Browsing by Author "Raedler, Bernadette"
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Item Open Access Metareferentielles Aspektkippen: die Kognitionskunst der deutschen Gegenwartsliteratur(2019-05-22) Raedler, Bernadette; Dueck, Cheryl; Strzelczyk, Florentine; Petersen, Christer; Wall, Anthony; Höppner, Stefan; Wagner, MartinThis dissertation examines metareference as cognition art, prompted by a collision and reconfiguration of antithetic narratives that is sparked by personal or societal change. Those underlying ruptures – perceived or devised – register in literary texts as metaization, the process of initiating structural reflections. A close reading of four contemporary German novels, including one graphic novel, is employed to examine if metareferential strategies indeed lead to the relativization and destruction of meaning, of which they have been accused of, or if they rather enable human cognition to respond to global challenges. By drawing on the concept of fictional metabiographies that encompasses established genres, namely historiographic fiction, fictional biographies, and metamnemonic novels, this investigation shifts away from a narratological approach that relies on a high degree of typological differentiation. The novels Heimsuchung by Jenny Erpenbeck, Liebe schaut weg by Line Hoven, Corpus Delicti by Juli Zeh, and Stadt der Engel oder The Overcoat of Dr. Freud by Christa Wolf are examined to demonstrate a defining trend that acknowledges both differences and analogies in cultural encounters and their representations. The underlying pluriaspectuality will be exemplified by way of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s multistable figures, and will be measured against theoretical frameworks developed by Werner Wolf and Wolfgang Funk. The study results in a new interpretation of metareference that identifies these borderline fictions as a narrative testing ground, deriving them from the maieutic method of the Socratic dialogues: The reader is the test person being prompted to reflect and judge. The narrative lab structure is used to envision a less violent cultural evolution by giving voice to suppressed narratives, provoking polylogic thinking, and rewarding the possibility and process of reconfiguration rather than insisting on essentialist claims. Viewed in this light, metareferential strategies demonstrate an adjusted understanding of rationality: By triggering emotional response, circumventing fixed reader perceptions, and rendering agency accessible, these texts re-frame habitual practices. They do not reject, but complement enlightenment. The pluriaspectual narrative emerges as a template for a more just coexistence through diplomatic renegotiations of complex tasks. Rather than being deconstructed, meaning is traced within its limitations, and enabled with new possibilities.Item Open Access Project-based learning in the advanced German class(Routledge, 2019-10-10) Dressler, Roswita; Dressler, Anja; Raedler, Bernadette; Dimitrov, Kristina; Krause, GarrettProject-based learning (PBL) provides authentic content and language learning in the second language classroom. Technology-infused PBL also creates opportunities for real-life application of the language and technology skills acquired. However, since PBL is often envisioned as group work, classes with small enrolments (fewer than 6 students) pose a challenge. In addition, the unfamiliarity of students and instructors with the characteristics of PBL can lead to struggles around autonomy, motivation, and flexibility. In this chapter, we examine one PBL course for advanced students of German at the post-secondary level through the lens of Stoller’s 10 characteristics of a PBL course. Since Stoller’s characteristics are drawn from PBL studies of large classes where students worked in groups, our study examines whether those characteristics still apply in smaller classes where students worked on individual projects. Through this action research into our own practice, we demonstrate whether the 10 characteristics can be applied to small classes and identify the challenges of PBL that arose in this context: student autonomy, role redefinitions, and instructor reflective practice. We envision how future research might address some of these challenges, examining ways to foster student autonomy through an understanding of role redefinitions in PBL courses and ways to strengthen reflective practice among post-secondary instructors.