Session 6 Slides - Literature & Culture (PDF)

Session 6 Place in Literature and Culture Today’s Schedule Nation & Geography The United Kingdom The United States Maps and Mapping Representation of Drama Place...

Session 6 Place in Literature and Culture Today’s Schedule Nation & Geography The United Kingdom The United States Maps and Mapping Representation of Drama Place Narrative Fiction Participatory Culture ENGLAND BRITAIN UNITED KINGDOM THE BRITISH ISLES Republic of Great Britain Ireland & Northern Ireland = 6300 Islands The United Kingdom Scotland, Northern Ireland, England, Wales Great Britain: Scotland, England, Wales (without Northern Ireland!!!) Nations & Geography Nation UK: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland “British” passport Nation Individual nation states England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland Nation vs. Nation Where are you from? “I’m British” “I’m Scottish” official political nationality sense of belonging to a nation imagined communities (Session 5) The United Kingdom Scotland, Northern Ireland, England, Wales Great Britain: Scotland, England, Wales (without Northern Ireland!!!) The Northern Ireland Conflict The Troubles 1960 – 1998 Unionists (loyal to British crown) vs. Irish nationalists (one united Ireland) Impact beyond Ireland (e.g. in Germany) Good Friday Agreement (The Belfast agreement) 1998 ended most of violence of the Troubles The Celtic Fringes Cornwall, Wales, Scotland (Highland Scots), Northern Ireland Brittany – Bretagne (France) celtic heritage – celtic roots share language roots, food, traditions, cultural practices, etc. Wel s h: Wal es , 3 0% a s L 1 & L 2 Br et on: Br i t t a ny , ca nnot f ul l y under s t and Wel s h Cor ni s h: Cor nwa l l , s pok en by ca. 2000 peopl e, r ev i v al Gael i c: 40% i n I r el a nd, 1 % i n Scot l and ( out er Hebr i des ) à Scot t i s h Gael i c, Nor t her n I r el and > 1 % The union  The Union Jack St. George‘s Cross St. Andrew‘s Cross (England) (Scotland) St. Patrick‘s Cross Great Britain (N. Ireland) United Kingdom What about Wales???  The Union Jack St. George‘s Cross St. Andrew‘s Cross (England) (Scotland) St. Patrick‘s Cross Great Britain (N. Ireland) United Kingdom What about Wales??? The United States 1607: first British settlement of the Thirteen Colonies in Virginia 1619: the first ship carrying enslaved Africans arrives in the British colony of Virginia 1620: the Pilgrims arrive on the ship Mayflower and established the Plymouth Colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts 1776: signing of the Declaration of Independence The United States 1803: The Louisiana Purchase by the United States from the French First Republic. 1845: American annexation of Texas (followed by the American-Mexican war till 1848) 1861 – 1865: American Civil War 1867: The Alaska Purchase from Russia The Terra Nullius Myth “a territory which still has no master”, “unowned land” used to justify colonialist expansion rhetoric used by British Crown during US first settlement Indian Removal Act: displacement of 60,000 Native Americans to Oklahoma (Trail of Tears) Australia: To this day, Indigenous Australians not acknowledged in the constitution The British Empire (Imperial Federation), 1886 Representation of Place: Maps The British Empire (Imperial Federation), 1886 Representation of Place: Maps Abstractions (mind – map) Political products shaped by ideology “Maps = propagandist” (Vujakovic 1995) Places = products of specific cultural conditions Who was the map made for? Purpose of the map-maker? Symbolic representation of power!! Place in Drama In the text: Stage directions Dialogue / monologue as constructing space In the performance: Stage as place of action Dialogue / monologue as constructing space Place often introduced in the form of an exposition Exposition Exposition LotR: (0:36-1:30) https://www.youtube.com/ https://youtu.be/N4xV2RIlMi4?si=fiPvsGoTO_yHV1BA&t=36 watch?v=N4xV2RIlMi4 Exposition also in narrative texts! “the transmission of introductory information necessary for an understanding of the initial dramatic events“ (Nünning&Nünning: 84) Informing reader/audience of… History preceding action Introduction of time and place of the action Characters Phatic function: establishing communication channel btw. stage & audience Dramatic introduction (awakens the interest of the audience and acclimatises it to the atmosphere of the play) often exposition & dramatic introduction at the same time!  Isolated vs. Integrated Exposition Isolated Exposition Integrated Exposition Inclusion of expository Distributed in small quantities information in isolated passage throughout the text At the beginning of the text Woven into action Separate from the action Narrator/ chorus Scenic exposition (e.g., Romeo and Juliet) (e.g., Hamlet, Birthday Party) Isolated Monological Exposition The Prologue. (Enter CHORUS.) CHORUS Two households, both alike in dignity (In fair Verona, where we lay our scene), From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life: Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Doth with their death bury their parents‘ strife. [...] (Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare)  Integrated Dialogical Exposition ALGERNON How are you, my dear Ernest? What brings you up to town? JACK Oh, pleasure, pleasure! What else should bring one anywhere? [...] Why all these cups? Why cucumber sandwiches? Why such reckless extravagance in one so young? Who is coming to tea? ALGERNON Oh! merely Aunt Augusta and Gwendolen. JACK How perfectly delightful! ALGERNON Yes, that is very well; but I am afraid Aunt Augusta won‘t quite approve of your being here. JACK May I ask why? ALGERNON My dear fellow, the way you flirt with Gwendolen is perfectly disgraceful. It is almost as bad as the way Gwendolen flirts with you. JACK I am in love with Gwendolen. I have come up to town expressly to propose to her. (The Importance of Being Ernest, Oscar Wilde)  Place in Narrative Fiction Never only decorative (e.g., connotation with places) Places filled of meanings (Giles & Middleton 105) Functions Orientation (e.g., orientation shot in movies) Contextualizing action Characterization (e.g., connection btw. protagonist & place) Mood and atmosphere (e.g., place & weather) Change of place Place in Narrative Fiction Semanticised Space Where does the story = space as bearer of meaning take place? (see Nünning & Nünning, ch. 4!) What purpose does the setting of a story serve? Example: Barbie (2023) Constant forth and back between two locations: Barbieland: colourful, idealistic, led by women The real world : drab, tough, led by men Information on characters, groupings, value systems etc. Example 2: Frozen  Are you part of a Participatory Culture? Never Have I Ever... …read / shared / created a meme on a content world (show, movie, book, game, etc.) …read / created fanfiction …looked up / created fanart …cosplayed / dressed up (and gone to Comic Con) …done test to see which house/fraction/family/species I‘d be part of …watched fanvideos (gagreels, mashups, shipping videos, etc.) Participatory Culture Coined by Henry Jenkins Consumers become producers No more passive consumerism, but active production and circulation of cultural meaning through fan content Types of fan content: fanart, fanfiction, fanvideos, cosplay etc. Can be very collaborative Societies; beta-reading; cosplay events; etc. Participatory Culture Both the content world(s) and the participatory culture can be part of transmedia storytelling Content world Transmedia storytelling the network of characters, settings, situations,values etc. at telling a story across the core of a story/ multiple platforms/ franchise forms of media Transmedia Storytelling: Example 1 Transmedia Storytelling: Example 2  Transformative Works “A transformative work takes something extant and turns it into something with a new purpose, sensibility, or mode of expression. Transformative works include but are not limited to fanfiction, real person fiction, fan vids, and fan art.” (Organization for Transformative Works’ FAQ)  Transformative Works Genderbending/Genderswapping: Re-evaluating the character Deconstruction of gender and gender performance, also heteronormativity Evening the playingfield Racebending: Evening the playing field in terms of representation Reclaiming from whitewashing Representation matters! Until next week... Reading: file All Drama, Nünning & Nünning Ch 4, Places in Video Games Video Remember to take notes during readings and the lecture! Note down any questions you might have and bring them to the tutorial Thank you for your attention and have a great week!