Professor of German Studies Helmut M眉ller-Sievers is the recipient of the 115th Distinguished Research Lectureship. The Lectureship is among the most esteemed honors bestowed by the faculty upon a faculty member at the 葫芦娃视频.
Professor M眉ller-Sievers will deliver a virtual lecture, 鈥淥n Common Ground颅鈥擥oethe, the Modern Novel, and the Diversity of听Experience,鈥� at 4 p.m. on March 10, 2021.
This talk will take the case of Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749鈥�1832) to argue that the modern novel is not primarily a vessel of knowledge but a vehicle of experience. Writing at the threshold of the industrial age, Goethe laid bare the technical implications of modern prose narratives and opened up the possibility of understanding reading novels as a paradigm for the diversity of experience.听
Drawing on William James' notion of "pure experience" in addition to Goethe, Professor M眉ller-Sievers will discuss how reading and attending to novels鈥攂ut also to other long narrative forms, like graphic novels and TV series鈥攇ives us access to layers of experiencing that are common to all practices of knowledge, whether they happen in the classroom, in the field, or in the lab. The university鈥攖he campus university in particular鈥攊s where such experiencing can take place, for students and faculty alike.听
The lecture will be delivered over Zoom. Prior registration is required.