14286
Seminar
SoSe 22: Revealing the Divine: Apocalyptic Motifs of Heaven, Hell and God's Death in Literature and Poetry.
Jonas Müller-Laackman
Comments
The concept of the apocalypse in connection with the idea of a Last Judgment and/or the journey to heaven or hell is a much discussed topic not only in eschatological and religious literature. The thematic complex is taken up in different epochs and genres of philosophical and fictional literature and poetry as well and is often connected to the idea, the apocalypse would reveal the limits of the divine to men, up to the manifestation of a destruction and re-creation of God.
Following an overview of the relevant concepts of heaven, hell, and apocalypse and their ambiguity, we will discuss various examples of fictional and non-fictional literature that deal with apocalyptic motifs, the description of heaven and hell, and the nature of God and his entities. Relevant tropes and intertextuality with corresponding genres will be discussed, as well as possible references to mystical and surreal literature. The focus will not be on the religious dogmas, but on literary and critical engagement with the subject, which can be rich in wit and irony, as well as macabre, disturbing, or hermetic and absurd.
The literature discussed in the seminar includes: The Epistle of Forgiveness, The Divine Comedy, Also sprach Zarathustra, The Songs of Maldoror, The Songs of Mihyar the Damascene. Enough space will be left to accommodate students' specific requests and suggestions regarding the literature to be discussed. Furthermore, there is the possibility to look at eschatological texts from a literary-theoretical perspective. close
15 Class schedule
Regular appointments
Tue, 2022-04-19 12:00 - 14:00
Tue, 2022-04-26 12:00 - 14:00
Tue, 2022-05-03 12:00 - 14:00
Tue, 2022-05-10 12:00 - 14:00
Tue, 2022-05-17 12:00 - 14:00
Tue, 2022-05-24 12:00 - 14:00
Tue, 2022-05-31 12:00 - 14:00
Tue, 2022-06-07 12:00 - 14:00
Tue, 2022-06-14 12:00 - 14:00
Tue, 2022-06-21 12:00 - 14:00
Tue, 2022-06-28 12:00 - 14:00
Tue, 2022-07-05 12:00 - 14:00
Tue, 2022-07-12 12:00 - 14:00
Tue, 2022-07-19 12:00 - 14:00
Tue, 2022-07-26 12:00 - 14:00