Seminar Blockseminar Between Nature and Civilization 19th Century American Poetry and Painting

Contact between North America and Asia had been established by the end of the 18th century by Christian missionaries and New England traders. As a consequence of the growing intercultural exchange of ideas from that point on, certain branches of American literature became profoundly influenced by hitherto unknown -Eastern- ways of thinking the world and the relationship between humans and nature. Most notably, the leading representatives of the (counter-)cultural movements of 19th century American Transcendentalism and the 1950s Beat Generation found their own, unorthodox beliefs confirmed in the scriptures of Hinduism, Buddhism, and/or Taoism. They drew great inspiration from the translations available at the time and were encouraged in their ventures to develop new, original ways of thinking and of literary expression - leaving behind old, established (European) intellectual, literary and poetic paths.   In this course, we will do close comparative readings of classical American (Transcendentalist and Beat) and Asian texts to develop an understanding of the significant contribution of Eastern thought to 19th snd 20th century American literary and intellectual achievements. We will read poetry and prose through the lens of, for example, Hindu and Buddhist teachings, as it will deepen and broaden our comprehension of the essential insights of the American Teanscendentalists and the Beats.   We will discuss texts by, among others, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, Walt Whitman, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Philip Whalen, Gary Snyder, Lao-Tzu, Zhuangzi, Mengzi, D. T. Suzuki, Alan Watts, and Dwight Goddard, and read excerpts from the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and diverse Buddhist Sutras. The texts you are expected to read for the first session are:   R.W. Emerson, Nature (-Introduction- and chapter I: -Nature-) R.W. Emerson, -The Over-Soul- (excerpts)   See Semesterapparat! Voraussetzungen All participants are required to attend regularly, read extensively, and should be willing to actively engage in philosophical debate. Anglistik u.Amerikanistik (BA, PO 2011) Erg.fach All participants are required to attend regularly, read extensively, and should be willing to actively engage in philosophical debate. Universität Düsseldorf SoSe 2017 Dr. Capelle Birgit