Forms of Identity
Dr Nicholas Monk - co-taught with Monash
Summer 2014
Contact: Nicholas dot Monk at warwick dot ac dot uk
Venue: International Portal, Ramphal Building
Times: 8-10am, April 28th, 29th, May 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 12th, 13th, 14th.
Please note that this module will not be running in 2014/15
Description
The module examines and illuminates 'Identity' through a variety of approaches of different disciplines. A rich and pluralistic appreciation of 'Identity' will be relevant to all Warwick graduates in their personal and professional lives.
Please note that this module will be co-taught with our partner university in Australia, Monash. The module will run in the newly refurbished teaching rooms in the Ramphal Building, and will feature joint sessions with both partner universities using the latest video-conferencing equipment available to the University.
This is an exciting chance to participate in a new and experimental module that connects undergraduates in two different institutions. n.b. the teaching sessions will be filmed and may be used for reflection.
The module aims to encourage students to:
- Build an interdisciplinary appreciation of 'Identity', both through content and also experience of different disciplinary approaches to the subject
- Investigate in detail the means by which identities are formed, changed, or imposed – as seen through the lenses of different disciplines
- Develop a wide interdisciplinary understanding of 'Identity' as (a) major cultural and social theme/s, text/s, object/s, idea/s
- Make connections between their own discipline/s and the object of study, 'Identity', and so devise original research questions
- Develop an awareness of how their subject knowledge and disciplinary approach can be made accessible to wider publics
- Explore the relationship between the mind and body in the formation of identity
Beyond this, the module seeks to illuminate notions such as the nature of individual identity broadly, national identity, bodily identity, gender identity, racial identity, and spiritual identity. Seminars, reading, and practical exercises will support students in reflecting on these major issues, as well as encouraging them to consider the increasing prominence of consumer, hybrid, border, and marginal identities, and the notion that identity can shift, that it can be fragmented, and that a variety of identities can exist simultaneously.
Structure
The core design is that each week a subject specialist will deliver 60 minutes of disciplinary-grounded material; this section is followed by a further 60 minutes in which the students and module leader will develop the learning in an interdisciplinary style, including using the week's set text/film. The module leader will attend all of each session, to integrate and stimulate the interdisciplinary learning, and will lead introductory and concluding sessions. The teaching and learning approach will embody an interdisciplinary emphasis, using IATL's Open-space Learning pedagogies balanced by methods, including reflection and discussion, with which students are more likely to be familiar.
The following text, although not compulsory, is recommended: Du Gay, Paul, et al. Identity: A Reader. London: Sage, 2008.
Other Reading - dates for which required in brackets
Identity Disturbance in Borderline Personality Disorder Tess Wilkinson-Ryan, A.B., and Drew Westen, Ph.D. (May 1st).
Views of the person with dementia Julian C Hughes, Newcastle General Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne (May 1st).
Existential Phenomenology, Psychiatric Illness and the Death of Possibilities Matthew Ratcliffe, Durham University, UK; Matthew Broome, University of Warwick, UK (May 1st).
Affect, Agency, and Engagement: Conceptions of the Person Peter Binns, Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology, Volume 1, Number 1, March 1994, pp. 13-23 (May 1st).
Amin Maalouf, In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong (Penguin 2000); also available on Kindle with the title On Identity. (May 2nd)
Damasio, Antonio. R. Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain. New York: Avon, 1994. (May 9th).
Malabou, Catherine. The New wounded: From Neurosis to Brain Damage. New York: Fordham University Press, 2012. (May 9th).
Seabrook, John. Nobrow: The Culture of Marketing, the Marketing of Culture. London: Methuen, 2000. (May 13th).
Neumeier, Marty. The Brand Gap/Edition 2. Berkeley, CA: New Riders, 2006. (May 13th).
Mad Men. Series 1, episode 13. 'The Wheel.' (May 13th).
Confirmed topics so far (dates may be subject to change):
- April 28th. Introduction to 'Forms of Identity'. Dr Nicholas Monk, Assistant Professor, IATL, University of Warwick. ‘Theory building’ exercise on Identity. The module sessions are designed, through the use of visual and auditory stimuli, to introduce students to practical group work and to allow them, in collaboration with their peers, to create their own knowledge in a subject-based area. In this introductory session students will be given a wide variety of material including text, objects, photographs, and representations of works of art and will be required to build a ‘theory of identity’ from these.
- April 29th. National Identity. Dr Sarah McDonald, Senior Lecturer, Monash University.
This lecture explores how national and individual identity is shaped through cinema. Specifically focussing on the 2002 Brazilian film City of God and its relationship to images of Brazil both inside the nation and on the international stage. Key to this is the understanding of how geographical space functions as a marker for identiy, and in this case, we will examine the city of Rio de Janeiro as a shifting trope of identity both for Brazilians and foreigners.
- May 1st. Identity and Mental Health. Dr Matthew Broome, Senior Clinical Research Fellow, University of Oxford. Mental illness can lead to marked psychological changes in how an individual views themselves and the society to which they can belong. In psychotic illnesses, this can be marked and profound. However, more subtle changes can occur too - the subtle changes of early dementia, the uncertainty about the future engendered by a chronic relapsing illness, and problems in interpersonal relationships and awareness that can be seen in personality disorders and dissociative states. In this session, we will outline the ways in which various psychopathologies can impact on identity and touch briefly on the identity of the psychiatric patient.
- May 2nd. Hyphenated Identities. Dr Cathia Jenainati, Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies, Warwick.
- "every individual is a meeting ground for many allegiances, and sometimes these loyalties conflict with one another and confront the person who harbours them with difficulties” (Maalouf, In the Name of Identity). Amin Maalouf is a renowned novelist, essayist and cultural critic. His book In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong has been hailed as “an eloquent introductory exploration of why, in this age of globalization, we need to abandon our historical idea of identity as a single religious or national alliance” (The New Yorker).
- This text will form the starting point of our session on hyphenated, multiple identities. Maalouf writes expertly and emotionally about his sense of belonging to different cultures, and we will spend the first part of the workshop exploring his argument, in depth. The second part of the workshop invites you to take up Maalouf’s challenge to abandon the “tribal concept of identity”, and to reflect on the spaces to which you belong with a view of decoding their alienating, “othering”, “minoritising” aspects.
- Note: Amin Maalouf’s text is available on Kindle, with a slightly different title, On Identity. There are 2 editions of the paperback copy, they contain the same text, both are in print and in stock in online bookshops. Questions? email me: C.Jenainati@warwick.ac.uk;
- May 6th. Associate Professor Rita Wilson, Monash University.
This class takes as its point of departure the notion that a ‘translational identity’ is fundamental to a body of narratives, lately appearing in great numbers on the European literary scene, written by authors who have been variously described as ‘migrant’, ‘diasporic’ and, more recently, ‘transnational’ (Seyhan 2001) and ‘translingual’. The cultural self-identification of ‘transnationals/translinguals’ is often represented through a rhetoric of ‘in-betweenness’ or hybridity. Many transnational writers readily assume the role of bridge or interpreter between cultures. The focus will be on contemporary literary production in Italy and examples will be provided of writers who, in their attempt to navigate between languages and social contexts associated with these languages, provide an opportunity to reflect on identity construction in border situations, especially those created by the socio-political and cultural processes of globalisation.
- May 7th. Telling Your Own Stories in the Media. Dr Mia Lindgren, Head of School of the School of Journalism, Australian and Indigenous Studies, Monash University.
Definitions of journalism sit around truth, objectivity and trust. But new forms of media is eroding the convention that the journalist always stays outside the frame. And through social media the story of self has become omnipresent and the practice of storytelling has expanded way beyond journalism. This lecture explores issues of identity through the lens of radio journalism production. It considers the many potential pitfalls of self-focussed storytelling and it calls for carefully considered production practices. Listen to the following radio stories prior to the lecture:
The story “Except Me”, by Erin Davis winner of Third Coast Audio Festival
http://thirdcoastfestival.org/library/collections/3-tcf-winners/order/duration/page/2 search for “Except Me”“String”, by Natalie Kestecher
http://thirdcoastfestival.org/library/producers/451-natalie-kestecher
- May 8th. Science and Identity. Dr Kevin Moffat, Life Sciences, Warwick.
- May 9th. Philosophy and Identity. Chris Watkin, Senior Lecturer, Monash University. If my brain is damaged, do I become a different person? Catherine Malabou and Neuro-Identity. If your personality wascompletely changed by a trauma to the brain, would you be the same person you were before? Would you be a completely different person? Both answers bring with them important ethical and political consequences. The emerging field of neuro-philosophy throws up important issues for our society about how we understand the identity of a person over time. In this seminar we will explore some of the work of the French neuro-philosopher Catherine Malabou as she asks, and tries to answer, this fundamental question about who we think we are.
- May 12th. Exploring Identity in Online Domains: Bridging Geographical, Linguistic, and Cultural Boundaries. Dr Sarah Pasfield-Neofitou, Senior Lecturer, Monash University.
Drawing on insights from business, linguistics, history, cultural studies, and information technology, this class will focus on the concept of identity in online domains, and explore what "identity" means in the online setting, particularly in relation to geography, language, and culture. The ways in which we conceal, manipulate, and reveal our identities on the internet will be examined. Furthermore, we will investigate how the internet plays a role in connecting communities and cultures - both within the context of the very teaching and learning experience we are engaging in, and within the broader global context. Particular attention will be paid to the important role that bloggers and other online celebrity "identities" play in creating materials that "bridge" cultural gaps, and the influence of our own cultural identity/identities on our preferences online - what makes us enjoy using a particular social networking site, playing a particular game, or makes us want to buy a particular product.
- May 13th. Understanding Brand Identity. Dr Freddie Baveystock, Strategy Director, Rufus Leonard. The role brands play in creating personal identity.
- May 14th. Plenary - Reflection on the module with all available participating academics, and students.
Assessment
For 15 CATS:
3500 word essay (60%) + 1000 word reflective journal (40%). There will be the option, this year, of areflection in the form of a 10 minute presentation and 5 minute viva.
For 12 CATS:
2500 word essay (50%) + 1000 word reflective journal (50%). There will be the option, this year, of areflection in the form of a 10 minute presentation and 5 minute viva.
IATL's assessment policies are available in the handbook: iatl_module_handbook.doc The marking criteria are the same for reflection in any form including presentations.
The deadline for all work is Wednesday, May 28th.
