cultures. Ams... more Conference Presentation, published in: P. Rüdiger and K. Gross, eds. Translation of Cultures. Amsterdam (Rodopi, 2009). 199-214

Published in: Bates, Catherine, Graham Huggan, Milena Marinkova and Jeffrey Orr, eds. Visions of ... more Published in:
Bates, Catherine, Graham Huggan, Milena Marinkova and Jeffrey Orr, eds. Visions of Canada/Visions du Canada. Canadian Studies in Europe/Études Canadiennes en Europe, 6. Brno (Masaryk Press), 2007. 163-174.

In his plays, George F. Walker depicts the social and moral condition of contemporary Canadian society and of the Western world in general, often by using elements of the grotesque. The grotesque, being an aberration from the desirable norms of harmony, balance and proportion, often creates a comic effect while at the same time highlighting the horror behind it, among which violence plays a crucial role in Walker's plays. Two of his plays will be discussed in the following article, Beyond Mozambique and Risk Everything. Beyond Mozambique is a B-movie adaptation in which violence is presented in the context of the mass media and is depicted as a comically exaggerated form of sheer brutality. Contrary to this, Risk Everything appears to be, at least at first glance, a realistic play in which violence is shown as a concomitant of criminality. However, the unfazed way in which the characters react to situations of extreme danger and brutality can only be described as grotesque. Both plays demonstrate the indifference with which violence is accepted as normal by a society whose everyday life is flooded with representations of brutality and inhumanity. This also represents a metatheatrical comment on the audience itself. This raises the question whether grotesque exaggeration is a necessary means of stirring the conscience of people who have grown so used to and become so dulled by representations of violence that they no longer realize it as such. Résumé Dans ses pièces de théâtre, George F. Walker présente la condition sociale et morale de la société canadienne contemporaine et du monde occidental en général en employant souvent des éléments grotesques. Le grotesque, en tant que déviation des normes désirables d'harmonie, d'équilibre et de proportion, crée un effet comique mais en même temps accentue des abus, parmi lesquels, chez Walker, la violence joue un rôle important. Deux pièces de théâtre seront discutées dans l'article suivant, Beyond Mozambique et Risk Everything. Beyond Mozambique est une adaptation du genre du «B-movie» pour la scène. Dans celle-ci, la violence est présentée dans le contexte des mass média et se montre sous forme d'une brutalité comiquement exagérée. Contrairement à Beyond Mozambique, Risk Everything semble être une pièce de théâtre réaliste, dans laquelle la violence est présentée comme un phénomène complice de la criminalité. Pourtant, les réactions indifférentes des personnages face à des situations de péril extrême peuvent être caractérisées de grotesques. Les deux pièces démontrent l'indifférence avec laquelle la violence est acceptée comme naturelle dans une société qui est submergée par de différentes représentations de brutalité et d'inhumanité dans sa vie quotidienne. Cela est aussi un commentaire metathéâtrale qui s'adresse au public et qui soulève la question de savoir si la représentation grotesque de la violence est un moyen incontournable pour secouer les esprits de moins en moins sensibilisés dans une culture médiatisée où parfois la brutalité peut paraître banale.

Conference Presentation, published in: P. Rüdiger and K. Gross, eds. Translation of Cultures. Ams... more Conference Presentation, published in:
P. Rüdiger and K. Gross, eds. Translation of Cultures. Amsterdam (Rodopi, 2009). 199-214

Books by Sabine Schlüter

English-language abstract of my PhD thesis

Conference Presentations by Sabine Schlüter

Postgraduate Conference Berlin 2005

Conference Presentation at the Canadian Studies Graduate Conference Berlin 2004 George F. Walker... more Conference Presentation at the Canadian Studies Graduate Conference Berlin 2004

George F. Walker once said in an interview that one of the main concerns of his plays was what he called the chaos in the world, where it stemmed from and what could be done about it. This essay tries to give an impression of what kind of world Walker depicts. It is a world of injustice, chaos and anxiety, but there is also hope and possibility in it. The powers that rule society are often unapproachable, inexplicable, sometimes even almost anonymous. Some of the characters are mere caricatures of human beings, others reflect upon life through a drug-induced haze. As a means of creating this image, Walker mostly uses elements of the absurd and of the grotesque, one of the most striking features in his plays. On the whole, Walker’s dramatic work seems to oscillate between existentialism on the one side and postmodernism on the other, between despair over a postmodern world gone mad and a call for action.

Other by Sabine Schlüter

M.A. Thesis (University of Kiel, Germany) German Original title: Peter Ackroyds "Chatterton": Ein... more M.A. Thesis (University of Kiel, Germany)
German
Original title: Peter Ackroyds "Chatterton": Ein postmoderner Roman