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| Semester | spring semester 2024 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Michael Stasik (michael.stasik@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Loneliness and solitude – heuristically distinguished as ‘the pain’ and ‘the glory of being alone’ (Tillich 1963) – are ubiquitous, if highly ambivalent, conditions of human social and mental life. We can be alone in a crowd, alone with nature, or alone with our thoughts. Historically, the state of being alone has been seen as both a boon and a curse. In religious traditions, ascetic rituals of social withdrawal are linked with charisma, spiritual insight, and proximity to the divine. Concentration, contemplation, and creativity are said to flourish in solitary retreat. Loneliness, on the other hand, is associated with wounded existences and disintegrating structures of solidarity and social cohesion. The idea of the isolated individual has decisively shaped sociological and anthropological arguments about modernity’s distinct forms of social organization under industrialism, capitalism, and urbanism. More recently, loneliness has been likened to an epidemic (even before the Covid pandemic), with digital and ‘social’ media said to increase the quantity and reduce the quality of social relations, producing lonely lives at scale. In this research seminar, we explore the many different faces of solitary being from perspectives within and beyond anthropology. Starting from the insight that states of being alone and ‘by oneself’ are socially embedded experiences, shaped by the centrifugal forces of detachment, autonomy, and possibility, we ask: What are loneliness and solitude as a social reality? How are their manifestations culturally patterned? How do they relate to broader political and economic dynamics? In an introductory part, we map the place of loneliness/solitude in different branches of social theory and social thought. In the second part, we explore loneliness/solitude as a subject of ethnographic inquiry and anthropological reflection, with topics chosen by the seminar participants. Possible topics for this second part include intersections of loneliness/solitude with: death, suicide, kinship, sexuality, ageing, urban life, migration, technology, religion, homelessness, addiction, disciplinary institutions, and then some. |
| Learning objectives | By tracing the conceptualization of the lonely and solitary subject in different cultural and historical contexts, students will learn about key developments in social theory, including some of the theoretical and methodological problems arising from the study of isolated selfhoods. They will also hone their skills in anthropological thinking and ethnographic imagination through their own elaboration and presentation of a theme around loneliness/solitude and overarching issues. |
| Admission requirements | The number of participants is limited to 25 people. The places are assigned according to date of enrollment and subject of study. Priority will be given to the subjects listed under "modules". |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Wednesday | 12.15-14.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 28.02.2024 | 12.15-14.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Wednesday 06.03.2024 | 12.15-14.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Wednesday 13.03.2024 | 12.15-14.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Wednesday 20.03.2024 | 12.15-14.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Wednesday 27.03.2024 | 12.15-14.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Wednesday 10.04.2024 | 12.15-14.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Wednesday 17.04.2024 | 12.15-14.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Wednesday 24.04.2024 | 12.15-14.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Wednesday 01.05.2024 | 12.15-14.00 | Tag der Arbeit |
| Wednesday 08.05.2024 | 12.15-14.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Wednesday 15.05.2024 | 12.15-14.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Wednesday 22.05.2024 | 12.15-14.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Wednesday 29.05.2024 | 12.15-14.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Modules |
African Studies: Recommendations (PhD subject: African Studies) Modul: Research Skills in Social and Cultural Anthropology (Master's degree subject: Anthropology) Module: Fields: Media and Imagination (Master's degree program: African Studies) Module: Fields: Public Health and Social Life (Master's degree program: African Studies) Module: Interdisciplinary and Applied African Studies (Master's degree program: African Studies) Module: Migration, Mobility and Transnationalism (Master's degree program: Changing Societies: Migration – Conflicts – Resources) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | In addition to regular attendance (max. 2 absences) and active participation in the discussions based on the weekly readings, successful course participation requires the preparation and chairing of one session on a topic chosen in consultation with the lecturer, either individually or in a (small) group. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Ethnologie |