Bücher von Katharina Eder

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1, University of Vienna, language: English, abstract: ¿Through sheer numbers, women writers have dominated the contemporary literary scene in the South ¿ that is, since World War II¿ (Bennett 987). Among them is the talented Pulitzer Prize winner Shirley Ann Grau, who sheds a fresh, new light to common southern themes incorporating them into narratives touched not only by her personal perspective, but also the collective southern heritage and consciousness. The subject matter of my paper will be one of Graüs short stories entitled ¿Homecoming¿. In this short, yet meaningful account of everyday life in the American South during the Vietnam War Grau unearths a string of relations between life and death, the present and the past, remembering and forgetting, pride and honor as well as patriotism and egoism. She focuses mainly on what remains, but never forgets to neglect what has gone. The strongly southern theme of nostalgia for the lost past is questioned in ¿Homecoming¿ as the protagonist struggles to detach herself from the memory of all those who failed to come home. In this paper I would like to primarily focus on the importance of memory as a factor shaping the southern identity.

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2008 im Fachbereich Ethnologie / Volkskunde, Note: 1, Universität Wien, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: [...]Anhand von Siri¿s Geschichte beschreibt Bales in ¿Neue Sklaverei¿ die unvorstellbaren Torturen denen unzählige Mädchen in Thailand im Prostitutionsgewerbe ausgesetzt sind. Rapide Globalisierung in Thailand hat sich in den letzten Jahren unter anderem durch massive Arbeitsmigration vom ländlichen Norden in die Hauptstadt Bangkok sowie das Ausland bemerkbar gemacht. Eine tragische Komponente dessen, ist das Phänomen des Menschenhandels von thailändischen Frauen und Mädchen, von denen viele, teils ¿freiwillig¿, teils jedoch auch als versklavte Zwangsarbeiterinnen, im Prostitutionsgewerbe arbeiten. Armut sowie geringe Bildung werden oft als Schlüsselkomponenten für diese triste Realität gennant, jedoch stammen nicht alle der Mädchen aus armen Familien. Unter vielen Faktoren spielen der wirtschaftliche Aufschwung Thailands sowie ¿seine Machokultur¿ (Bales 2005: 55) eine wesentliche Rolle am großen Erfolg der thailändischen Sexindustrie. Kultureller und gesellschaftlicher Hintergrund fusionieren sich mit anderen Faktoren auf übermächtige Weise, und tragen zum tragischen Schicksal unzähliger Mädchen und Frauen bei, von denen Siri nur ein trauriges Einzelschicksal darstellt. [...]

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1, University of Vienna, language: English, abstract: The following paper is concerned with the short story ¿Spring is Now¿ by Joans Williams, which was published 1968. In the beginning, some of the most important events in the author¿s life as well as some insights into the historical and sociocultural background that characterize the author¿s life and the story will be described.After a short discussion of the plot and the protagonists of the story, the main part of the paper will provide some information on themes, symbols and imagery the short story features. The paper concludes with a short presentation regarding the narrative technique of ¿Spring is Now¿.

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Other, grade: 1, University of Vienna, language: English, abstract: Authenticity is regarded as an important feature of language tests, but commonly the notion is related only to the use of authentic material. In the course of this class, however, we found out that the concept of authenticity is actually far more comprehensive. It does indeed include characteristics of the input of test tasks, but it is also concerned with the interaction between input and expected response, the setting and the format of a test. Hence, we decided to work mainly on the topic of authenticity in this final report of our course on language assessment.

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1, University of Vienna, language: English, abstract: The following paper provides a brief insight into the topíc of ¿vocabulary learning strategies¿, and will present selected aspects of this extensive and complex field of language study. After briefly dealing with the question of ¿defining¿ learning strategies, an overview concerning research into the field will be presented, andsome general conlusions which can be drawn about vocabulary learning strategies will be portrayed. Subsequently, three classification systems of vocabulary learning strategies will be delineated, whereas thereafter the paper will elaborate on two selected areas of vocabulary learning strategies, namely ¿guessing and inferringmeaning¿ and ¿mnemonic devices with special regards to the keyword technique¿.

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2008 im Fachbereich Ethnologie / Volkskunde, Note: 1, Universität Wien, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: Der Weg des jungen Aborigines-Mädchen zur erwachsenen Frau wird bei den Aborigines Australiens markiert durch die Initiation. Leider wissen wir heute viel zu wenig über dieses nicht so stark ausgeprägte und ritualisierte Phänomen, das auch oft unter der Rubrik ¿Pubertätsriten¿ zusammengefasst wurde. Dies liegt unter anderem an dem früher eher einseitigen Intersee der Wissenschaft, deren männliche Vertreter sich in erster Linie für die spektakuläreren und offensichtlich etappenreicheren Initiationszeremonien der Aborigines-Jungen interessierten. Auch war die Initiation der Mädchen oft kein gemeinschaftliches, öffentliches Ereignis, zu dem Scharen von Besuchern herbeiströmten. Eher hatte es einen privaten Charakter, der die Teilnahme von Männern nicht vorsah. Hinzu kommt, dass die Initiation der Mädchen im Zuge des Kulturkontakts und des oft dramatischen Verfalls der kulturellen Identität schneller in Vergessenheit geriet und nicht mehr so oft praktiziert wurde wie die Initiation der Jungen. Erwähnt werden muss in diesem Zusammenhang auch, dass der Informations- und Wissensfluss unter den Aborigines-Frauen oftmals eher in informellen Bahnen und weniger in stark ritualisierten, festgelegten Zeremonien erfolgte. Aus den oben erwähnten Gründen ist die Quellenlage zum Thema der Mädcheninitiation sehr dürftig. Nur einige wenige Forscher trugen oft nur bruchstückhaftes Material zusammen. Bemerkenswerte Ausnahmen sind Phyllis Kaberry und Geza Roheim, die sich um eine umfassende Erforschung des eigenständigen Zeremoniallebens der Frauen bemühten, wenn auch, im Falls Roheims, nicht mit ganz ideologiefreiem Hintergrund.Es ist schwierig ganz allgemein über ¿Frauwerdung¿ bei den Aborigines zu sprechen, da die Initiationsrituale von den einzelnen Aborigines-Gruppen Australiens jeweils anders ausgestaltet wurden, unterschiedliche Phasen umfassten oder zu verschiedenen Zeiten im Leben der Initianden einsetzten. Dennoch werde ich versuchen, die wesentlichen Charakteristika der Mädcheninitiation, besondere Aspekte der Kukatja in Westaustralien, sowie Erläuterungen speziell zu den Initiationsorten zusammenzufassen, um ein allgemeines, repräsentatives Bild zu vermitteln. Dies sollte jedoch nicht darüber hinwegtäuschen, dass die konkreten Initiationsabläufe im Einzelfall von den genannten Grundformen abweichen können.

Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1, University of Vienna, language: English, abstract: The paper is concerned with the Americanization of Austria. In the beginning the most important historical stages and events with regards to U.S.American influence on Austria as well as an overview on the most important student exchange programs shall help gain a better understandig of the topic. The second part will focus on the the power and influence of U.S.American advertisements, whereas the the analysis of a print-medium advertisement will exemplify and support my theories and thoughts concerning this matter.

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2008 im Fachbereich Ethnologie / Volkskunde, Note: 1, Universität Wien, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: Die folgende Seminararbeit wird die Geschichte der Evaluationsforschung, sowie der internationale Evaluationspraxis näher beleuchten. Die Arbeit soll einen grundlegenden Überblick zur Thematik darstellen. Um ein besseres Verständnis zu erzielen, wird zunächst auf den Begriff ¿Evaluation¿ näher eingegangen, wobei die Perspektiven diverser Wissenschaftler präsentiert werden. Der zweite Teil der Arbeit wird sich mit Theorien und Methoden in der Evaluationsforschung auseinandersetzen, wobei vor allem die historische Entwicklung von Paradigmen im Vordergrund steht. Der Hauptteil der Arbeit fokussiert sich auf drei regionale Bereiche, in Bezug auf die Etablierung der Evaluation. Hauptaugenmerk liegt dabei auf den USA und Europa. Weiters wird auf die Entwicklung der Disziplin spezifisch in Deutschland eingegangen.

Essay aus dem Jahr 2008 im Fachbereich Ethnologie / Volkskunde, Note: 1, Universität Wien, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: Im Laufe meines mehrmonatigen Neuseelandaufenthaltes 2002/03 blieb auch der Kontakt mit der Kultur der Maori nicht aus. Wer waren aber nun die Maori eigentlich und woher kam ihre Kultur, die zwar in Neuseeland überall vertreten ist, aber trotzdem nie wirklich näher erklärt wird? Diese Fragen und auch andere begannen mich immer mehr zu beschäftigen.Nach dem Besuch auf dem Waitangi National Reserve in den Bay of Islands (Nordinsel), dem Ort, wo der Vertrag unterzeichnet wurde und sich heute ein Freilichtmuseum befindet, begann ich mich vermehrt mit der Thematik auseinander zu setzen. Wer waren die ersten Siedler von Neuseeland, wann wurde es von den Europäern entdeckt und kolonialisiert?Im nachfolgenden Essay möchte ich vor allem auch darauf eingehen wie es überhaupt möglich war, dass die Maori, die den Europäern zu diesem Zeitpunkt zwar zahlenmäßig überlegen waren, trotzdem eine Annexion ihres Landes durch die britische Krone ohne Widerstand zuließen. Da es in dem Vertrag von Waitangi vor allem auch um den Besitz des Landes geht, werde ich zu Beginn kurz das Verständnis der Maori zum Land beleuchten.Auf den Vertrag selbst und seine drei Artikel in den verschiedenen Sprachen werde ich allerdings nicht näher eingehen, da dies den Rahmen dieser Arbeit sprengen würde.

Essay aus dem Jahr 2008 im Fachbereich Ethnologie / Volkskunde, Note: 1, Universität Wien, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: In dieser Arbeit wird auf 18 Seiten im Rahmen der Ringvorlesung "Sozialwissenschaften und gesellschaftlicher Wandel ¿ aktuelle Debatten (STEP I)" das Thema "GLOBALISIERUNG ¿ Risiko oder Chance?" anhand mehrerer Bücher behandelt.

Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, University of Vienna, language: English, abstract: Bobbie Ann Mason is one of the most important southern female writers at the end of the 20th century. Joseph M. Flora in his contribution to the The History of Southern Women¿s Literature notes that ¿apart from Eudora Welty, few have more national visibility¿ (550). A number of Mason¿s short stories were re-published in anthologies (see KcKee 359); her novel In Country became part of the syllabus in many high schools and colleges since its publication in 1985, and the 1989 Hollywood film adaptation starring Bruce Willis made her work accessible to an even broader audience. The critics have also shown a keen interest in her work as the huge number of overwhelmingly positive literary reviews and academic publications demonstrate (see Flora, Fiction 282-285). The topics Mason raises in her work seem to strike a chord with both the general as well as the professional readers. As one scholar put it, the most important innovation of the contemporary realist authors such as Mason ¿is their ability to portray the experiences of people from a lower economic class with realism, complexity, and dignity¿. (Hovis, K Mart 395f.) In her work, Bobbie Ann Mason describes a contemporary southern society from a white working-class perspective, mostly places and characters that are well known to her, without looking down on what could be perceived as their lack of education or backwardness. It also reflects the socio-economic, historical and cultural changes and the loss of traditional certainties that the U.S., and in her case particularly the rural and semi-rural areas of Kentucky, have faced over the last century. In In Country, Mason pays homage to the countercultural movements of the 1960s and 1970s that have played a pivotal role in the shaping of western societies as we know them today; the all-pervading theme, however, is the Vietnam War and its aftermath. This paper will focus on a particular aspect fostered by the historical events and developments of the 1960s and 1970s, namely the dissolution of conventional binary oppositions such as that of ¿Man¿ and ¿Woman¿, elitist and mass culture, reality and fiction, past and present, ¿the North¿ and ¿the South¿ and the trespassing of boundaries in Mason¿s novel In Country.[...]

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2, University of Vienna, language: English, abstract: Ernest Callenbach¿s Ecotopia consists of the reports and diary entries of William Weston, a reporter who is actually the first person to enter the newly modelled country, consisting of Washington, Oregon and Northern California, which broke from the USA in 1980. Seen from 1974, the story is set 25 years in the future in the year of 1999. Ecotopian citizens are described as creative, free-thinking, liberal and energetic people, who place value on work in team configurations and social responsibility. William Weston provides the reader with detailed insights into the Ecotopian lifestyle, politics, sexual freedom, education, and gender relations.However, the main focus of the book is on ecological aspects. This essay is concerned with the ecological concerns and their collective realization in Ecotopia, whereas emphasis will be put on Ecotopiäs food circle, food production and processing, car-less living, television and wares, Ecotopian economy, their woods, plastics, and their way of generating energy from sun and sea.

Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1, University of Vienna, language: English, abstract: Elizabeth Spencer's lifelong love for the south almost drips from the pages of her novels and short stories. Even though she spent most of her life away from her native grounds, Spencer continued to write about the places that marked her youth in Novels such as ¿The Salt Line¿ and short stories as ¿The Gulf Coast.¿ In the latter of the two, she describes the world of South Mississippi with its tranquil way of life that was disrupted by the violent Hurricane Camille in 1969. Spencer uses vivid imagery to place the reader into her shoes, experiencing the drama of seeing the drastic and swift change the hurricane made to the place she loved so much, which seemed timeless and unchangeable before.

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2, University of Vienna, language: English, abstract: The Jew of Malta is often amusing and it would be possible to regard it simply as a brilliant theatrical entertainment intended to make one laugh rather than think. The problem here is to maintain the right balance of the ¿ludicrous¿ and the ¿terrible¿. T.S.Eliot was aware of this problem. Even though he preferred to classify the play as a farce rather than as a tragedy, he was careful to emphasise that its humour was ¿terribly serious¿. According to Bawcutt, the Jew of Malta is a harsh and disturbing comedy, near to ridicule, not the cheerful laughter which relaxes and heals. It should not distract one from the play¿s seriousness, but intensify it, by making us aware of the ludicrous instability of our attitudes and the absurdity of our pretensions to moral superiority. The play may seem at times a parody of normal human behaviour; even so, it is the kind of parody that is uncomfortably close to reality. (Bawcutt 1978:36).Several asides in the main plot of The Jew of Malta assume comic function and devices of double entendre (double meaning) are applied. Several asides are unspoken thoughts of a character or confidentially and silently uttered messages addressed to another character, but most of the asides are examples of dramatic irony, in the way that they reveal the innermost thoughts of the characters in contrast to what they actually say. They may reveal doubledealing and the hypocrisy in this way but sometimes also the true honesty and virtue of a speaker. (cf. Abigail, III.iii). They also may function as a dramatic device to raise suspense, anticipating a forthcoming event, such as for example murder or intrigue. An example of this can be found in II.iii when Barabas is talking to Lodowik: ¿The diamond that I talk of, ne¿er was foiled¿. The diamond will be foiled though when he touches it. Another example can be found in Act I.ii, when Barabas and Abigail are preparing for the retrieval of gold and money from their former home, now confiscated by the governor and turned into a nunnery.

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1, University of Vienna, language: English, abstract: The Color Purple is Alice Walker's masterpiece, which made the author not only the first female Afro American author to receive a Pulitzer Price but moreover brought her world fame and a broader recognition of her other works. This analysis of the text focuses on motifs, themes and symbolism used in the story. It also talks about the author by giving an in-dept overview not only about her life but also the sociocultural background that shaped this novel. As mentioned before a clear focus is put on themes, symbols and motifs in the novel, which are widely used and therefore also are somehow responsible for the diversity of approaches to reading the novel. The textual analysis is enhanced by a brief summary of the plot, characters and their relationship as well as a compressed paragraph talking about the setting and an overview over some narrativetechniques used in the novel.

Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1, University of Vienna, language: English, abstract: The following paper gives an in-depth analysis of Flannery O¿Connor¿s acclaimed short story A Good Man Is Hard To Find. A detailed account of O¿Connor¿s life and her status as a fervent Roman Catholic in the predominantly Protestant South during the period of World War II and the Cold War sheds light on her literary motivations and her brilliant use of the grotesque. The historical and religious context complements the second part of the paper, which consists of a thorough textual analysis of A Good Man Is Hard To Find. Special emphasis is put on the exploration of character relationships, important themes and cultural signifiers, which again links up with the first part of the paper.

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1, University of Vienna, language: English, abstract: The following seminar paper is concerned with the presentation of a hybrid identity in Fred Wah¿s Diamond Grill and the cultural significance of food. In the beginning, the most important stages of the author¿s life shall help to embed the story in its historical and socio-cultural context. After a detailed discussion on the symbolic meaning of food, with various examples providing insight into the many functions that food takes in daily life and human existence, as well as its crucial role in the context of communities, the paper will shift its focus to the text itself. The term ¿biotext¿ and its emergence will be discussed and information on identity, ethnicity, other important themes and issues in the text and the language employed by Wah will be given. The last part of this paper constitutes its centrepiece, in which food as a metaphor and its cultural significance as a multilayered strategy and trope in postcolonial life writing will be discussed. The culinary language employed in Wah¿s innovative discourse of Diamond Grill makes the concept of food a metonymy of the elaboration of identity and culture. The use of food as a metaphor in the author¿s culinary memoirs will be discussed, and the way in which the metaphor of food provides an axis for the understanding of Wah¿s explorations of his socio-cultural background will be explained in more detail.

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2, University of Vienna, language: English, abstract: The following paper is concerned with the artist Wayde Compton and the African-Canadian background of his work. In the beginning, Compton¿s life as well as some insights into the historical and socio-cultural background that characterize the author¿s life and his works will be described. A discussion on Compton¿s view ontopics such as Black Englishes, Hip Hop oralities and Turntable Pluralities follows, after which the paper will provide some information on the poetry collection Performance Bond as well as other works by Wayde Compton. After an explanation concering the field of ¿Hip Hop aesthetics¿ as well as a discussion of Compton¿spoem ¿Declaration of the Halfrican Nation¿, the paper concludes with a presentation of ¿mixed-race¿ or ¿hyphenated¿ writers and their work aside from Wayde Compton.

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1, University of Vienna, language: English, abstract: The New York Times described Roth¿s novel Call it Sleep as ¿One of the few genuinely distinguished novels written by a twentieth-century American¿ (Roth blurb). The book tells us about David Schearl, child of Jewish immigrants in the first decades of the 19th century. Similarities between the author¿s biography and David¿s life are quite obvious. This paper will give a short overview of the author¿s life and point out a few similarities with the book. After a brief abstract of the novel¿s content the focus will be on identity created through language and the Jewish origin of the character. Identity is a very important motif in Roth¿s novel and it is influenced by the history of Jewish immigrants in New York¿s Lower East Side, as well as by the urban experiences of the character. David searches for his own identity within and outside of his own community.In the following parts Roth¿s technique will be explained by Cohn¿s theory of psycho-narration, with a focus on the modernist climax in the penultimate chapter. The paper ends in the conclusion that Roth¿s novel is about the search of identity, depicted through a variety of methods.

Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1, University of Vienna, language: English, abstract: The first question that arises is in the context of ¿Metaphor and Culture¿ is what metaphor actually has to do with culture. This question can be answered in the way that metaphor and culture are related in many ways. Metaphor can be viewed as the ornamental use of language, and a lot about metaphor and culture arises from whatwe have heard or learned in school about it, such as for instance creative writers or poets who use metaphors. Since literature is a significant part of our culture, metaphor can be regarded as intimately linked to our socio-cultural field. So a possible way of relation between metaphor and culture would be literature, anexemplary manifestation of culture. However, there are in fact much more fundamental relations between metaphor and culture, which become clear when we look at some currrent thinking in anthropology, which leads us to the fact that we can view culture as a set of shared understandings that characterize smaller or larger groups of people (cf. Shore 1996, Strauss & Quinn 1997). It has to be noted that this is obviously not an exhaustive view or definition of culture, considering the fact that it leaves out real artifacts, real objects, practices, institutions, actions and so on, which people participate in and use in various cultures. However, it integrates a large part of it, namely the shared understanding that human beings have in connection with all of these ¿things¿.

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2009 im Fachbereich Soziologie - Politische Soziologie, Majoritäten, Minoritäten, Universität Wien, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: Vorerst möchte ich kurz auf meinen persönlichen Zugang zur Thematik eingehen. Zumal mich die Thematik des Reisens sowie fremde Kulturen schon als Kind begeisterten, war das Thema ¿Auswandern¿ auf gewisse Art und Weise immer etwas Fesselndes für mich. Wie ich dann mein Studium der Kultur-und Sozialanthropologie begann, wurde mir sehr schnell klar, dass ¿Migration¿ eines meiner Themenschwerpunkte im Studium werden sollte. Die Tatsache ¿anders¿ zu sein als die Gesellschaft in der man lebt, hatte mich in dem 1600-Seelen-Dorf in dem ich aufwuchs eigentlich von früher Jugend an begleitet. Stets hatte ich das Gefühl, nie so richtig ¿hineinzupassen¿ in dieses Nest. In diesem Dorf gab und gibt es noch immer verhältnismäßig wenige MigrantInnen. Einheimische leben mit ausländischen MitbürgerInnen sehr friedlich zusammen. Xenophobische Äußerungen bemerkte ich als Kind kaum. Erst als ich dann in die nächste größere Stadt Linz zog, um dort eine Höhere Bildende Lehranstalt zu besuchen, wurde mir bewusst, dass wir uns im 21. Jahrhundert eigentlich abermals in einer Völkerwanderungszeit befinden, und diese somit natürlich auch gewissen Problematiken beziehungsweise viel Leid mit an den Tag bringt. Ich stellte fest, dass in unserer Gesellschaft kulturelle Unterschiede und Probleme oftmals in beidseitiger Unkenntnis über den schwierigen Migrationsprozess stellvertretend mittels anderer Themen in diversen Konflikten unbewusst prozesshaft bearbeitet werden.

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1, University of Vienna, language: English, abstract: In this seminar paper I am going to deal with Katherine Anne Porter¿s short story Old Mortality, which was first published in the Southern Review, in 1937 (Literature Online Biography). Initially, I am going to depict Katherine Anne Porter¿s life as well as the autobiographical elements which permeate Old Mortality. However, the central focus of this paper lies on the representation of the short story and its main issues like family and home in addition to the portrayal of memory. Furthermore, it provides facts about the socio-cultural and historical background as well as information on narrative technique and cultural signifiers.