This module invites you to reflect on the many notions of home. In doing so from an interdisciplinary perspective, it will introduce you to the wide breadth of subjects and disciplines within the Arts and the Humanities
We will explore the meaning and the history of the home through the lenses of architecture, literature, and philosophy. We will discover how the social and the cultural implications of the home have changed from ancient Rome to the present. We will examine the inspiration that artists and writers have drawn from their homes, but also the ways in which the home and the private sphere were conceptualised as gendered spaces. We will, for example, investigate how for most of the modern age, the home has been a space of work for women, often unpaid and rarely recognized. From a linguistic perspective, we will look at how we speak about the home and how that differs from other places. We will discuss concepts of the home in various languages and cultures, like the German notion of 'Heimat', and finally we will explore the ways in which we relate to the natural world and the planet we live on as our shared home.
Private Study: 130
Contact Hours: 20
Total: 150
Main assessment methods
Public engagement project (1000 word equivalent) 40%
Essay (2000 words) 60%
Reassessment methods
100% coursework (2,000 words essay)
The University is committed to ensuring that core reading materials are in accessible electronic format in line with the Kent Inclusive Practices.
The most up to date reading list for each module can be found on the university's reading list pages: https://kent.rl.talis.com/index.html
The intended subject specific learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1 Engage with multiple and complex meanings of the term home, house, household and homeland
2 Demonstrate an understanding of various disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches across the arts and humanities to the concept of 'home';
3 Demonstrate an awareness for the ways in which interdisciplinary thinking expands and deepens our understanding and appreciation of cultural phenomena in relation to the notion of home.
4 Think critically about the meaning of home from historical and contemporary, interdisciplinary and transcultural perspectives and communicate your ideas to a non-expert audience.
The intended generic learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1 Analyse cultural phenomena as appropriate, using up-to-date theoretical frameworks and relating works to the relevant socio-historical context
2 Use a range of established techniques to carry out independent analysis and research on cultural phenomena and present their findings
3 Demonstrate critical thinking skills
4 Undertake independent research in the library, using appropriate academic databases online
5 Synthesise and evaluate information from a number of sources, deploying key techniques from their own and neighbouring disciplines.
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