| Kommentar |
The 1720s, within a few years, saw the accession of George II and the death of Isaac Newton, the publication of Swift's Gulliver's Travels and Pope's Dunciad as well as Vico's Scienza Nuova (New Science), the first performances of Gay's The Beggar's Opera and of Bach's St John's Passion and St Matthew's Passion, the completion of Blenheim Palace and of Christ Church in Spitalfields, major discoveries in the field of electricity and optics as well as the invention of the kilt; William Hogarth began his career (not least with a sequence on The Beggar's Opera), and Händel became a British subject.
In this seminar, our focus will be on British literature and culture, but we will also take into account the wider European cultural and political contexts of a "slice in time".
A reader containing an initial selection of texts will be available in the copyshop Reckhammerweg from early September onwards.
Note: All students prepared to do the required reading are guaranteed a place in this seminar! Students are expected to read the first two texts in the reader for the first session. |
