Kommentar |
In one way or another, toilets – and their absence – figure prominently in our personal lives, in world politics, and in the arts and culture. Yet even though they frame an ordinary practice essential for well-being and survival, toilets and the multiple issues and questions they raise have so far received limited attention in cultural studies.
Toilets facilitate movement through public spaces, significantly co-constructing social hierarchies such as gender, sexuality, 'race,' age, religion, and ability. Who has access to public toilets and who does not? Whose needs are served, and how? These questions are currently the subject of legal battles and controversial debates not only in the US. At the same time, restrooms are sites of social interaction in which physical closeness and shared urges translate into intimacies at different levels. Restrooms thus also play a crucial role in American literature and film.
Toilet spaces are culturally specific. Design and architecture impact on the experience of restrooms as safe, relaxing, and even pleasurable – or none of the above. The meaning of toilets is psychological and emotional, as attested by the toilet paper ‘shortage’ during the current Covid-19 crisis. Toiletries, bathroom design, and sanitation infrastructure constitute a huge (consumer) market. Finally, the ways in which we manage the disposal of bodily waste has enormous ecological repercussions.
The course explores the cultural politics of toilets and the topic of restroom cultures in a transdisciplinary, intercultural manner. Participants will be required to attend part of the conference "Everybody's Business: Toilets as a Contested Space" held on November 17 and 18, 2021, in exchange for two class sessions. Credit for the course is based on regular attendance, reading of the course material, participation in class discussions, and organizing a session together with other students. |