American Culture: Memory and Identity Politics

Teacher(s)

Bragard Véronique;

Language

English

Prerequisites

Level B2 of the Common Europea Framework of Reference for Languages
 

 

Main themes

The course studies :

1. the material reality;
2. political and social organisation (forms of government);
3. moral attitudes;
4. Cultural, intellectual, philosophical and religious life;
5. the hopes, failures and achievements of the communities in English-speaking countries.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	The course studies the major developments and structures in politics, social relationships and culture, and introduces the students to contemporary life in the United States.   By the end of the course, students are expected to have acquired in-depth knowledge of the identity and culture of the United States.

Content

This course offers students a survey of American history in its broader conceptualization, taking into account cultural, artistic and memorial aspects. It addresses the cultural construction of memory by interrogating various geographical sites and texts in which traces of the past are physically ingrained, commemorated, represented, celebrated or contested. One module addresses the history of American feminism and debates on gender and intersectionality issues. Another one addresses the history and circulation of resources within the country’s borders, in an attempt to highlight how the exploitation/extraction of natural resources have shaped the political, social and territorial configurations of the country. In other words, we study how natural landscapes also become witnesses of political decisions and conflicts. Starting from Bull & Hansen’s work on modes of memory (antagonistic, cosmopolitan, agonistic), this class asks the question why and how America remembers the past through landscapes, monuments, memorials, literary texts or visual art forms that offer diverse modes of engagement with identity politics and conflicts. Starting from Nora's concept of "Site of memory" and contemporary debates about memorialization, it attempts to understand the construction and Americanness of America and how art and sites of memory (monuments, memorials but also geographical sites such as foxholes, Native American reservations, mining sites, polluted areas, trees, flowers) mediate politics and identity/community struggles. It proceeds through case studies to show how political/energy motives and conflicts become entangled in debates about the appropriate mode of representing the past. Students will participate in a field trip to the Bastogne War Museum or the Red Star Line Museum of Antwerp.

Teaching methods

Teaching method: formal lectures, personal readings, museum visits.

Evaluation methods

Assessment: written exam.

Other information

Study aids: course book, text syllabus, video extracts of films, documentaries and archives.

Faculty or entity

ELAL