PhD Project | Dissertationsprojekt
Men of the House – The Historicizing Construction of Masculinity in Recent British Period Drama (Working Title/Arbeitstitel)
As current debates in Western societies show, traditional gender roles are dissolving and we are confronted with questions that go beyond the prescribed roles for men and women, but question the binary division of the sexes itself. Yet, while old gender traditions are changing fast, paradoxically heritage drama series such as Downton Abbey (2010–2015), Mr Selfridge (2013–2016), and Upstairs, Downstairs (2010–2012), set in times when gender roles still seemed rather clear-cut, run very successfully. Based on Andreas Reckwitz’s theory of hybrid subjects and using methods of social semiotics and multimodal discourse analysis, my dissertation project seeks to answer the question whether the series reflect current changes in the gender order, or whether they are the visual expression of a backlash against current changes, of a nostalgia for “good old times” when men were still “truly masculine” and women knew their place. Since much energy has already been devoted to the representation of women on screen, I will be focusing particularly on how masculinity is constructed and represented in the dramas chosen.
Supervisor | Betreuer/in
Prof. Dr. Christoph Houswitschka (Lehrstuhl für Englische Literaturwissenschaft)
Research Interests | Forschungsschwerpunkte
- Gender Studies & Feminist Theory
- Film-/Media-/Adaptation Studies
- Victorian Literature
- Romantic Literature
- Postcolonial Studies
Vita
Seit 2016
Promotionsstudium, Lehrstuhl für Englische Literaturwissenschaft, Universität Bamberg
2013–2015
European Joint Master’s Degree in English and American Studies, Universität Bamberg & The City College of New York, USA
2010–2013
BA Intercultural Studies (Anglistik & Europäische Geschichte), Universität Bayreuth & University of Chester, United Kingdom
Scholarships & Awards | Stipendien & Preise
seit 2019
Promotionsstipendium des Evangelischen Studienwerk Villigst e.V.
2017–2018
FeRNet – Mentee im “Female Researcher Network for Junior Researchers,” Universität Bamberg
2016
PUSh – Preis für Studentinnen mit hervorragenden Leistungen, Universität Bamberg
2014
DAAD Promos-Stipendium für einen Auslandsaufenthalt am City University New York, USA
2012–2013
Vollstipendium für das Bachelorstudium an der University of Chester, UK
