Colonial Masculinities - Einzelansicht

The seminar examines literary representations of the male colonial hero and adventurer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. In this context we will focus on both historical dimensions of Britain’s imperialism and theoretical conceptualisations of masculinity in masculinity studies. We will address these issues in a variety of literary sources ranging from Rider Haggard’s escapist adventure novels and Rudyard Kipling’s short stories up to Joseph Conrad’s somber Heart of Darkness which is often considered a turning point in the literary representation of subjectivity and imperialism. We will further address the legacies of this literary phenomenon and take into consideration contemporary representations of the male colonial hero in popular culture.

Please note that there will be a joint and mandatory workshop together with students from the University of Flensburg taking place in Berlin (attending the exhibition Deutscher Kolonialismus at the Deutsches Historisches Museum) and Potsdam December 9 and 10.

It is strongly recommended to read at least one of the texts before the start of semester. Further class material will be made available on moodle.