Universität Wien

128110 VO Popular and Media Cultures VO / Cultural Studies - MA M01 (2025W)

Nonhuman Bodies in Popular Culture: Environments, Animals, Machines

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 12 - Anglistik

Please note: prerequisites apply in order to participate in the corresponding lecture exam. The modules/study programmes with which you can sign up for the exam are indicated at the bottom of the page. For questions that arise after reading through these prerequisites, please contact the SSS Anglistik directly.
Moodle
Mo 15.12. 09:45-11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03

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).
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Details

Language: English

Examination dates

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

N.B. Please note that the sessions on Monday 27 October, 17 November, and 24 November will take place in a digital format - there will be no in-person sessions on these dates.

In-person attendance is not mandatory for this course as attendance is not part of the grade (exam sitting only). The readings and PowerPoint slides will be provided on Moodle and these materials form the basis for the final examination. However, attendance is strongly advised for important clarification and context of these materials, and the opportunity to ask the lecturer directly about anything that is unclear, especially as lectures are in-person only (with the exception of sessions on Monday 27 October, 17 November, and 24 November) and no tutorial will be offered for the VO.

  • Monday 06.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
  • Monday 13.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
  • Monday 20.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
  • Monday 27.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
  • Monday 03.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
  • Monday 10.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
  • Monday 17.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
  • Monday 24.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
  • Monday 01.12. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
  • Monday 12.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
  • Monday 19.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal C1 UniCampus Hof 2 2G-O1-03
  • Monday 26.01. 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 2 parts:
Part 1: Students are required to answer 8 of 10 questions asking for definitions of/reflections on core concepts and theories from our course with media examples.
Part 2: 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

The lectures, your notes of the content covered over the course of the semester (including explanations and discussions during the Q&As) plus the preparatory material posted on Moodle will form the basis of your studying for the exam.

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. The exam will be a closed-book paper and pen exam.

Reading list

Primary Texts (literature)

Frances Power Cobbe, "The Age of Sciences" [Excerpts on Moodle]
Lawrence Ferlinghetti, "Dog"
Elizabeth Bishop, "The Fish"

Primary Texts (film)
Pocahontas (1995)
Princess Mononoke (1997)
Avatar (2009)
Moana (2016)
Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Blade Runner (1982)

Secondary Texts
Stacy Alaimo, "Bodily Natures: Science, Environment and the Material Self" [Excerpts on Moodle]
Ben Anderson, "Affective Atmospheres" [Article on Moodle]
Jane Bennett, "Vibrant Matter" [Excerpts on Moodle]
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: MA 812 (2); MA 844(2); UF MA 046
Code: MA (2) M3; MA 844(2) 1.2; UF MA 1B; 4A
Lehrinhalt: 12-5260

Last modified: Tu 04.11.2025 16:06