230620 Cultural Theory (S) (SoSe 2006)

The aim of this course is to introduce students to theories of cultural analysis. We will first analyse how the term "culture" has been defined and re-defined by theoreticians since the 18th century, and then look at some of the most influential approaches developed in the last three decades. Assuming that every theory is only as good as the potential of application it yields, we will put the approaches to use in concrete cultural analysis, for which a novel, a film and a city will serve as examples.

A reader containing the theoretical texts will be available at the beginning of the semester.