230291 Processes of Democracy and January 6th (S) (WiSe 2024/2025)

This seminar is part of the “Topic Semester: Democracy” organized by the Anglistik at Bielefeld University.

The attacks on the U.S. capitol on January 6th, 2021, mark a traumatic caesura in U.S.-American cultural and political memory as well as world history. Prior to the attacks, as well as during and after the riots, American democracy was (and continues to be) under heavy attack by authoritarian rhetoric and anti-democratic actors in politics and public life. How can democracy be defended and what are the processes that keep it alive? We are going to investigate these processes together by looking at the political, social, and cultural landscapes that surround January 6th: We will analyze material ranging from political speeches, news coverage, and committee hearings to see what kinds of defense mechanisms U.S.-American democracy has in place to ensure its survival and will critically discuss the implications of January 6th not only for the United States but democracies everywhere.

Requirements for participation, required level

FsB 2022: Vor dem Besuch der Veranstaltungen in den Profilmodulen muss der Language Proficiency Test (23-ANG-Basis1) bestanden sein. Im Master of Education gilt diese Voraussetzung mit dem erfolgreichen Masterzugang als erbracht.

Bibliography

Material will be made available on Moodle.