Literary Studies in the New Decade: Diefenbaker Lecture Series 2010

[James M. Skidmore]

Dear People of Arts:

 

The Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies and the Waterloo Centre for
German Studies are pleased to announce the 2010 Diefenbaker Lecture Series:

 

Literary Studies in the New Decade

Diefenbaker Lecture Series 2010

 

IS THERE STILL A NEED FOR THE STUDY OF LITERATURE AT THE UNIVERSITY? These
lectures will demonstrate that there most certainly is. By discussing the
issues and problems that are currently central to their research in German
studies, these leading scholars will explore how literary studies can
fulfill the expectations of an academic discipline and connect with wider
society. Of interest to anyone who cares about literature and its place at
the university.

 

First Lecture

Tuesday, 2 February 2010, 2pm - Hagey Hall 373

Stephen Brockmann, Carnegie Mellon University

Literature and Memory Two Decades after the Fall of the Wall   

This talk will explore the role played by literature in the memory of the
German Democratic Republic.  It will look at the significance accorded to
literature in the years of the GDR's existence and at the changes in the
status of literature in Germany in the two decades since the collapse of the
Berlin Wall.  Of particular interest will be the use of literature as a
vehicle for remembering the specificity of the GDR state, which can be
contrasted with the use of other media, such as film.  The talk will explore
both literature written and published in the GDR and literature created
after the demise of the GDR.  In posing the question as to how literature
addresses history and memory, the talk will ask the more general question as
to what function literature serves in historical memory.

 

 

These lectures are being held in conjunction with the search for the
inaugural holder of the Rt. Hon. John G. Diefenbaker Memorial Chair in
German Literary Studies:
<http://germanicandslavic.uwaterloo.ca/diefenbakerchair>
http://germanicandslavic.uwaterloo.ca/diefenbakerchair 

 

A spiffy downloadable poster for the entire lecture series is available at
<http://www.germanicandslavic.uwaterloo.ca/documents/Diefenbaker2010LectureS
eries.pdf>
http://www.germanicandslavic.uwaterloo.ca/documents/Diefenbaker2010LectureSe
ries.pdf

 

 

James M. Skidmore

Chair of the Dept. of Germanic & Slavic Studies

Faculty of Arts / University of Waterloo

Waterloo, ON  N2L 3G1  CANADA

 

E |  <mailto:skidmore at uwaterloo.ca> skidmore at uwaterloo.ca

W | www.arts.uwaterloo.ca/~skidmore

W | www.germanicandslavic.uwaterloo.ca

T | 519.888.4567, x33687

F | 519.746.5243

 

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