Fragility and Resilience in Twenty-First Century Culture

Since at least the late 2000s, the twin discourses of fragility and resilience have begun to dominate a range of social and political debates. Scholars and critics working on contemporary social issues, ranging from education to ecology, health, gender, race, labor, and refuge, have increasingly foregrounded these approaches.

At the same time, these ideas have permeated right across the cultural landscape, and recent years have seen a sharp rise in artistic forms that speak the language of fragility and resilience. This eight-week course surveys a wealth of material, including novels, poetry, films, artworks, photography and video games, among other works of popular culture. Putting these artistic expressions into contact with philosophical debate, the course allows us to come to a new understanding of these ideas in their current context.