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US American culture has a mania for heroes and celebrities: pop heroes, political heroes, military heroes, self-made men and famous women. The high significance of individualism and self-reliance may be the reason for this. A specific kind of hero or heroine is the oddball, the maverick. They fit in by not fitting in, they fascinate by consternating. They invite myth, legend, fake news, romance and tragedy – think of Siegfried and Roy. Obviously, mavericks, oddballs personify or symbolize a meaning, a longing, an anxiety which is at the heart of mainstream culture. Perhaps they are something like the unconscious of society. In this seminar we will look at the discourses, narratives, myths around six very different oddballs: Harry Houdini, Bessie Coleman, Nikola Tesla, P.T. Barnum, Sarah Breedlove (Madame C.J. Walker) and Wa-Tho-Huk (Jim Thorpe). We will not pretend we are historians and search for their ‘truth.’ But we will intensely dig into the narratives and meanings spun around them and discuss where these stories come from and where they go...
Reading:
- There will be various sources uploaded on Moodle. If you want to prepare there are enjoyable sources: Adam Begley’s Biography Houdini (2020); The children’s book Bessie Colemann: Bold pilot who gave women wings (Martha London, 2020); Tesla’s autobiography My Inventions (1919); Robert Wilson’s Barnum: An American Life (2019); Self-Made: Inspired by the Life of Madame C.J. Walker (Netflix, 2020); Audiobook: Jim Thorpe, Original All-American (2007).
Support:
There will be a Moodle site with information and links. You will receive access to this site in April through the email with which you registered in Agnes.
Requirements:
As "spezielle Arbeitsleitung" students will be part of a group exploring one of the ‘mavericks’ in discussion. With their group students will present their ideas in class.
Please register through Agnes |
