Universität Wien

120158 PS Interdisciplinary Course (501) = Proseminar Cultural Studies (2010W)

Our House: The Representation of Domestic Space

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 12 - Anglistik
Continuous assessment of course work

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 30 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Monday 11.10. 13:00 - 15:00 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
  • Monday 18.10. 13:00 - 15:00 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
  • Monday 25.10. 13:00 - 15:00 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
  • Monday 08.11. 13:00 - 15:00 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
  • Monday 15.11. 13:00 - 15:00 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
  • Monday 22.11. 13:00 - 15:00 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
  • Monday 29.11. 13:00 - 15:00 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
  • Monday 06.12. 13:00 - 15:00 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
  • Monday 13.12. 13:00 - 15:00 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
  • Monday 10.01. 13:00 - 15:00 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
  • Monday 17.01. 13:00 - 15:00 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
  • Monday 24.01. 13:00 - 15:00 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
  • Monday 31.01. 13:00 - 15:00 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

This course focuses on the representation of domestic space and the various ways in which such representations have figured in a variety of disciplinary, theoretical and artistic contexts. Relevant issues include the 'Big House' of English fiction, the house as a locus of terror, and adolescent engagements with domestic space. Students will be encouraged to reflect upon their own experiences of the house, to compare such experiences with a selection of textual representations from various media, and to consider the academic treatment of 'ordinary space'.

Assessment and permitted materials

1 x presentation (10 - 15 minutes) in class (30%)

1 x 3,000-word essay (70%)

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

After completing the course the student should be able to:

1. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of the significance of representations of domestic space in contemporary culture;

2. Show a critical appreciation of the variety of critical contexts within which domestic space is engaged;

3. Analyze a range of texts from various media in terms of the relevant critical debates;

4. Track particular representations of the house across a range of disciplinary, theoretical, critical and artistic traditions;

5. Articulate some of the complex ways in which academic and artistic discourse relates to lived experience.

Examination topics

1. To introduce domestic space as an important aspect of contemporary culture;

2. To familiarize students with a range of disciplinary traditions which have focused upon domestic space;

3. To explore the representation of domestic space in a variety of cultural genres;

4. To reflect upon the relationship between psychic, social and artistic engagements with the house;

5. To encourage students to reflect upon their own experiences of domestic space;

Reading list

Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space (1958; Boston: Beacon Press, 1994). NB An inexpensive paperback edition of the English translation of this text will be available from the Facultas bookshop on Campus. Students are expected to have read the introduction of Bachelard's study before the course starts.

Edgar Allan Poe, 'The Fall of the House of Usher' (1839) in any edition.

Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows (1908; Oxford: Oxford World Classics, 1999)

Robert Altman (dir.), Gosford Park (2001)

Ian McEwan, The Cement Garden (London: Vintage, 1978)

Alexandro Amenábar (dir.), The Others (2001)

Association in the course directory

Studium: Diplom 343, UF 344, BA 612;
Code/Modul: 501, 701, BA13;
Lehrinhalt: 12-0111

Last modified: We 09.09.2020 00:22