ENH2225

Heroes' Twilight: Representations of War and Conflict

(ART)

Dr Kevin Foster and Dr Robin Gerster

6 points + 2 hours per week + First semester + Clayton + Prohibition: ENH3225

Synopsis: The subject examines the centrality of war and conflict to contemporary cultural history. Using a variety of literary (and non-literary) sources, the subject seeks to analyse how discursive representations of war have played a fundamental role in disseminating the ideas of modernity and postmodernity; redefined traditional concepts of heroism, racial virtue and the fixed gender roles which sustain them; entrenched the importance of the mass media in contributing to public knowledge about conflicts; how they have impacted on the notions of racial, ethnic and national identity; and how the Holocaust and subsequent acts of genocide have posed a range of moral and representational challenges.

Assessment: Short essay (1000 words): 20% + Long essay (2000 words): 50% + Test (1.5 hours): 20% + Seminar participation: 10%