124070 VO Culture, Society and the Media (2022S)

Human and Nonhuman Bodies: Representing Animals, Environments, and Machines in Media

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 12 - Anglistik

Moodle

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

Language: English

Examination dates

Lecturers

Paul Fagan

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

This course will take place in person.
The lecturer for this course is employed on a fixed-term contract and is not a member of the faculty.

Tuesday 08.03. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
Tuesday 15.03. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
Tuesday 22.03. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
Tuesday 29.03. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
Tuesday 05.04. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
Tuesday 26.04. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
Tuesday 03.05. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
Tuesday 10.05. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
Tuesday 17.05. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
Tuesday 24.05. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
Tuesday 31.05. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
Tuesday 14.06. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
Tuesday 21.06. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Since at least the Renaissance, the "human" has been the central, organising concept of cultural, philosophical, scientific, political, economic, historical, literary and critical debates. However, in recent years significant theoretical developments and advancements in animal studies, nonhuman studies, posthumanism, ecocriticsm, and ecofeminism have challenged the correctness and ethics of studying culture exclusively through theoretical paradigms and constructions that centre and elevate 'the human’. By focusing rather on media representations, narratives and experiences of animals, landscapes, machines, networks, cyborgs, and AI in diverse historical contexts, cultural practices, and representational modes, together we will explore the very notion of culture (what it excludes and why, its unspoken assumptions and exploitations) and consider how, in an increasingly mechanised and digitised cultural realm, the limits of the human are being redrawn.

Assessment and permitted materials

Final 90 minute exam based on the course materials.
The exam will have 3 parts:
Part 1: Students are required to answer 5 of 6 questions asking for definitions of/reflections on core concepts and theories from our course with media examples.
Part 2: Students are required to answer 5 of 6 questions asking for definitions of/reflections on core concepts and theories from our course with media examples.
Part 3: Write a short essay (intro, analysis, conclusion) on the cultural text given using 5 keywords the way they are used in Nonhuman Studies.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

All content covered in the lecture series will be relevant for the final exam, which will count for the entirety of the participant's grade. The benchmark for passing the exam is at 60%.
Grades in %:
1 (very good): 90-100
2 (good): 80-89
3 (satisfactory): 70-79
4 (pass): 60-69
5 (fail): 0-59

Examination topics

All content covered in the lecture series will be relevant for the exam. In particular, students are required to define and discuss the key theoretical concepts discussed in the lectures from nonhuman studies, animal studies, ecocriticism and posthumanism, and to apply them to a given piece of media.

Reading list

Jacques Derrida, "The Animal That Therefore I Am" [Excerpts on Moodle]Val Plumwood, "Feminism and the Mastery of Nature" [Excerpts on Moodle]Roxana Preda, "The Angel in the Ecosystem Revisited: Disney's Pocahontas and Postmodern Ethics"Jane Bennett, "Vibrant Matter" [Excerpts on Moodle]Donna J. Haraway, "The Cyborg Manifesto"N. Katherine Hayles, "How We Became Posthuman" [Excerpts on Moodle]Mark Nixon, "Slow Violence" [Excerpts on Moodle]Julia Kristeva, "Powers of Horror" [Excerpts on Moodle]

Association in the course directory

Studium: BA 612, EC 125, EC 126; BEd 046
Code/Modul: BA07.1, EC Cultural and Regional Studies 1; BEd Modul 10
Lehrinhalt: 12-4070

Last modified: Fr 16.09.2022 14:28