Englisches Seminar - Ruhr-Universität Bochum

at the dreaded Catholic “other” and its different stages of perception and
representation. Special emphasis will be put on three aspects:
1. Catholics as dangerous terrorists in the 16th and 17th centuries
2. (Protestant) Britain vs (Catholic) Ireland in the 18th century
3. The indiscreet charm of Catholicism at the fin-de-siècle and beyond.
Requirements for credit points: active participation, oral presentation/expert group
and seminar paper.
Required texts: Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited.
There will be a reader with additional texts available at the beginning of the
semester.
050 701 Pankratz
Performing Gender, 5 CP
2 st. di 12-14 GABF 04/413 Süd
“Performing gender” first of all refers to Judith Butler’s theories about the
performativity of gender, which de-essentialises assumptions about “natural” and
“innate” masculinity and femininity. Not nature, but the iteration of normative models
construct gender-specific patterns of behaviour, representation and desire. Secondly,
“performing gender” can also be taken more literally: as the representation of male
and female roles on stage. The seminar will focus on examples from recent British
drama (with occasional glances at movies), which fuse both concepts and confront
the audience with dramatised and experimental versions of Butler’s ideas.
We will analyse Caryl Churchill’s Cloud Nine, Phyllis Nagy’s The Strip, Mark
Ravenhill’s Mother Clap’s Molly House and Bryony Lavery’s, Her Aching Heart. The
focus of the seminar will be on:
1. Discussions of Butler’s theories and their adaptations for the stage.
2. Constructions of masculinity and femininity by theatrical means.
3. Critical impact of these constructions.
4. Development of gender and gender roles in contemporary British culture.
Requirements for credit points: active participation, oral presentation/expert group
and seminar paper.
Required texts: There will be a reader available at the beginning of the semester.