Seminar in the 19th Century

Examination of violence as a constituent element in literary evocations of community and the formation of reader communities during a century of multiplying print forms and venues, increasing literacy and expanding publics, political and social upheaval, armed conflict, emigration and colonialism, and re-definitions of allegiance and identity in German-speaking territories and communities. Exploration of the portrayal of violence and crime as endemic in human social formations, including the family, and as an indication of a given community's sickness and health. Particular attention will be paid to international and national literary genres (gothic, Geheimnisliteratur, detective fiction, village tale, novella, case history) that treat these themes, and the publication venues and modes of circulation of these works. Supplementary readings will help to analyze and contextualize literary treatments of violence. Works by Kleist, Auerbach, Droste-Hülshoff, Heine, Gotthelf, Storm, Raabe, Fontane, Ebner-Eschenbach, and others. Readings largely in German, discussion in English. Accommodations can be made for interested graduate students in other programs who do not read German at the graduate level. Please see instructor.
Course Attributes:

Seminar in the 19th Century

GERMANIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES 526

Section 01