Difference between revisions of "2019 Ü Key Concepts in Cultural Studies"

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Please note: The ang070 module consists of

• a seminar ("S/Ü: Introduction to the Critical and Scholarly Discussion of Literature", offered in the previous winter term),
• a tutorial ("TUT: Introduction to the Critical and Scholarly Discussion of Literature", offered in the previous winter term),
• a (biweekly) lecture ("Historical Backgrounds and Critcal Concepts", offered this term) and
• a seminar ("Key Concepts of Cultural Studies", offered this term).

On this page you will find detailed information on the lecture "Historical Backgrounds and Critical Concepts" and on the courses "Key Concepts in Cultural Studies".

Both the lecture (VL) and the courses (S/Ü) are part of the Basismodul ang070 and focus on key concepts in cultural studies and techniques of textual analysis in the context of discussing culture. The VL "Historical Backgrounds and Critical Concepts" consists of 7 lectures and the S/Ü "Key Concepts in Cultural Studies" of 14 courses/Übungen.

The S/Ü "Key Concepts in Cultural Studies" analyzes material and is relying on concepts and approaches complemented by the lectures. The analysis of the material from a cultural studies perspective is based on three guiding questions:

• 1. What are the specific and medial characteristics of the Material? (See Handouts: Conceptual Tools)
• 2. How is the material situated and what institutions are responsible for its existence and discussion?
• 3. What function and effect for identity formation can the material have?

Please make sure that you are registered for the lecture and ONE of the courses in Stud.IP and open a wiki account which will enable you to participate in online discussions.

The texts for our courses will come from a common pool, though each course may have a different choice.

The "analytical tools" will be presented by the lecturers (on a handout) in each meeting. The additional reading from which these 'tools' are taken is not obligatory, and it can be done either before or after each session. Mandatory texts and other materials will be made accessible to you electronically (cf. the links below). In addition you will need to purchase the following works:

   Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Eds. Nellie Y. McKay and Frances Smith Foster. New York and London: Norton, 2001. Print.

   Spiegelman, Art. The Complete Maus. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.

   The Crying Game. Dir. Neil Jordan. Perf. Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, Jaye Davidson, and Forest Whitaker. 1992. Arthaus, 2018. DVD.

Course work: You will be asked to write three ungraded exercise assignments (max. 3 pages) and produce a Research Paper Outline 'Plus' (RPOplus), consisting of a research paper outline and a problem-oriented sample analysis (due on August 15). The assignments are to be formatted according to the style sheet, and will require you to analyse a non-fiction text, a graphic novel and a film respectively. For the RPOplus you will need to find your own topic to work on, document the preliminary work (this includes finding an appropriate title, writing a paragraph on the state of the art of your problem and one that describes your problem and your goal, and presenting a tentative table of contents as well as a short bibliography) and write up a formal and genre-specific analysis of a passage that fits in with the research question and thesis statement put forward in your RPO.

Session One, April 03/04/05: Working With Key Concepts in Cultural Studies I

Welcome

Preliminaries and General Course Information.

• Introduction to the ang070 Curriculum, Aims and Goals
• Introduction to the ang070 Course Outline

Analytical Tools: Culture and Representation, Discourse, Media, Identity

• Handout Key Concepts in Cultural Studies: Discourse
• Handout Key Concepts in Cultural Studies: Culture and Representation
• Handout Key Concepts in Cultural Studies: Identity
• Handout Key Concepts in Cultural Studies: Media

Further Reading

• Ang, Ien. "Cultural Studies." The SAGE Handbook of Cultural Studies. London: SAGE, 2008. 227-48. Print.
• Chouliaraki, Lilie. "Discourse Analysis." The SAGE Handbook of Cultural Studies. London: SAGE, 2008. 674-96. Print.
• Clarke, Simon. "Culture and Identity." The SAGE Handbook of Cultural Studies. London: SAGE, 2008. 510-29. Print.
• Kaplan, Carla. "Identity." Keywords for American Cultural Studies. Eds. Bruce Burgett and Glenn Hendler. New York: NY: New York UP, 2007. 123-7. Print.
• Yúdice, George. "Culture." Keywords for American Cultural Studies. Eds. Bruce Burgett and Glenn Hendler. New York: NY: New York UP, 2007. 71-6. Print.
• "Representation." Hall, Stuart (ed.). Representation. Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: Sage Publications, 1997. 1-29.
• You may also watch Stuart Hall explain his notions of representation on youtube

Session Two, April 10/11/12: Working with Key Concepts in Cultural Studies II

Analytical Tools: Culture and Representation, Discourse, Media, Identity

• Handout Key Concepts in Cultural Studies: Discourse
• Handout Key Concepts in Cultural Studies: Culture and Representation
• Handout Key Concepts in Cultural Studies: Identity
• Handout Key Concepts in Cultural Studies: Media

Further Reading

• Ang, Ien. "Cultural Studies." The SAGE Handbook of Cultural Studies. London: SAGE, 2008. 227-48. Print.
• Chouliaraki, Lilie. "Discourse Analysis." The SAGE Handbook of Cultural Studies. London: SAGE, 2008. 674-96. Print.
• Clarke, Simon. "Culture and Identity." The SAGE Handbook of Cultural Studies. London: SAGE, 2008. 510-29. Print.
• Kaplan, Carla. "Identity." Keywords for American Cultural Studies. Eds. Bruce Burgett and Glenn Hendler. New York: NY: New York UP, 2007. 123-7. Print.
• Yúdice, George. "Culture." Keywords for American Cultural Studies. Eds. Bruce Burgett and Glenn Hendler. New York: NY: New York UP, 2007. 71-6. Print.
• "Representation." Hall, Stuart (ed.). Representation. Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: Sage Publications, 1997. 1-29.
• You may also watch Stuart Hall explain his notions of representation on youtube

Session Three, April 24/25/26: Analyzing Print Media: Slave Narrative I (Introduction: Medium, Genre, Context)

Primary Material

• Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Eds. Nellie Y. McKay and Frances Smith Foster. New York and London: Norton, 2001. Print.

Secondary Material

• Woloch, Nancy. "Benevolence, Reform, and Slavery." Women and the Great American Experience. Second Ed. New York et al.: McGraw-Hill, 1994. 170-203. Print.

Analytical Tools

• Handout: Narratology

May 01: No Class

Session Four, May 02/03/08: Analyzing Print Media: Slave Narrative II (Focal Point: Identity and Genre)

Primary Material

• Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Eds. Nellie Y. McKay and Frances Smith Foster. New York and London: Norton, 2001. Print.

Secondary Material

• Smith, Valerie. "Form and Ideology in Three Slave Narratives." Self-Discovery and Authority in Afro-American Narrative. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1987. 9-43. Reprinted in: Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Eds. Nellie Y. McKay and Frances Smith Foster. New York: Norton, 2001. 222-36. Print.

Analytical Tools

• Handout: Narratology

Session Five, May 09/10/15: Analyzing Print Media: Slave Narrative III (Focal Point: Discourse)

Primary Material

• Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Eds. Nellie Y. McKay and Frances Smith Foster. New York and London: Norton, 2001. Print.

Secondary Material

• Accomando, Christina. "'The Laws Were Laid Down to Me Anew': Harriet Jacobs and the Reframing of Legal Fictions" African American Review 32.2 (1998): 229-44.

Analytical Tools

• Handout: Narratology

    WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT "Non-Fiction" published

    WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT "Non-Fiction": Sample solution

Session Six, May 16/17/22: Analyzing Visual Media: Graphic Novel I (Medium, Genre, Context)

Primary Material

• Spiegelman, Art. The Complete Maus. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.

Text

• TBA

Analytical Tools

• Handout Conceptual Tools for the Analysis of Comics and Graphic Novels

    [WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT "Non-Fiction" due]

Session Seven, May 23/24/29: Analyzing Visual Media: Graphic Novel II (Graphic Narrative & Identity Formation)

Primary Material

• Spiegelman, Art. The Complete Maus. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.

Secondary Material

• TBA

Analytical Tools

• Handout Conceptual Tools for the Analysis of Comics and Graphic Novels

May 30: No Class

May 31: Recap Sessions

Session Eight, June 05/06/07: Analyzing Visual Media: Graphic Novel III (Graphic Narrative & Identity Formation cont'd.)

Primary Material

• Spiegelman, Art. The Complete Maus. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.

Secondary Material

• TBA

Analytical Tools

• Handout Conceptual Tools for the Analysis of Comics and Graphic Novels

    WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT "Graphic Novel" published

    WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT "Graphic Novel": sample solution

Session Nine, June 12/13/14: Analyzing Audiovisual Media: Film I (Medium, Genre, Context)

Primary Material

• The Crying Game. Dir. Neil Jordan. Perf. Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, Jaye Davidson, and Forest Whitaker. 1992. Arthaus, 2018. DVD.

Secondary Material

• Bischoff, Mark, and Ulrike Ordon, eds. The Syntax of Film: A Glossary 3rd ed. Seesen, 2012.

Analytical Tools

• Handout Conceptual tools for the Analysis of Film

    [WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT "Graphic Novel" due]

Session Ten, June 19/20/21: Analyzing Audiovisual Media: Film II (Film & Ideology)

Primary Material

• The Crying Game. Dir. Neil Jordan. Perf. Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, Jaye Davidson, and Forest Whitaker. 1992. Arthaus, 2018. DVD.

Secondary Material

• Butler, Judith. "Imitation and Gender Insubordination." Inside/Out: Lesbian Theories, Gay Theories. Ed. Diana Fuss. New York and London: Routledge, 1991. 13-31. Print.

Analytical Tools

• Handout Conceptual tools for the Analysis of Film

Session Eleven, June 26/27/28: Analyzing Audiovisual Media: Film III (Screening Gender)

Primary Material

• The Crying Game. Dir. Neil Jordan. Perf. Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, Jaye Davidson, and Forest Whitaker. 1992. Arthaus, 2018. DVD.

Secondary Material

• TBA

Analytical Tools

• Handout Conceptual tools for the Analysis of Film

    WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT "Film" published

    WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT "Film": sample solution

Session Twelve, July 03/04/05: Recap Session

Skills and Activities

Brief Report on 'Work in Progress': Your Term Paper Projects

• Handout RPOplus
• Sample RPOplus

    [WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT "Film" due]

Session Thirteen, July 10/11/12: Presentation and Discussion of RPOs

Skills and Activities

Brief Report on 'Work in Progress': Your Term Paper Projects

• Handout RPOplus
• Sample RPOplus

    [WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT "RPOplus" due August 15]

Guidelines for finding your RPO topic:

1. Your RPOplus topic needs to be related to at least one of the key concepts: identity, media, discourse, culture and representation
2. As the material basis for your analysis you will need to pick material from the Übungen: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Watchmen, Little Miss Sunshine

You have access to the scholarly discourse on the material from the Übung through the MLA database.