SoSe 19: PS-Surveying English Literatures: The Tragic
Peter Löffelbein
Kommentar
Tragedy and the idea of the tragic experience are amongst the oldest and most persistent forms of Western literature and drama. They have been reflected on since the 5th century B.C., and later periods have adapted them according to their own religious beliefs, philosophical ideas, aesthetic ideals and political ends.
This course traces the historical permutations of the genre of tragedy and of notions of the tragic. Together, we will examine texts considered tragic as well as theoretical approaches to the question of what makes a tragedy a tragedy from Aristotle to Nietzsche and beyond. What is the desired effect of tragedy in a given historico-cultural context? What aesthetic, philosophical and political implications of tragic experience have been identified? What may be the reason for the terms’ recurring fascination? And what, in light of recent developments in the humanities, ought we to make of the claim that tragedy and the tragic are “impossible” under conditions of (post-)modernity?
The course aims to deepen the students’ understanding of a fundamental concept of Western drama, literature and philosophy. It advances the students’ awareness of the historical variability of aesthetic ideals and genres and their meaning and relevance in changing historico-cultural contexts.
Schließen14 Termine
Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung