How do creative works approach topics such as guilt and atonement? How do fictional characters try to atone for their sins? What does it mean to be “guilty” in a specific context and under certain political, social and historical circumstances?
The selection of primary texts covered by this seminar will show that frequently it is not exactly easy to distinguish the protagonists’ deeds from a larger context of collective guilt.
We will start out by defining the concepts of “guilt” and “atonement”, taking into account some theological, philosophical and psychological approaches. Afterwards we will trace representations of guilt and atonement in a selection of contemporary novels. We will examine both the protagonists’ personal motivations and the stylistic devices that are used to portray the interior (and often also exterior) struggle taking place in the novels. Furthermore, we will consider some recent film adaptations, exploring how specific instances of guilt and atonement have been transferred to the medium of film.
Reading for this course:
- Ian McEwan, Atonement (2001)
- Kazuo Ishiguro, The Buried Giant (2015)
- R.F. Kuang, Yellowface (2023)
Please get hold of the novels before the beginning of the course and start reading. This is a course for avid readers so please only sign up if you‘re willing to put in the work. |
