Reinventing the Eighteenth Century

The eighteenth century is often connected with the idea of enlightenment rationality in the first half and a swing towards a more emotional, irrational Romanticism in the second half. Manners, politeness, rational thought and a concern for propriety, as well as the development of progress in economy and politics are generally connected with the period. Many ideas and conditions we are now taking for granted have developed during the eighteenth century, and it is therefore no wonder if contemporary authors or film makers also find this time intriguing. In our course, we will look at a number of contemporary films, plays and novels representing - and thus reinventing - the eighteenth century. We shall explore why writers and directors take interest in this period, what these reinventions may tell us about how the eighteenth century is seen today, how it reflects on our present time, and how such an engagement with a historical period may express new notions of history and historiography. Our examples will first take us to the margins of the eighteenth-century world, to child abandonment (Jamila Gavin, Coram Boy - a children's novel that is now also running successfully as a musical in London's Westend), lunatic asylums (Nell Leyshon, Bedlam) or colonial exploitation (Christopher Nicholson, The Elephant Keeper). The insistence on rationalism has inspired a number of Enlightenment -Whodunnits- and mysteries - among them, we will look at Tom Stoppard's comedy Arcadia, and Peter Greenaway's film The Draughtsman's Contract. Politics and privacy are focussed in Alan Bennett's play The Madness of King George III and its movie version (the III had to omitted in the U.S. title to make sure to the prospective Hollywood audience that they have not missed parts I and II...). The two generations of Romantic poets are finally the stuff for Howard Brenton's play Bloody Poetry as well as for the biopics Pandaemonium and Bright Star. The Regency episodes from Rowan Atkinson's hilarious Black Adder series will provide a frame for our course, which will, besides, include some guest lectures. Students are expected to purchase their own copies of Coram Boy and The Elephant Keeper and to have read both novels by the beginning of the term. The texts of the plays will be provided. By the beginning of the term, students should have bought and read the following two novels: Jamila Gavin, Coram Boy (2000) - the novel, NOT the play! Christopher Nicholson, The Elephant Keeper (2009) The following plays will be provided (but it's no mistake getting a copy of them and start reading beforehand!): Nell Leyshon, Bedlam (2010) Tom Stoppard, Arcadia (1993) Alan Bennett, The Madness of King George III (1991) Howard Brenton, Bloody Poetry (1984) The following films will be discussed: Peter Greenaway, The Draughtsman's Contract (1982) Alan Bennett, The Madness of King George (1995) Julien Temple, Pandaemonium (2000) Jane Campion, Bright Star (2009) A good introduction to the eighteenth century is: Roy Porter, Enlightenment: Britain and the Creation of the Modern World (London: Penguin, 2001) Anglistik - Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaft Lehramtsstudiengänge: erfolgreicher Abschluss der Zwischenprüfung 2 ECTS: regular active participation; expert session with visualization (OR - depending on the number of participants - written minutes to individual session, esp. the guest lectures) 5 ECTS: regular active participation; expert session with visualization and written elaboration (1000-2000 words) (OR - depending on the number of participants - an essay of 2000-3000 words, comparing a novel/play and a film) 7 ECTS: regular active participation; expert session with visualization; written term paper (4500-6000 words). Universität Siegen SoSe 2011 Univ.-Prof. Dr. Müller Anja