KU.Campus

82-008-L-ANG40-V-S-SE-0916.20261.001

Literature and Other Discourses (Mastermodul): The US at 250: 1776 to 2026 from the Margins

Seminar (präsent)

Englisch

14.04.2026 - 17.07.2026

Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaftliche Fakultät

Temmen, Jens

Semesterbegleitende Prüfung

Hausarbeit

12 unbegrenzt

The US at 250: 1776 to 2026 from the Margins
(Literature and Other Discourses BA/MA)

In his scorching speech “What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July?“ in 1852, former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass educated his white audience on how the 4th of July, the United States‘ Independence Day, was to the Black enslaved population not a day of celebration, but rather a reminder that the United States‘ claims to values of liberty, equality, and national greatness were “mere bombast, fraud, deception, and hypocrisy“.

On the occasion of the United States‘ celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, which coincides with the country’s sliding into fascism, Douglass‘ speech serves as a reminder that the key promises of the declaration – life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – have always been at best a “dream deferred“ for those relegated to the margins or outside of the national imaginary.

Our class take a critical look at the US at 250 through the lenses of these marginalized perspectives as they manifest in literature, film and culture.

Please note: our class will include a special event on July 1st, 2026 (in the evening): a panel discussion with two guest speakers titled „Die Autoritären Staaten von Amerika – 250 Jahre USA und die Trump Regierung“. Students enrolled in this class will help prepare the event. Also, participation in this event is mandatory.

https://elearn.ku.de/goto.php/crs/1191361/rcodeTTyTRAzXWA

17.03.2026 -

a.Anmeldbar