Oral Exams taken in Literature, Cultural Studies

Oral Exams taken in Literature, Cultural Studies, Linguistics, TEFL
For each exam subject an A4 page Topic Outline should be submitted well before the
beginning of the exam period. (The exact date can be found on the exam board.)
Please do not send your topic outline twice to the same professor (e.g. one print copy and one
copy per mail). Also, if you feel, you must hand in a corrected version, please put ‘Second
version’ in the top right hand corner.
Example of a topic outline - Literature
Pädagogische Hochschule Heidelberg
Erste Staatsprüfung für das Lehramt an Realschulen
(nach RPO I vom 16.12.1999)
Mündliche Prüfung im Fach Englisch am XX.00.2006
Examiners:
Examinee:
Topic:
Proposition:
Prof. Dr. Diehr/ Prof. Dr. Müller-Hartmann
Eva Mustermann
Contemporary Anglo-Irish literature with a special focus on novels and short stories.
Contemporary Irish writing is preoccupied with the experience of discontinuity.
1. Irish writing in general
Irish literature has lived in the shadow of political and economic breakdowns. To be able to
appreciate fully Irish novels and short stories, e.g. Angela’s Ashes (or ‘Walking the dog’), an
understanding of those breakdowns is imperative.
2. Reflections of discontinuity in contemporary novels
The thematic trends of ‘emigration’ and ‘political conflict’ are recurrent manifestations of
discontinuity. However, novels such as Angela’s Ashes (or: Lies of Silence) focus on the
protagonists’ subjectivity rather than on general trends in the Irish society.
3. Reflections of discontinuity in contemporary short stories
Self-referentiality is an outstanding feature of Irish short stories. In e.g. Mac Laverty’s ‘Walking
the dog’ it manifests itself in the heterodiegetic narrative which intensifies the experience of
discontinuity.
4. Conclusion
I have come to the conclusion that contemporary Irish writing with its unique political and
economic background appeals to a large international readership thanks to its thematic trends and
narrative discourse.
References
Beck, A. (2000). Kaleidoskop der Postmoderne: Irische Erzählliteratur von den 70 er zu den 90 er Jahren.
Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. (pp. 5-61)
Foster, R. (2000). The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland. Oxford: OUP. (pp. 213-339)
Kiberd, D. (2005). The Irish Writer and the World. Cambridge: CUP. (pp.146-158)
Mac Laverty, Bernard (1994). Walking The Dog. And Other Stories. London: Penguin.
McCourt, Frank (2005). Angela’s Ashes. London: Harper Perennial.
McKittrick, D./McVea, D. (2001). Making Sense of the Troubles. London: Penguin. (pp. 1-148)