The Stacks (Library of Anglo-American Culture & History - FID AAC, Göttingen State and University Library)
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by Alexander Manshel, and an Interview with the Author
No full textAlexander Manshel talks to the editors about his first book, Writing Backwards: Historical Fiction and the Reshaping of the American Canon (Columbia University Press, 2023), part of which is reprinted here with his permission (Chapter 2: The Making of the Greatest Generation). As the author writes, the book argues that over the last forty years the American literary field has transformed to celebrate narratives of the historical past over all other literary genres. In this period, key literary institutions—from the National Endowment for the Arts to major literary prizes and university English departments—have worked to promote the idea that historical fiction is singular in its artistic seriousness, its pedagogical utility, and its political potency. This shift in literary value has gone hand in hand with the increasing recognition and canonization of Black, Asian American, Latinx, and Indigenous writers in the United States: that is, the vast majority of minoritized writers who have been consecrated by these institutions over the last four decades have been celebrated for writing about the historical past
What Makes an American Classicist?
No full textIf the American "classic" is involved in the dynamic of canons, value, and style, then what is the role of Classics as a field, and of the professional classicist? I argue that with the emergence of the professional classicist came significant anxiety, particularly regarding the transformative and unsettling consequences of specialist research. By discussing ostensibly established classicists like Basil Gildersleeve or Paul Shorey alongside Helen Magill, the first American woman to receive a PhD in Classics, I aim to destabilize the center of what establishment may or may not have meant in light of a shared, unsettled preoccupation with what a professional approach to a canon and a classic could be and ought to be
Immortality and Its Refusal in Steven Erikson’s 'Malazan Book of the Fallen'
No full textWhile Tolkien presents his immortal people, the Elves, as naturally long-lived paragons of culture and community, Canadian fantasy author Steven Erikson follows a different approach to immortality in his Malazan Book of the Fallen (1999–2010), in which he conceptualizes his T’lan Imass as teleologically rather than naturally immortal, becoming so at the cost of social cohesion but supposedly for the benefit of others. Constructing a Nietzschean-Adlerian framework for power relations, this paper examines the narrative rhetoric Erikson employs to communicate his vision of the challenges their teleological immortality entails for the T’lan Imass in a world reluctant to buy into their supposedly altruistic motivation.Während Tolkien die Elben als sein unsterbliches Volk als von Natur aus langlebige Inbegriffe von Kultur und Gemeinschaft präsentiert, konzeptualisiert der kanadische Fantasyautor Steven Erikson in seiner Reihe The Malazan Book of the Fallen (1999-2010) die Unsterblichkeit seiner T’lan Imass als teleologisch statt natürlich. Auf der Grundlage einer Kombination von Nietzsches und Adlers Machttheorien beleuchtet dieser Artikel die erzählerische Rhetorik, durch die Erikson seine Vorstellung der Herausforderungen einer solchen zielgerichteten Unsterblichkeit kommuniziert, denen sich die T’lan Imass in einer Welt ausgesetzt sehen, die ihre altruistische Motivation infragestellt
Death as a Character and Its Philosophical Depiction in Children’s Books
No full textThe analysis of the various depictions of death and its changing function in children’s literature is of both social and literary interest. The aim of this paper is to explore and demonstrate how children’s picturebooks legitimize and encourage the philosophical depiction of the concept of death and, at the same time, the philosophical thinking of children by allowing them to engage with existential questions in a developmentally appropriate manner. Death as a character is represented as global and irreversible through the interplay between text and imagery. The studied picturebooks ‘trigger’ the philosophical investigation of the concept of death and, through philosophical ‘connections’, encourage children to bestow meaning on their world, each in its own way.Die Analyse der verschiedenen Darstellungsweisen des Todes und seiner sich wandelnden Funktion in der Kinderliteratur ist sowohl von sozialem als auch literarischem Interesse. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, zu zeigen, wie Bilderbücher für Kinder die philosophische Darstellung des Todeskonzepts legitimieren und fördern und gleichzeitig das philosophische Denken von Kindern anregen, indem sie es Kindern erlauben, sich auf eine altersangemessene Art und Weise mit existenziellen Fragen zu beschäftigen. Der Tod als Figur wird grundlegend durch das Zusammenspiel von Text und Bild als global und unumkehrbar dargestellt. Schließlich regen die untersuchten Bilderbücher, jedes auf seine eigene Weise, die philosophische Untersuchung des Todeskonzepts an und ermutigen Kinder, durch philosophische ‘Verbindungen’ ihrer Welt Bedeutung zu verleihen
Michael D.C. Drout, Verlyn Flieger and David Bratman, eds.: 'Tolkien Studies: Volume XIX. Supplement'
No full textDeities of Death in Contemporary Popular Fantasy Media
No full textThis paper compares the philosophies of death embodied by death deities from three successful fantasy series with each other through Derrida’s and Tolkien’s notions of death as a gift. Hades in Percy Jackson (2005–2009, 2023–present), the Raven Queen in Critical Role: Vox Machina (2015–2017), and the Many-Faced God in A Song of Ice and Fire (1996–present) all take on various forms, making their true essence a secret. Death can therefore never be fully known. It is fearsome, but also connected to mercy and change. While death is portrayed as inevitable, its finality as well as the deities’ impartiality are questioned to varying degrees.Dieser Artikel vergleicht die Todesphilosophien, die durch die Todesgottheiten aus drei erfolgreichen Fantasy-Serien verkörpert werden, anhand des Konzeptes von Tod als Geschenk bei Derrida und Tolkien. Hades in Percy Jackson (2005-2009, 2023-Gegenwart), die Raven Queen in Critical Role: Vox
Machina (2015-2017) und der Many-Faced God in A Song of Ice and Fire (1996-Gegenwart) nehmen verschiedene Gestalten an und machen so ihre wahre Essenz zu einem Geheimnis. Der Tod kann daher niemals wirklich gekannt werden. Er ist angsteinflößend, steht aber auch für Gnade und Veränderung. Obwohl der Tod als unausweichlich dargestellt wird, werden sowohl seine Endgültigkeit als auch die Unparteilichkeit der Gottheiten in unterschiedlichem Maße in Frage gestellt
Divine Immortality as a Curse in Madeline Miller’s 'Circe'
No full textMadeline Miller’s novel Circe (2018) raises the question of whether the witch of Aiaia is simply the Homeric version of a cunning and tempting sorceress, or rather a well-rounded female figure with a rich backstory and doubts about her own immortality. Published at the height of the #MeToo movement, Miller’s novel engages with two issues that the following paper will discuss. Firstly, it contributes to the rich and commonly negatively connotated mythology around the witch Circe by offering an engaging background narrative in which Circe’s actions and reactions become traceable and understandable for the readers. Secondly, Miller lets her protagonist defy various conceptions about the gods. By portraying Circe’s immortality as a curse rather than a blessing, Miller challenges the media-driven narrative that women have to remain young and age, if at all, gracefully.Madeline Millers Roman Circe (2018) wirft die Frage auf, ob die Hexe von Aiaia lediglich die homerische Version einer listigen und verführerischen Zauberin oder eher eine vielseitige Frauenfigur mit einer ergiebigen Hintergrundgeschichte ist. Millers Roman, der auf dem Höhepunkt der #MeToo-Bewegung veröffentlicht wurde, beschäftigt sich mit zwei Themen, die im folgenden Artikel erörtert werden. Erstens trägt sie zur reichhaltigen und häufig negativ konnotierten Mythologie rund um die Hexe Circe bei, indem sie eine spannende Hintergrunderzählung bietet, in der Circes Handlungen und Reaktionen für die Leser nachvollziehbar und verständlich werden. Zweitens lässt Miller ihre Protagonistin verschiedene Vorstellungen über die Götter in Frage stellen. Indem Miller die Unsterblichkeit von Circe als Fluch und nicht als Segen auslegt, stellt sie das mediale Narrativ in Frage, dass Frauen jung bleiben und, wenn überhaupt, in Würde altern müssen
Histories of Northern and Regional Australia
No full textDrawn from first-hand experience, this essay recalls the radical spirit of James Cook University’s history department in the 1970s – an institution unafraid to challenge both imperial and Australian nationalist historiography, expose the violence of colonisation, and anchor scholarship in the realities of North Queensland’s history. I recall how students were drawn into the fight for Indigenous rights and land, inspired by figures such as Joe McGinness, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, and Koiki (Eddie) Mabo. The department thrived, producing original regional histories with implications for national perceptions and debates on Australia’s past, which via its publication program had a wide readership. But political indifference, financial mismanagement, and the rise of market ideology steadily undermined its work. The decline was not abstract; it was something I saw unfold – misguided leadership, squandered resources, and the slow suffocation of the humanities. Yet it’s a story that ends with cautious hope: a new generation of scholars are committed to reviving the study of the north’s past, working to share their findings with the wider public as well as their academic peers
Visionen der Unsterblichkeit
No full textDieser Aufsatz beschreibt aktuelle Überzeugungen der (baldigen) Verfügbarkeit von Unsterblichkeit und bettet diese Hoffnung in die Kulturgeschichte mythischer und spekulativer Erzählungen des Traums von Unsterblichkeit ein. Als Ausgangspunkt dient das Gilgamesh-Epos, gegenwärtige Beispiele sind der zeitgenössische Science-Fiction-Roman Die Kinder der Zeit, das Computerspiel Cyberpunk 2077 und eine Passage aus der Serienadaption von Neil Gaimans Der Sandmann-Comic. Diese Werke wurden ausgewählt, um die These zu stützen, dass sich die Menschheit gegenwärtig einer konkreten Vorstellbarkeit von Unsterblichkeit annähert.This essay describes current beliefs in the (imminent) availability of immortality and embeds this hope in the cultural history of mythical and speculative narratives of the all-too-human dream of immortality. The starting point is the Epic of Gilgamesh, with contemporary examples being the modern science fiction novel Children of Time, the popular video game Cyberpunk 2077, and a passage from the series adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman comic. These works were selected to support the thesis that humanity is currently approaching a concrete conceptualization of immortality