Abstract
In this dissertation, I investigate the overlapping individual, relational, and social scales of home in contemporary literary and cinematic texts, drawing on Martin Heidegger’s writing on dwelling (as the essence of being human), Zygmunt Bauman’s concept of liquid modernity (particularly the commitment avoidance that its “fluidity” fosters), and Jacques Derrida’s work on hospitality (both the welcoming and hostile social practices that this term encompasses). I explore these ideas and scales of home in international and multi-medial texts, which include Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves (2000), Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere (television series and novel 1996, graphic novel adaptation 2007), M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village (2004), Nicolas Dickner’s Nikolski (2005, trans. 2008), Lars von Trier’s Dogville (2003), and Wolfgang Becker’s Good Bye, Lenin! (2003). My corpus of texts demonstrates that a traditional understanding of home as a distinct location is incompatible with the realities of liquid modernity, and, moreover, sheds light on new modes of constructing home as a composite of locations and scales—a complex, multi-scalar, geocultural map of identity and belonging. Together, these texts show a dual pattern that makes visible the need to rethink the notion of home: an inclusive map of home on various scales helps home-makers to integrate the various places and people who populate their understanding of home, while the inability to conceive of home in this multifarious way nurtures social fissures, conceptual homelessness, and even psychoses. My main objectives are to challenge neutral, utilitarian conceptions of space, place, and home, and to demonstrate the possibility of what Heidegger calls “poetic dwelling” in liquid modern times and an increasingly inhospitable, market-driven social landscape
Highlights
Mapping Home: Literary and Filmic Representations of Multi-scalar Dwelling Aleksandra Bida Doctor of Philosophy in Communication and Culture, 2014 Ryerson University and York University
In order to illustrate the far-reaching impact of conceptions of home on identity and belonging, I present close readings that show why a traditional understanding of home as a distinct location is incompatible with the realities of liquid modernity, and, that make visible new modes of constructing home as a composite of locations and scales: a complex, multi-scalar, geocultural map of identity and belonging
Through the opposing themes of isolation and exploration in the context of consumer society, these works shed light on the immediacy of Bauman’s observations regarding interpersonal relations in liquid modernity and pose new questions about the possibilities of home-making and community amidst “liquidity.” These texts neither valorize nor disparage the strategies that Bauman theorizes through the tourist and vagabond
Summary
All too often home is defined by nostalgic whimsy, childhood memories, or patriotic rhetoric, yet this construction remains weighty, emotionally and politically loaded. In order to illustrate the far-reaching impact of conceptions of home on identity and belonging, I present close readings that show why a traditional understanding of home as a distinct location is incompatible with the realities of liquid modernity, and, that make visible new modes of constructing home as a composite of locations and scales: a complex, multi-scalar, geocultural map of identity and belonging. Unlike Dogville, my final text reveals that economic hardship and social tensions need not invalidate the freedom and agency of engaging with the construction of home, a process mired with hostility as well as hospitality—or what Derrida refers to as “hostipitality.” Through their diverse depictions of the process of home-making and the idea of home, all of these texts emphasize inclusion, exploration, and adaptation, over older models of exclusion, isolation, and stagnation In doing so, they demonstrate the socio-political implications as well as possibilities of rethinking home before it truly regresses into a quaint, nostalgic notion
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
