Fachbereich 7

Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft


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Vorheriges Semester

Approaches to Childhood


DozentIn: Dr. phil. Anja Höing, M.Ed.

Veranstaltungstyp: Seminar

Ort: 41/215

Zeiten: Fr. 10:00 - 12:00 (wöchentlich)

Beschreibung: Since the turn of the twenty-first century, cultural studies has started to intensively concern itself with the topic of childhood, focussing not on the individual child and its development, as do social sciences and psychology, but rather on the abstract concept of childhood. What do we think of when we consider “the child” in general, and why do we associate “the child” with ideas such as innocence, naturalness, or vulnerability? A new cultural studies field of “childhood studies” now seeks to combine cultural, literary, sociological, psychological and philosophical approaches to childhood in order to make sense of what the well-known academic Maria Nikolajeva calls “the myth of childhood” (Nikolajeva, Mythic to Linear 19).

This seminar will approach this myth from various directions. We will trace its development in cultural history, investigating its origins in Enlightenment educational writings, Romantic poetry and Victorian children’s fiction as well as at its manifestations in twenty-first century popular culture. In addition to that, we will also explore various theoretical approaches to childhood. This course will therefore combine both literary and cultural studies.
In this course, we will not focus on one major primary source. Instead, students will be asked to prepare excerpts from a wide spectrum of both primary and secondary texts. These texts will be made available on Stud.IP, online, or in the university library. Check Stud-IP on a regular basis to be aware of updates, announcements, and changes.

Students will be required to
• read and discuss a number of cultural productions as well as theoretical texts
• join an expert group on one manifestation of the myth of childhood in British literary-cultural history and, in this group, chair a session
• participate actively and regularly, both in the sessions and in the course Wiki
• write a term paper (details on requirements will be announced in the first session)


zur Veranstaltung in Stud.IP