Roles and Stereotypes

For most of us, terms like "roles", "stereotypes" and "clichés" probably raise our hackles. They are reductive, generalising, limiting – and who likes to be put in a box? Yet they still play a huge part in our everyday lives and cultural experiences. They might be roles we assign to ourselves or draw from to shape our own identity: Are you a "clean girl" or in your "cosy era"? Or are you maybe a library girl going for the "dark academia" vibe? Have you tallied your character traits alongside symptoms described by mental health influencers? A few years ago, you might have been a "Carrie" or a "Samantha"; maybe some of you still know your Hogwarts house. We might also use stereotypes to make sense of others' behaviour: What's your sign? Oh, that is such a Capricorn thing to do! Of course, a straight white man would say that... Is she "mothering" or "mother"?

This doesn't mean that we judge ourselves and others purely by these stereotypes, but they undeniably serve a function – not least as a shorthand of expression in a complicated world, and as a means of constructing a sense of belonging. They have also been important throughout literary and cultural history: from stock characters, via depictions as well as critiques of harmful stereotypes, to their subversion and use in satire. In this lecture series, we want to explore roles and stereotypes in literature and culture – across different genres and modes, and throughout literary history.

As always, this will be a joint venture featuring different members of the English Department in individual sessions. This means that you will benefit not only from expertise in different subsections of literary and cultural history, theory and methodology, but also from different voices and points of view every week. Lectures will usually take 60 minutes, leaving 30 minutes for open discussion, which you are very strongly encouraged to contribute to.

The lecture series will take place on Mondays from 6:15-7:45 p.m., lecture hall 14, Neue Uni. If you wish to obtain credit points for this lecture, you will be asked to submit a response paper. Administrative details will be explained in due course.