Unit name | Getting Acquainted with Friendship (Level H Reflective History) |
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Unit code | HIST38002 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Dr. Austin |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The success of TV series like Friends, the emergence of the ‘bromance’ film genre, and the ubiquity of social networking sites such as Facebook highlight the centrality of friendship in the world around us; for some, indeed, friends have become the new family. But of course friendship is not an exclusively modern phenomenon: it has been discussed by philosophers from antiquity onwards, and has found expression in virtually every society since. This unit aims to enhance our understanding of the history of friendship, but also to shed light on our contemporary experiences: you may never view your relationships in quite the same way again! In this unit we investigate the meaning, roles (public and private), and representations of friendship (for instance, in art, film and literature) in both past and contemporary societies, using two parallel methods of analysis. First, we will examine a series of case-studies covering a wide range of historical periods (ancient, medieval and modern) in order to understand what friendship meant in those different contexts. Secondly, we will evaluate a range of methodologies used in different academic disciplines (e.g. philosophy, social anthropology, sociology, literary and film studies) and consider the extent to which they can aid our understanding of friendship both in the past and the present. More broadly, we will consider the extent to which the concept has changed over time, and whether it is possible to distinguish a distinctively 'historical' approach to friendship.
Seminars - 2 hours per week
2-hour exam (100%) [ILOs 1-5]
<font face="Calibri" size="3">Reading List: </font> <font face="Calibri" size="3">Alan Bray, The Friend (2003) </font> <font face="Calibri" size="3">Barbara Caine (Ed.), Friendship: A History (2008) [also available as an e-book] (2009) </font> <font face="Calibri" size="3">Ray Pahl, On Friendship (2000) </font> <font face="Calibri" size="3">Viewing List: </font> <font face="Calibri" size="3">Thelma and Louise (dir. Ridley Scott, 1991) </font> <font face="Calibri" size="3">The Shawshank Redemption (dir. Frank Darabont, 1994) </font> <font face="Calibri" size="3">Hot Fuzz (dir. Edgar Wright, 2007)</font>