S International Masculinity Studies (K&G, Teil I; GEGE, Teil I) (080384-SS 2019)

"I had been reluctant to write such a book [Masculinities, M.B.], as I thought the genre of 'Books About Men' - astonishingly popular in the early 1990s - fostered the illusion of one fixed natural masculinity. When I did start writing, the draft was promptly rejected by a well-known US publisher. Other publishers kindly launched the book in 1995, and it seemed to meet a need. It has been very widely cited, translated into six other languages, and went into a second edition in 2005. It is in fact my best-known work, and I am charmed that it is cited in places as diverse as Voprosi Filosofii (Problems of Philosophy), the Shakespeare Quarterly, and Social Science & Medicine."

(Raewyn Connell on her homepage)

The main focus of interest in this seminar will be on Raewyn Connell's aforementioned book Masculinities, in which she developed and deepened her concept of hegemonic masculinity. Besides an intensive study of the theory itself, we will examine the genesis and development of her work and its influence on the establishment of international masculinity studies as an interdisciplinary field of research in academia. We will discuss the reception of the text with regard to applicability and advancements of the theory as well as criticism of it. On the basis of Connell's theoretical framework we will be able to read and discuss other texts of international masculinity studies. The goal is to get a general overview of the main ideas and works within the field. Above all the seminar should serve to give the students the opportunity to intensively work with one of the most important theoretical works on masculinities.