230538 De-/Constructing the Image: Creative Production after Derrida (S) (WiSe 2025/2026)

We will begin this seminar with Jacques Derrida's theorizations on deconstruction and will then proceed to consider deconstruction's implications and application on a practical level. In-class discussions will revolve around the image as a cultural artefact which we analyse and (re)produce. Students are expected to both come to terms with the theoretical material (selected excerpts from Derrida's texts) and to create images that are informed by or respond to – in some way – deconstruction and Derrida´s work. While the seminar begins with theoretical input, it has heavily creative focus. Students are encouraged to create the images we analyse in class – movie stills, drawings, photographs, collage, etc. The final assignment will test students´ capacity to work with Derrida´s theory and to demonstrate its imports for other disciplines and fields, as well as the capacity to translate between different registers (e.g, between academia & art). Please note that the final grade will not – and cannot – reflect the artistic merits of the created images. The major takeaways from this seminar remain within the confines of cultural studies: as does marking. That said, the seminar gives space for creative expression outside the usual research paper. No previous knowledge or experience in any of the visual arts is required.