M.A. / M.Ed. Seminar "Robert Louis Stevenson”, Summer Semester 2024, Prof. Dr. Burkhard Niederhoff
E-mail: burkhard.niederhoff@rub.de; office hours: Tue 16:00-17:30 or by appointment (GB 6/141 or Zoom; make appointment with H. Sicking); secretary: Hilde Sicking, e-mail: hildegard.sicking@rub.de; office hours: Tue & Thur 9:00-13:00; phone: 0234 32-28051 (GB 6/142).
Required texts: R. L. Stevenson. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and Other Tales. Edited by Roger Luckhurst, Oxford World’s Classics, 2008 (ISBN: 9780199536221); R. L. Stevenson, Treasure Island. Edited by Peter Hunt, Oxford World’s Classics, 2011 (ISBN: 9780199560356). Other texts will be provided in Moodle.
Note: This seminar is connected to the conference “Intertextual Stevenson”, which is organized by Lena Linne and the instructor and will take place at the Beckmannshof from 27 June to 29 June. The selection of texts is based on the talks scheduled for the conference. Course participants will have to attend at least one panel (and are cordially invited to attend more).
Preliminary Schedule
16 April Course description; introduction to course
23 April “A College Magazine”, “Letter to a Young Gentleman Who Proposes to Embrace the Career of Art”
30 April “Some Aspects of Robert Burns”
7 May “Markheim”
14 May Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde; pp. 5-27
21 May Whitsun Week
28 May Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde; entire text
4 June “A Chapter on Dreams”
11 June Treasure Island
18 June Treasure Island
25 June “The Beach of Falesá”
2 July “The Beach of Falesá”
9 July “Diogenes in London” & “The Scientific Ape”
16 July Summing up; course evaluation; how to write a good paper
Rules and Requirements
Course participants will have to read the assigned texts, attend class and participate in class discussion (if you miss more than three classes without a valid reason, you will not be able to obtain credit; valid reasons should be communicated by e-mail as soon as possible). They will also have to attend a panel at the Stevenson conference (27 top 29 June, programme in Moodle) and write a response to this panel (see below).
If you take the course as an Übung (3 CP), you have to write the short paper (see below). If you take the course as a seminar (5 CP), you have to write a long paper (see below). The final grade will be based primarily on the paper. If your participation in class discussion is significantly better than your written work, it will be taken into consideration as well.
Response to Panel
This should be about 500 words long and respond to the following questions: Which panel did you attend? What did you think of the way scholars communicate at the conference? Is it different from a seminar discussion? Could you follow the talks and the discussion? Did you learn anything from it? If yes, what in particular? Do not hesitate to be personal and honest in this statement; it will not be graded.
The Short Paper
Content and purpose: The short paper should be based on one of the seminar sessions. You can use the ideas and arguments discussed in class, but feel free to add your own ideas. Do not report who said what in class; write a self-contained essay. The main point is to clarify your ideas about the text and to give you some practice in academic writing.
Academic style: For questions of form and style, refer to the "Academic Style Sheet" on the departmental website. A contents page is not required; you should, however, include a title page and a bibliography containing the text you discuss (and additional texts that you might wish to cite).
Help with writing papers: Have a look at the material under "Student Papers" on my website (this is about introductions, paragraphs, bibliographies, frequent mistakes, etc.). If you have any difficulties in writing papers, you should talk to me and / or seek the assistance of the Writing Centre.
Length: 2000 words. Add a word count at the end of your essay.
Deadline: Tue, 6 August, 12 noon, at Frau Sicking’s office (earlier submissions can also be sent to or handed in at the departmental office).
E-mail submissions will be disregarded. You have to hand in a printout.
Criticism is not required.
Penalty for late papers: a third of a grade for each weekday that the paper is late (a 3 that is one day late will become a 3,3). If you hand in the paper late, make sure that one of the departmental secretaries writes the date on it.
Plagiarism: If I catch you stealing somebody else's words or ideas, you will not pass the course. Do not forget to attach the "Declaration of Authenticity" to your paper.
AI: If you use AI, you have to document it, following the faculty guidelines on AI (provided in Moodle). I strongly advise against using AI to generate content (and will explain why in person).
The Long Paper
Content and purpose: In this paper you will do some independent research and analysis, taking into consideration some research books or articles on your topic. Thus you will practice the skills required in the M.A. thesis.
Style guidelines: For questions of form and style, refer to the "Academic Style Sheet" on the departmental website.
Length: 4000 words (including title page, contents page, footnotes, and bibliography).
Deadline: Tue, 1 October, 12 noon, at Frau Sicking’s office (earlier submissions can also be sent to or handed in at the departmental office).
E-mail submissions will be disregarded. You have to hand in a printout.
Penalty for late papers: a third of a grade for each weekday that the paper is late (a 3 that is one day late will become a 3,3). If you hand in the paper late, make sure that one of the departmental secretaries writes the date on it.
Help with writing papers: see above under “short paper” and also below (“rewriting option”). You can also send me the first draft of your introduction when you begin to write the paper. I will then give you some feedback on it.
Rewriting option: If you hand in the paper by Tue, 6 August, you will have a chance to revise it. Don’t forget to put your e-mail address on the paper. The final deadline for all papers, including revised versions, is 1 October. If you rewrite, hand in the original version along with the revised one.
Criticism: You should take into consideration at least four critical articles or books that are relevant to your topic, but do not follow other critics slavishly. I would like to see your own thoughts and arguments.
Plagiarism and AI: see above under short paper.
Topics: I want you to write about a text that has not been discussed in class (e.g. The Master of Ballantrae, The Ebb-Tide, Weir of Hermiston, etc.) or include a text that we have not discussed in class (e.g. The Ebb-Tide as a Rewriting of Treasure Island). We should work out a paper topic based on your input and possibly also on what you learnt at the conference. You have to clear your topic with me.
- Kursleiter/in: Burkhard Niederhoff