Moby Dick - The White Whale in Different Media (BA Workshop)
Dienstag, 05.12.2023
This workshop explores Herman Melville's Moby-Dick (1851), a canonical text that is commonly viewed as one of the Great American Novels. Captain Ahab's obsession with the white whale has been interpreted in a plethora of ways - as a quest to find God, an attempt to defeat evil, and a symbol for American imperialism, to name a few examples - and it influences the contemporary imagination to this day. The answers to the question 'What does this book mean?' are especially intriguing in the present moment, as the United States is going through renewed racial turbulence and struggling to redefine its national identity. The first two thirds of this workshop are dedicated to close reading the novel (15 chapters/week), whereas the final third examines the complex reception history of the infamous white whale; we will discuss two graphic novels, one radio adaptation and two film adaptations. Situating these texts and audio-visual products within their respective historical contexts, this workshop gives insight into three centuries of American culture. A close examination of one rich source text and its various medial adaptations gives us a fundamental understanding of one of the most important novels of the American literary tradition and sharpens our awareness of the relationship between form and content, the importance of medium, and the processes of mediation and canonization.
No separate registration is required to attend regular lectures/seminars.
| Veranstaltungsart: | Vorlesung/Seminar vor Ort |
|---|---|
| Dozierende(r): | Dr. Sofie Behluli |
| 05.12.2023: | 14:15 - 16:00 |
| Ort: |
Unitobler Lerchenweg 36 3012 Bern F005 |
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