The years between the two World Wars are a politically fraught era spanning the whole spectrum from fascism to communism. These decades provide an ideal testing ground for an investigation of the manifold interdependencies between democracy, politics and social inequalities. Our focus will be on gender politics and gender norms as well as their intersections with e.g. class, sexuality or ethnicity. For our discussion of issues such as marriage, homosexuality, citizenship and political participation, work or visions of the future, we will rely on both non-fictional material (life writing, journalism, essays) and fictional texts (novels) that will further allow us to reflect on the relationship between politics and aesthetics.
Structure of the module: While the seminar sessions will be conducted on a weekly basis to discuss our reading, the Lektürekurs is more project-oriented and will be linked to an international and interdisciplinary autumn school on the Social and Cultural Dimensions of Democracy to take place later in 2022 (probably in the second half of September). The autumn school will be held as part of the European University Alliance Circle U. that links the HU Berlin with eight other European universities. It will not only give participants the opportunity to present and discuss their literature-based projects but also to team up with peers from across Europe, to expand their knowledge beyond the cultural and literary framework of Britain and to learn from adjacent disciplines like history or political science.
Please read the texts listed below as soon as possible. Further material will be made available at the beginning of the semester.
N.B.: Please check the Agnes website for updates once we get closer to the beginning of the semester. |
