Fachbereich 7

Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft


Navigation und Suche der Universität Osnabrück


Hauptinhalt

Topinformationen

Proprietors of Consciousness: Ownership, Authorship and Self-Possession in 19-Century American Literature


DozentIn: Prof. Dr. phil. Peter Schneck

Veranstaltungstyp: Seminar

Ort: 01/114: Di. 10:00 - 12:00 (13x), 11/213: Di. 10:00 - 12:00 (1x)

Zeiten: Di. 10:00 - 12:00 (wöchentlich), Ort: 01/114, 11/213

Beschreibung: What does it mean to 'own' a self? How does one develop a sense of identity and of 'personal' consciousness? How does one's own consciousness differ from those of others? What kind of 'property' does self-consciousness present, and how independent is the sense of self from the normative expectations of one's social and cultural environment - especially in regard to gender roles? How does the property of consciousness relate to the 'consciousness of property'?

Questions like these about the social and economic foundations of individual self-consciousness and freedom (i.e. self-possession) become increasingly central and contested in U.S.-American culture and literature during the 19th century. In the literature of the time, the intense negotiation of female experience and gender consciousness must be read as a symptomatic reflection of the general struggle for consciousness as a resource and a form of property - a struggle which in turn reflects the social, legal and political conflicts surrounding questions of (real) property and the relation between gender and power.

This master course will tackle and discuss the cultural, political and legal dimensions of the emergent properties of gender consciousness in 19th-century U.S.-American literature and culture. The term 'property' will be used in its ambivalent, but also convergent, double-meaning as a form of rightful ownership and a defining feature or quality.

Our main reference texts will be two novels:
Elisabeth Stoddard. **The Morgesons.** 1862.
Henry James. **The Portrait of a Lady.** 1881.

We will read and discuss the literary texts within a larger conceptual context, ranging from political and legal philosophy to sociological theory and gender studies.
This course is exclusively designed for master students (especially those in the 'Fachmasterprogramm') interested in the more general and foundational implications and questions of the relation between literature, social reality and the history of ideas. The course therefore also requires a strong commitment to reading and discussing complex texts with the intention to reflect on the historical foundations of contemporary debates and conflicts.

Students who want to attend the course are expected to read the two novels in advance. It is highly recommended to purchase the following editions for class:
The Morgesons. London: Penguin, 1997. Penguin Classics
The Portrait of a Lady. London: Penguin. 2011. Penguin Classics.
A reader with secondary material will be made available either as a paper copy or through StudIP.
Please check these pages for any updates and the most recent course schedule.


zur Veranstaltung in Stud.IP