University of St Andrews

Key information

SCOTCAT credits : 15

ECTS credits : 7

Level : SCQF level 10

Semester: 1

Availability restrictions: Not automatically available to General Degree students

Planned timetable: TBC

This module considers the relationship between memory and the archive in contemporary German-language culture. It introduces students to theoretical approaches to both memory and the archive (including theories of trauma, photography, and media archaeology) to show how these two concepts are closely linked ¿ the word archive can refer to material, externalized forms of memory, to the media of memory (such as photographs and film), to sites of memory (museums and libraries), or it can serve as a metaphor for memory. Drawing on a range of primary sources (film, literature, and visual art), the module will consider how and why the relationship between memory and the archive is significant for our understanding of different cultural and historical contexts (e.g. World War Two and the Holocaust, the GDR, postwar Austria, post-Wende Germany). It examines why and how artists and authors use archival material and forms in their work from a number of perspectives.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisite(s): Permission of the German Honours adviser.

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact: One introductory lecture (x1 week), 2 seminars (x10 weeks), 1.5 film viewing (x4 weeks), optional 1 surgery hour (x10 weeks)

Scheduled learning hours: 29

Guided independent study hours: 121

Assessment pattern

As used by St Andrews: Coursework = 100%

As defined by QAA
Written examinations : 0%
Practical examinations : 0%
Coursework: 100%

Re-assessment: 3-hour Written Examination = 100%

Personnel

Module coordinator: Dr D E Osborne
Module teaching staff: Dr Dora Osborne