170540 UE Media and the Nation: A Postcolonial Perspective (2020W)

INHALTE

PLEASE NOTE:
1) This course is conducted in English! (Any student contributions are accepted in German as well.)
2) This is an online course, and there are only 10 sessions – from 15.10.-17.12.2020! (For more information, see “Methods” below.)

At the core of this course is the process of conceiving, imag(in)ing and (de-)constructing the “nation,” in particular: the way in which the idea of “belonging” to a “nation” is conceived and constructed in a complex (inter-)media image-making process. Our goal is to arrive at a historically, politically and theoretically informed perspective on the concept and construction of a “nation,” and the (historical) role of media in this process. At the same time, we attempt to critically “provincialize” such universalized yet fundamentally Eurocentric concepts as the “nation,” and investigate the fundamental relation between the process of “imag(in)ing communities” and media technologies in a globalized world. To do so, we intertwine cultural, media and postcolonial theories in order to investigate imaginaries and expressions of nationalism and national belonging in various media, analyzing dominant techniques of constructing and representing such categories.

ZIELE:

By the end of this course, students have relevant information at their disposal on the co-evolution of the concept of the “nation” and media developments (during the 19th century as well as in a globalized 21st century), and they are able to critically comment on this co-evolution from a postcolonial perspective. At the same time, they are able to mutually relate this theoretical input with past and/or current media practices.

METHODEN:

- a mix of synchronous and asynchronous digital teaching (ratio tbd during the first session)
- close readings of texts (individual preparation, “creative projects”)
- (online) screenings
- lots of individual writing practice (i.e., written analyses of media practices)

PLEASE NOTE: This is an online course; more information as to why and how is provided during the first session. What is more, there are only 10 sessions, which means that you will be done with this course by Christmas. But: Some of the sessions may take a little longer than 90min! To be more precise, there are several regular sessions (i.e., one introductory session, and several sessions that provide you with relevant theoretical background), and then there are several sessions in which we focus on certain core themes by relating relevant theoretical texts with particular examples of media practices. Some of these later sessions may take a little longer than 90min, particularly if there is a film screening involved.