2014 Ü Key Concepts in Cultural Studies

    PLEASE NOTE: THIS PAGE IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION. NOT ALL INFORMATION IS VERIFIED AND RELIABLE YET.

Please note: The BM7 module consists of

• a seminar ("Introduction to the Critical and Scholarly Discussion of Literature", offered in the previous winter term),
• a tutorial ("Research Methods", 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).

If you have already completed parts, but not the entire Basismodul in literary and/or cultural studies in previous semesters, please contact Michaela Koch.

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".

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Course: Key Concepts in Cultural Studies 3.02.075 - Christian Lassen - Thu, 08:00-10:00, Room: V02 0-002 3.02.075 - Christian Lassen - Thu, 16:00-18:00, Room: A07 0-025 3.02.079 - Christian Lassen - Fri, 08:00-10:00, Room: A01 0-010a 3.02.071 - Michaela Keck - Thu, 10:00-12:00, Room: A01 0-010b 3.02.072 - Michaela Keck - Fri, 08:00-10:00, Room: A010 0-009 3.02.073 - Michaela Koch - Thu, 14:00-16:00, Room: A10 1-121a 3.02.074 - Michaela Koch - Thu, 18:00-20:00, Room: A01 0-010a 3.02.077 - Annika Karen McPherson - Fri, 12:00-14:00, Room: A06 0-009 3.02.078 - Annika Karen McPherson - Fri, 10:00-12:00, Room: A01 0-010a 3.02.080 - Daniel Sip - Fri, 12:00-14:00, Room: A10 1-121; HS F

Both the lecture and the courses are part of the Basismodul 7 and focus on key concepts in cultural studies and techniques of textual analysis in the context of discussing culture. The VL/Ü Key Concepts of Cultural Studies consists of 6 lectures on "Historical Backgrounds and Critical Concepts" and 13 courses/Übungen on "Key Concepts of Cultural Studies".

The Übung 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.

Course work: You will be asked to complete a Written Test (Date: Saturday, July 26, 2014, 10:00-12:00, A14 Hörsaal 1 und 2), and produce a Research Paper Outline (2 pages, due on Aug 15). For the Research Paper Outline you will need to find your own topic to work on and 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). The RPO is to be formatted according to the style sheet.

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Two useful links for all assignments:

• Literary Studies:Writing academic texts - esp. for the research paper outline

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

Welcome

Preliminaries and General Course Information.

• Introduction to the BM 7 Curriculum, Aims and Goals

Analytical Tools

• Handout Key Concepts in Cultural Studies: Discourse
• Handout Key Concepts in Cultural Studies: Culture
• 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.

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

Analytical Tools

• Handout Key Concepts in Cultural Studies: Discourse
• Handout Key Concepts in Cultural Studies: Culture
• 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.

Session Three, April 18/19: Analyzing Print Media: Slave Narrative I

Primary Material

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

Secondary Material

• Boyer, Paul S. "Chapter 12: The Old South and Slavery, 1830-1860." The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People. Sixth Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008. 354-67. Print.

Analytical Tools

• Handout: Narratology

Session Four, April 25/26: Analyzing Print Media: Slave Narrative II

Primary Material

• Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Eds. Nellie Y. McKay and Frances Smith Foster. New York: 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 02/03: Analyzing Print Media: Slave Narrative III

Primary Material

• Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Eds. Nellie Y. McKay and Frances Smith Foster. New York: 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. Reprinted in: Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Eds. Nellie Y. McKay and Frances Smith Foster. New York: Norton, 2001. 365-85. Print.

Analytical Tools

• Handout: Narratology

    ASSIGNMENT I, due: Monday, May 16, 2013

Session Six, May 16/17: Analyzing Visual Media: Graphic Novel I

Primary Material

• Spiegelman, Art. In the Shadow of No Towers. New York: Pantheon Books, 2004. Print.

Secondary Material

• Spiegelman,Art. "Introduction." In the Shadow of No Towers. New York: Pantheon, 2004.

Analytical Tools

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

Session Seven, May 23/24: Analyzing Visual Media: Graphic Novel II

Primary Material

• Spiegelman, Art. In the Shadow of No Towers. New York: Pantheon Books, 2004. Print.

Secondary Material

• Espiritu, Karen. "'Putting Grief Into Boxes': Trauma and the Crisis of Democracy in Art Spiegelman's In In the Shadow of No Towers." Review of Education/Pedagogy/Cultural Studies 28.2 (2006) 179-201. Print.

Analytical Tools

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

Session Eight, May 30/31: Analyzing Visual Media: Graphic Novel III

Primary Material

• Spiegelman, Art. In the Shadow of No Towers. New York: Pantheon Books, 2004. Print.

Secondary Material

• Espiritu, Karen. "'Putting Grief Into Boxes': Trauma and the Crisis of Democracy in Art Spiegelman's In In the Shadow of No Towers." Review of Education/Pedagogy/Cultural Studies 28.2 (2006) 179-201. Print.

Analytical Tools

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

    ASSIGNMENT II, due: Monday, June 03, 2013

Session Nine, June 06/07: Analyzing Audiovisual Media: Film I

Primary Material

• Breakfast on Pluto. Dir. Neil Jordan. 2005. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2006. 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

Session Ten, June 13/14: Analyzing Audiovisual Media: Film II

Primary Material

• Breakfast on Pluto. Dir. Neil Jordan. 2005. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2006. DVD.

Secondary Material

• Nunes, Charlotte. "In the Name of National Security: Torture and Imperialist Ideology in Sheridan's In the Name of the Father and Jordan's Breakfast on Pluto." Human Rights Quarterly 31.4 (2009): 916-33. Print.

Analytical Tools

• Handout Conceptual tools for the Analysis of Film

Session Eleven, June 20/21: Analyzing Audiovisual Media: Film III

Primary Material

• Breakfast on Pluto. Dir. Neil Jordan. 2005. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2006. DVD.

Secondary Material

• Lassen, Christian. "The Passion of Saint Kitten, or: Desperately Seeking Mitzi, the Phantom Lady. Camp Responses to Interpellation and Subjection in Neil Jordan's Breakfast on Pluto." Anglistentag 2012 Potsdam: Proceedings. Eds. N.N. Trier: WVT, 2013. Forthcoming.

Analytical Tools

• Handout Conceptual tools for the Analysis of Film

    ASSIGNMENT III, due: Monday, June 24, 2013

Session Twelve, June 27/28: Presentation and Discussion of RPOs

Skills and Activities

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

     [BM7 - Introduction to Litertary and Cultural Studies - Research Paper Outline (due on Aug 15)]

Guidelines for finding your RPO topic:

1. Your RPO topic needs to be related to at least one of the four key concepts: identity, media, discourse, culture
2. As the material basis for your analysis you will need to pick material from the Übungen: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, In the Shadow of No Towers, Breakfast on Pluto

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

Session Thirteen, July 04/05: Recap in Preparation for Written Test / Course Evaluation

In preparation for the recap meeting, please review the handouts Conceptual Tools for the Analysis of Graphic Novels and Comics and Conceptual Tools for the Analysis of Film and Key Concepts in Cultural Studies: Culture / Media / Identity / Discourse.

    WRITTEN TEST: Saturday, July 06, 2013, 10:00-12:00, A14 Hörsaal 1 und 2