CFP: "Lessing and World Literature" (MLA 2017)
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Although Lessing’s examinations of literature in contrast to the other arts have been an object of considerable scholarly focus, Lessing is rarely mentioned in the many studies of world literature. Lessing’s absence contrasts with Goethe’s, who is well-known as being one of the earliest (often credited as being the earliest) theorist of world literature. While he does not explore the term, Lessing investigated the roles of various literary traditions in a broader European context, drew inspiration from a wide range of literary sources, and had (and has) a significant influence on various traditions and disciplines. This panel seeks to examine how engaging Lessing’s broad thinking about literature adds to conversations on world literature, which have so often used Goethe as their point of departure, as well as how studies of world literature can shed new light on Lessing’s work.
We welcome talks that address any number of aspects of Lessing and world literature, including but not limited to how Lessing’s ideas of literary traditions (French, Spanish, English, Italian, German) express themselves in both his essays and individual works of fiction, how his ideas of literature contrast with Goethe’s, and the presence of Lessing’s works in world literature.
This panel is organized for the Lessing Society MLA panel, taking place in Philadelphia, January 5th-8th, 2017. Submit abstracts to Saskia Ziolkowski (sez6@duke.edu) by March 15th, 2016.
http://www.lessing-society.germlit.rwth-aachen.de
Original Artwork: Engraving by A H Payne after Storck.
(Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Lessing and World Literature (MLA 2017)
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