2021 Ü Key Concepts in Cultural Studies

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 Critical 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".

---

Lecture: VL "Historical Backgrounds and Critical Concepts" 3.02.040 - Martin Butler, Anton Kirchhofer - Thu, 12:00 - 14:00, Room: A11 1-101 (online) VL "Historical Background and Critical Concepts" Course Outline "Historical Backgrounds and Critical Concepts" Courses: S/Ü "Key Concepts in Cultural Studies" 3.02.042 - Anna Auguscik - Fri, 12:00-14:00, Room: online 3.02.043 - Julius Greve - Thu, 14:00-16:00, Room: online 3.02.044 - Michaela Keck - Wed, 16:00-18:00, Room: online 3.02.045 - Michaela Keck - Thu, 08:00-10:00, Room: online 3.02.046 - Michaela Keck - Thu, 10:00-12:00, Room: online 3.02.047 - Christian Lassen - Thu, 08:00-10:00, Room: online 3.02.048 - Christian Lassen - Fri, 08:00-10:00, Room: online 3.02.049 - Alena Cicholewski - Thu, 16:00-18:00, Room: online S/Ü "Key Concepts in Cultural Studies" Course Outline "Key Concepts" Revision: Ü "Revision Course" 3.02.055 - Anna Auguscik - Fri, 14:00-16:00, Room: A01 0-009 Ü "Revision Course" Course Outline "Revision Course"

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.

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. Frances Smith Foster and Richard Yarborough. New York and London: Norton, 2018. Print.

   Little Miss Sunshine. Dir. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. Perf. Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, and Alan Alda. 2006. Twentieth Century Fox, 2013. DVD.

Course work: You will be asked to write three ungraded exercise assignments (max. 3 pages) and produce a Research Paper Outline 'Plus' (RPO+), consisting of a research paper outline and a problem-oriented sample analysis (due on August 15). The assignments and the RPO+ are to be formatted according to the style sheet. For the RPO+ 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 14/15/16: Introduction

Welcome

Preliminaries and General Course Information.

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

Session Two, April 21/22/23: Working with Key Concepts in Cultural Studies I

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.
• Hall, Stuart. "The Work of Representation." Representation. Eds. Stuart Hall, Jessica Evans, and Sean Nixon. Los Angeles et al.: Sage, 2013. 1-15. 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.
• You may also watch Stuart Hall explain his notions of representation: Stuart Hall, "Representation and the Media"Part 1, Part 2

Session Three, April 28/29/30: 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.
• Hall, Stuart. "The Work of Representation." Representation. Eds. Stuart Hall, Jessica Evans, and Sean Nixon. Los Angeles et al.: Sage, 2013. 1-15. 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.
• You may also watch Stuart Hall explain his notions of representation: Stuart Hall, "Representation and the Media"Part 1, Part 2

Session Four, May 05/06/07: Analyzing Print Media: Slave Narrative I

Primary Material

• Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Eds. Frances Smith Foster and Richard Yarborough. New York and London: Norton, 2018. 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

Session Five, May 19/20/21: Analyzing Print Media: Slave Narrative II

Primary Material

• Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Eds. Frances Smith Foster and Richard Yarborough. New York and London: Norton, 2018. 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, 2018. 220-34. Print.

Analytical Tools

• Handout: Narratology

Session Six, May 26/27/28: Analyzing Print Media: Slave Narrative III

Primary Material

• Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Eds. Frances Smith Foster and Richard Yarborough. New York and London: Norton, 2018. 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 Seven, June 02/03/04: Gender and Representation I

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.

    [WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT "Non-Fiction" due]

Session Eight, June 09/10/11: Gender and Representation II

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.

    WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT "Gender and Representation" published

    WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT "Gender and Representation": sample solution

Session Nine, June 16/17/18: Analyzing Audiovisual Media: Film I

Primary Material

• Little Miss Sunshine. Dir. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. Perf. Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, and Alan Alda. 2006. Twentieth Century Fox, 2013. DVD.

Secondary Material

• Happel, Alison and Jennifer Esposito. "Pageant Trouble: An Exploration of Gender Transgression in Little Miss Sunshine." Gender Forum 46 (2013): n.pag. Web.
• 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 "Gender and Representation" due]

Session Ten, June 23/24/25: Analyzing Audiovisual Media: Film II

Primary Material

• Little Miss Sunshine. Dir. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. Perf. Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, and Alan Alda. 2006. Twentieth Century Fox, 2013. 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 Eleven, June 30, July 01/02: Analyzing Audiovisual Media: Film III

Primary Material

• Little Miss Sunshine. Dir. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. Perf. Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, and Alan Alda. 2006. Twentieth Century Fox, 2013. DVD.

Secondary Material

• Robinson, Kerry H. and Cristyn Davies. "'She's kicking ass, that's what she's doing!': Deconstructing Childhood 'Innocence' in Media Representations." Australian Feminist Studies 23.57 (2008): 343-58. Print.
• 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 "Film" published

    WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT "Film": sample solution

Session Twelve, July 07/08/09: RPOplus I: Textual Analysis and Problem Orientation

Skills and Activities

Assignments "Non-Fiction", "Gender and Representation", "Film"

• Handout RPOplus
• Sample RPOplus

    [WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT "Film" due]

Session Thirteen, July 14/15/16: RPOplus II: Brief Report on 'Work in Progress'

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 RPO+ 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' (Incidents, Little Miss Sunshine).

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