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Due to the interdisciplinary character of the course the students will broaden their methodological repertoire between empirical cultural analysis and interpreting literary sources, hone their skills with regard to the critical reflection of sources (‘Quellenkritik’) and learn to interpret a variety of data.

Contemporary Western Societies generally subscribe to ideals of egalitarianism and democracy, especially in private life. At a first glance, the idea of service seems to have become professionalised over the last century and detached from social subjects. However, serving and being served are still common practices also in the privacy of modern family life and households in Western Europe. We want to study the topic and transformation of serving from an interdisciplinary perspective. To this purpose, we will examine historical and modern representations of masters and servants in popular culture like the nanny, the maid, the butler and complement this approach with an empirical analysis of service and actors

involved. In contemporary society, new roles of masters and servants emerge like au pairs where the economic dependencies are veiled by an educational and cultural agenda. In order to analyse the power constellations, gender roles and class attributes, we will introduce and apply post-colonial, migration and gender theories.

introductory lectures, group discussions and close readings, student presentations
 

Active engagement in discussions and written exam (according to home curriculum of the students)
 

Selected sources: Eibach, Joachim and Margareth Lanzinger (2020): The Routledge History of the Domestic Sphere in Europe: 16th to 19th Century. London: Routledge; Yan, Hairong (2008): New Masters, New Servants: Migration, Development, and Women Workers in China. Duke University Press.
 

positive completion of compulsory modules 10, 11 and 12

This is an interdisciplinary course held by Dr. Ulla Ratheiser (Department of English) and Univ.-Prof. Dr. Silke Meyer (Department of History and European Ethnology). Exams will be held according to the home curriculum of each student.