16415

WiSe 13/14: Medea: Antiquity and Modernity

Tatiana Korneeva/Fabio Pagani

Comments

The myth of Medea has generated a never-ending fascination in all European cultures. The story of this powerful enchantress, monstrous mother and vengeful wife became a source of inspiration among countless authors, artists and filmmakers, such as William Shakespeare, Pierre Corneille, Jacques Anouilh, Anthony Frederick Sandys, Franz Grillparzer, Christa Wolf, and Pier Paolo Pasolini. Moreover, the tragic fate of this mythical character provided inspiration for several musical dramas, operas and ballets. The metamorphoses of this myth over centuries affect their playwrights, their audiences and, in a broader sense, their historical, socio-political, and cultural contexts. This seminar aims to provide an overview of the survival of Medea's myth and the influences this tragic figure has exercised on subsequent adaptations of the story in artistic media such as theatre, opera and cinema. The first part of the course will be focused on Medea's myth as it is represented in tragedies by Euripides, Seneca and other classical authors. The second part of the course will be concerned with rewritings of the myth in theatre, opera and cinema from the 17th century to the present in England, France, Italy and Germany. We will try to understand the reasons for the fascination with Medea, as well as how changing views on gender and sexuality are reflected in the various adaptations of this myth. Furthermore, we will explore how Medea's myth was reinvented and how the context surrounding each rewriting of the story influenced the changes made to the (original?) version. We will try to highlight particular features and tendencies of Medea's character throughout the centuries and in different media. This course is open to students of Comparative Literature as well as to students of Classical Philology who are interested in the reception of Greco-Roman antiquity. The course will be taught in English. Reading materials will be provided via the website Blackboard at the beginning of the course. In the frame of our course Professor Fiona Macintosh (University of Oxford) is invited to hold a public lecture on the reception of Medea's myth on 23 January 2014. close

16 Class schedule

Regular appointments

Thu, 16:00 - 18:00 16 Class schedule

Thu, 2013-10-17 16:00 - 18:00

Lecturers:
Fabio Pagani
Dr. Tatiana Korneeva