Home is widely regarded as both a special and a feminine place. Feminists have long challenged the binary thinking behind the belief that ‘a woman’s place is in the home’, and many assume that it is now outdated, given women’s achievements in paid work and public life. And yet a ‘public woman’ is still not quite the same as the worthy ‘public man’. Globalisation extends the reach of such ideas around the world at the same times as it makes the home a pillar of consumption.

The critique of binary identities is often expressed in metaphors of mobility; but we are also told that to theorise, we must ‘leave home’. Critical rejection of dualisms can, then, lead to their inversion or even perpetuation. To understand their continued hold on our lives, we need to understand their history.

In this module we will explore a history of ideas about the gendered distinction between public and private, with a particular focus on the middle-class home and the city. You will learn how philosopher Hannah Arendt valued ideas about public and private coming from ancient Greece as a defence against totalitarianism, but also how feminist scholars such as bell hooks see the home as a vital source of resistance. The module draws heavily on cultural studies approaches. You will discover how early modern Dutch artists conveyed messages about the moral and civic virtues of home in their depictions of an idealised feminine domesticity. You will learn how the 18th century French salon and the London coffee house supported a new urban culture of ideas and debate, and how differences over what is the ‘public’ inform conflicts about the regeneration of a contemporary cultural centre. You will study the development of modern domesticity in the Victorian period and consider how the gendering of private life associated with this ‘enchantment’ of the home resonates in our lives today. We will discuss the links between home and identity and ask how modernist architects sought to challenge the reactionary and apolitical nature of the privatised home.

The module is taught primarily by discussion of key texts, eliciting responses to those texts and to related material, such as film extracts, by means of questions or other activities set in advance and available on Moodle. In addition, it will include showing and discussion about a feature film on Hannah Arendt, and, if possible, visits to the Wallace Collection gallery, to Covent Garden and the South Bank, and to the Museum of the Home. The success of the module depends greatly on student willingness to contribute to class discussion on the basis of the materials and exercises provided in advance. It is therefore essential that students are open to discussing their thoughts with others, that they are prepared to take on the challenges of readings from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds beyond geography (political philosophy, social and cultural history, gender studies and urban studies, for example), and that they are familiar with writing essays in the social sciences and/or humanities.

Taking the module will help you to develop the following transferable skills: above all, critical thinking and ability to challenge received ideas (social or academic). Ability to think for yourself and respond to questions on your understanding of texts studied ‘on your feet’, sustaining a dialogue with the module leader and other students. Independent bibliographic search skills and reading. Addressing complex ideas in a concise, well informed, logical and persuasive fashion in written coursework. Academic integrity.

 

 