This course explores processes that render people invisible in real life and/or in literature, and the meaning and consequence of those processes. It examines both people who sociologist Erving Goffman famously labelled “non-persons”—i.e. people who are “treated in their presence as if they were not there” (The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life, 96) and people who novelist E.M. Forster, in Aspects of the Novel, famously called “flat characters”, i.e. minor characters without depth or the ability to surprise. The course has four key components: reading, data collection, discussion, and writing. In the first several weeks, we will read discuss literature on processes of “invisibilization” and discuss differences and similarities between wanting to be invisible and being made to be invisible. In the following weeks, students will conduct their own literature searches, plan their research projects and collect their data. In the final weeks, students will work on drafts of their projects and make in-class presentations.  

The course involves independent research. Following initial discussions of key introductory texts on what it means to be invisible or be rendered invisible, students will find and select other readings that will be most relevant to their own empirical projects. The projects can focus on literary texts or on engagement with real people through observation and interviews. Towards the end of the first month, students will embark on their own data collection followed by the formulation of their research projects, drawing up research proposals and bibliographies.  

All students will collect their own data. Data collection may involve on-site participant observation and/or interviews with study participants.  

The course will be organized around (a) the readings to be discussed by students; (b) gathering and analysis of data; (c) presentations of the data and analysis. The instructor will moderate discussion and provide feedback. Seminars will take place on Wednesdays between 14:30-16:20. Students should budget additional 4–6 hours per week for reading, preparation, data collection and writing. 

Course assessment is 100% coursework consisting of (1) class participation (30%), (2) essay plan (10%), (3) first draft of essay (10%), (4) final essay (40%) and oral presentation of project (10%).  Class participation will be based on the students’ discussion of readings and data and feedback offered to other students on their ongoing projects. Assessment of the written work is based on the breadth and depth of the overview of the readings, quality of collected data, and data analysis. The word limit for the final projects is 4,000 words, excluding references. The oral presentation will be assessed on how well you concisely present your project and explain its findings.