Back
| Semester | fall semester 2020 |
| Course frequency | Irregular |
| Lecturers | Peter Robert Burleigh (p.burleigh@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | THE PROSEMINAR IS NOW FULL. PLEASE REGISTER FOR AN ALTERNATIVE COURSE. Power! This proseminar is an attempt to address power as a force that exerts itself not in the Machiavellian machinations of the able-bodied nation state and its agents - ideology (as an episteme), politics (as a system of discourse), police (loci of violence) - but across the many forms of everyday life. Starting from the position adopted by Michel Foucault that "it would [...] be more materialist to study first the question of the body and the effects of power on it," we will look at a wide range of theoretical tools that enable different understandings of power as a force that articulates and invades our daily lives and consider what cultural responses there are to this force. In this respect, the proseminar will be looking at generative, desirous, productive cultural artefacts that engage with, deconstruct, tacitly exploit power in a variety of forms, genres and media. The course will first follow a number of theoretical readings to derive tools, for which small student task groups will be responsible under my supervision. The second phase will involve close and careful reading of the course material some of which is listed below, or at least gives a hint of the kinds of materials I want to consider under the frame of power - these too will be discussed and presented by small student task groups somewhat more independently. The proseminar will also support the writing of a Proseminar paper on the topic of power. Readings will be taken from: Sara Ahmed. "Queer Phenomenology". 2006; Mary Beard. "Women & Power: A Manifesto". 2017; Lauren Berlant. "Cruel Optimism". 2011; Eugenie Brinkema. "The Forms of the Affects". 2014; Gilles Deleuze & Felix Guattari. "A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia". 1987; Michel Foucault. "Discipline and Punish". 1975; Audre Lorde. "The Uses of the Erotic". 1978; Maria Lugones. "Pilgrimages/Peregrinajes". 2003; Seth Price. "How to Disappear in America". 2009. Materials to be considered include but are not restricted to: "Blasted". Sarah Kane 1995; "Flatland". Edward Abbot 1884; "Oranges are Not the Only Fruit". Jeanette Winterson 1985; "Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim". various circa 1890. "Unorthodox". Anna Winger 2020. "Until Our Hearts Stop". Meg Stewart/Damaged Goods 2015. |
| Learning objectives | Students will become familiar with current descriptions and discussions of power and its impact on culture. Students will further their critical approach to text and to authorship, including inter-relating various primary texts and secondary materials in meaningful ways. Students will learn to consider formats and genres as not only form but as content. Students will have the opportunity to write a Proseminar paper attached to the course. |
| Bibliography | Readings will be taken from: Sara Ahmed. "Queer Phenomenology". 2006; Mary Beard. "Women & Power: A Manifesto". 2017; Lauren Berlant. "Cruel Optimism". 2011; Eugenie Brinkema. "The Forms of the Affects". 2014; Gilles Deleuze & Felix Guattari. "A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia". 1987; Michel Foucault. "Discipline and Punish". 1975; Audre Lorde. "The Uses of the Erotic". 1978; Maria Lugones. "Pilgrimages/Peregrinajes". 2003; Seth Price. "How to Disappear in America". 2009. |
| Admission requirements | It is strongly recommended that this course is taken only after the successful completion of the "Introduction I + II: Literary Studies" proseminars. |
| Course application | The Proseminar is now full. Please register for an alternative course. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|
No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Modul: Introduction to Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Bachelor's degree subject: English) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | as often as necessary |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft |