Gender and age/aging in the context of popular culture, in particular music

Local cooperation partner: Ao. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Roberta Maierhofer, Center for Inter-American Studies, Institute for American Studies
Junior Fellow: Mag. Nicole Haring, BA. MA.

Incoming Senior Fellow: Prof. Murray Forman, Ph.D., College of Arts, Media and Design, Northeastern University, Boston, USA and Prof. Cheryl Lester, University of Kansas, Lawrence, USA
Incoming Junior Fellows: tba

Period: June 2020 to July 2021
Symposium: June 30, 2020 and June 2021

Content:

The thematic focus of this Fellowship project lies in the question of gender and age/aging in the context of popular culture, especially music.

Since the reality of our lives is shaped in different ways by processes of globalization and digitization, whereby social spaces are culturally diverse and digitally networked, the question arises as to whether digital technologies enable or impede (inter)cultural exchange and global communication with regard to the perception of age(s) and gender. Particular attention will be paid to cultural and media consumption, such as music and film, as well as cultural representations in contemporary European literary works. In this context, gender-specific experiences of men and women and their attitudes towards ageing in relation to media and music consumption will be compared and a deeper understanding of contemporary and changing representations of age and ageing will be gained in order to integrate age(s) into the human image. In addition, the question of how digital transformation processes influence women and men in different life and age phases will be explored.

The project is closely related to the project "Gendering Age: Representations of Masculinities and Ageing in Contemporary European Literatures and Cinemas", so that the intersectionality (gender/age/race/class ...) of identities in Europe as well as in North, Central and South America can be further explored beyond its duration of 3 years.