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This course offers an introduction to some forms of Romanticism and Nationalism. The focus is on German, French, English, and East-European cultures. The main topics to be discussed are: 1) imagined communities and cultural canons, 2) ethnicity, religion, language, and national identity, 3) the translatability of cultures: Enlightenment cosmopolitanism and the Romantic cult of national character, 3) the myth of the death of the nation, 4) the establishment of educational and cultural institutions in the service of nationalism, 5) framing texts as the representations of national identity, 6) history painting and the historical novel, 7) national anthems, epics (the Kalevala), and operas. Readings will be chosen from a list including works by such authors as Goethe, Wordsworth, Scott, Byron, Novalis, Hoffmann, Pushkin, Hugo, Poe, Mérimée, Nerval, Vörösmarty, Wagner, Petőfi, and Madách. All texts will be read in English translation. Students familiar with other languages will be encouraged to compare a few translations with the originals.
Goodbody Hall 157 | 1011 East 3rd St. | Bloomington, IN 47405-7005 | Phone: (812) 855-2233 | Fax: (812) 855-7500 | ceus@indiana.edu