Kursinformation

Gothic Revival designates a key moment in cultural history. This seminar focuses on the interconnections between Romanticism and Gothic Revival and aims to help students better understand and acquire expertise in intermedial analysis of literature, art, and architecture. We will explore various aspects of Romantic aesthetics (the uncanny, the sublime, the picturesque, the grotesque), Romantic ideals (the primacy of nature, art for art’s sake, the focus on the artist and craftsman), as well as political and social issues (the revival of the Middle Ages, the rise of the "People", the formation of national identity, revolutions, religion and morality). Our focus will be on the ways in which these concerns and ideals coalesce in the main literary, visual, and architectural expressions of Gothic Revival. During the course of the semester students will become familiar with the major English, German, and French proponents of the Revival as well as the most important literary, visual, and architectural works. Primary texts will be Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto (1764); Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Von Deutscher Baukunst (1773); Victor Hugo, Notre-Dame de Paris (1831/32); and John Ruskin, The Nature of Gothic (1853); short texts by Johann Georg Sulzer, Thomas Gilpin, Richard Payne Knight, Uvedale Price, Friedrich Schlegel, Ludwig Tieck, and excerpts from Hugo’s Préface de Cromwell (1827) will also be read. Paintings by J. M. W. Turner, J. Constable, C.D. Friedrich, K.F. Schinkel and architectural works by A.W.N. Pugin, G. E. Street, W. Butterfield, G.G. Scott, as well as the restorations of Notre-Dame de Paris and Cologne Cathedral will be studied. Students are expected to complete the required readings (in the original or in German translation) and be able to actively discuss them in class. Group assignments and one presentation will be required. Optional short written assignments will be given to improve students’ written expression and facilitate discussion. Discussion will be in English, and term papers may be written in English or in German. Regular attendance is encouraged. Module: AVL Vergleichende 2 (V2) AVL Vergleichende 4 (V4)