Culture and the modern self
Joanne Finkelstein
8 or 12 points
* 2 hours per week
* Second semester
*
Clayton
Objectives Upon successful completion of this subject, students will be able to evaluate the debates related to the relationship between cultural theory and the formation of subjectivity; identify the central features of the modern crisis of identity; and write on the social significance of the decentred self.
Synopsis In the Western tradition, emphasis has been placed on individualism and selfhood. The theoretical developments in poststructuralism, postmodernism and feminism have changed this emphasis, drawing attention to the roles capitalism, consumerism, fashion, advertising and popular culture have played in the conceptualisation of identity. In this subject, we study the formation of self-identity in the context of a fragmented and destabilised cultural moment.
Assessment (8 points): Essay (3000 words): 50%
* Examination (2
hours): 40%
* Seminar paper (1000 words): 10%
Assessment (12 points): Essay (6000 words): 50%
* Examination
(2 hours): 30%
* Seminar paper (1000 words): 20%
Recommended texts
Finkelstein J After a fashion MUP
Foucault M History of sexuality Vintage
Jenks C (ed.) Cultural reproduction Routledge
Lash S and Friedman J (eds) Modernity and identity Blackwell, 1992
Modleski T (ed.) Studies in entertainment Indiana
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