230401 Cultural Theory. Terms, Theories and Methods, Postcolonial and Gender Approaches (S) (SoSe 2019)

The aim of this course is to introduce students to a selection of major theories, models and methods of cultural analysis. We will analyze how the term "culture" has been defined, and look at some of the most influential approaches developed over the past decades.
After introducing students to variety of approaches, the seminar focuses on theoretical perspectives that are central for the analysis of power relations, hegemonies, and inequalities. Postcolonial theory, decolonial thinking and an intersectional perspective serve as sensitizations or correctives for one-dimensional views and can be applied transdisciplinarily. Postcolonial theory is based on the notion that the historical impact of colonial rule and expansion in a decisive manner affects current scholarship, culture, philosophy, literature as well as the economy, politics, law and society in both the global North and the global South. Postcolonial Studies and decolonial approaches aim to explore the legacies and consequences of European colonialism in its various aspects – literal, artistic, spatial, historical, political and economic, while usually avoiding a specific focus on particular countries, regions or disciplines. We will particularly focus on feminist perspectives within this theoretical field. An intersectional perspective takes the interdependencies of different axes of inequality into focus and thus offers a useful corrective and sensitization. In the seminar, we will discuss central representatives of the different concepts with respect to their genealogies, their merits, and their shortcomings.

Requirements for participation, required level

– regular attendance
– active participation in class
– reading and preparation of texts
– write 3 reflection papers on chosen texts
– one in-class presentation