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Our sense of ourselves seems somehow suspended between traditional or romantic ideas of selfhood and postmodern or transnational notions of identity. In this class we will discuss some theories of identity (Locke, Hume, G.H. Mead, Ricoeur, Hall) and look at cultural manifestations of the widely differing ideas about self and identity. Our explorations will include fiction (Douglas Coupland and Paul Auster), Autobiography (Barack Obama and David Suzuki), Photography (Cindy Sherman) and Film. Students are expected to form workgroups presenting one topic in class. Please have the books read before the semester starts, as we will have to deal with some secondary material! Reading and Viewing:· Douglas Coupland, Miss Wyoming (1999), New York: HarperCollins, 2004. Paul Auster, Leviathan (1992), London: Faber & Faber, 2001.· Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father. A Story of Race and Inheritance (1995). New York: Three Rivers Press, 2004.· David Suzuki, The Autobiography. Vancouver: Greystone Books, 2006.· Cindy Sherman, "Untitled Film Stills", 1977-1980, 69 photographs· Memento, Christopher Nolan (dir.), 2000, 113 min.· The Namesake, Mira Nair (dir.), 2007, 122 min. Course Requirements: All students have to participate in a workgroup preparing a presentation. Students in the BA Amerikanistik program have to write a 15-page term paper or pass a 30 min oral examination. Students in the BA Englisch program have to write a 12 to 15 page term paper.You have to register for this class in the e-learning platform Moodle. As a password use the last word of the course title. In Moodle you will find the syllabus for the class. |
