Abstract

Homelessness is a highly unsettling topic: it raises the question of individual and collective social responsibility, but it also confronts people with their own anxieties about social instability and economic decline. In this talk, I argue that the genre of drama as a spatial art with a long political tradition is ideally suited to reflect and negotiate current notions of homelessness. I will introduce to case studies from the field of contemporary British drama to outline the range of ways in which plays confront audiences with their own preconceptions about home and homelessness as well as presenting political issues. 

Short CV

Dorothee Birke is a fellow at AIAS and an Associate Professor of English Studies at the University of Freiburg, Germany. She is about to publish her second monograph, Writing the Reader, which examines how the status of novel reading as a cultural practice evolved from the 18th to the 21st century, and how novelists themselves participated in this process.  She has published articles on memory, narrative theory and contemporary popular culture in international peer-reviewed journals such as Narrative, Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture and The Journal of Popular Culture.

Dorothee Birke's project at AIAS

What is a Fellows' Seminar?

The AIAS Fellows' Seminar is a session of seminars held by the AIAS fellow or by other speakers proposed by the fellows. In each seminar, one fellow will present and discuss his/her current research and research project, closing off with a question and discussion session.

All seminars are held in English and open to the public. Registration to the seminar is not necessary.  Read more about the AIAS Fellows' Seminar here.