W.G. Sebald. Emigration: Facets
Seminar
Svetlana Novikova
Svetlana Novikova
This lecture series explores the work of Winfried Georg Sebald (1944 – 2001), an outstanding German writer of the 20th century. The primary focus is on emigration, a biographical fact of the author's life and one of the key themes of his literary legacy. Sebald's writings and biography are examined from a broad liberal arts perspective. The course integrates knowledge of the individual poetics and poetology of the writer, information on the historical, political, cultural, and literary context of postwar Germany and England, and information from the interdisciplinary research areas of memory studies and exile studies.
Over the course of five lectures, we will:
- examine the phenomenon of expatriate literature;
- analyze the problem of self-determination of a writer in the context of German and English cultures;
- study the literary devices used by the writer in his prose in the context of emigration;
- observe how the verbal and the visual interact in the writer's writings (photo-narration and memory);
- examine the intertextuality of Sebald's novels in relation to the subject of emigration;
- explore Sebald's work in the context of German literature of exile (Exilliteratur);
- learn how the writer's work is perceived in Germany and English-speaking countries.
The reconstruction of the view of emigration of an intellectual who voluntarily left his native country because he disagreed with his compatriots on the issue of historical memory is intended to stimulate a productive conversation about the current state of the Russian emigration.
Selected Literature:
- Bannasch, Bettina. (Hg.). Handbuch der deutschsprachigen Exilliteratur: Von Heinrich Heine bis Herta Müller. De Gruyter, 2013.
- Catling, Jo, & Hibbitt, Richard. (Eds.). Saturn's Moons: A W.G Sebald Handbook. Routledge, 2011.
- Fischer, Gerchard. (Hg.). Schreiben ex patria / Expatriate Writing. Rodopi, 2009.
- Gray, Richard. T. Ghostwriting. W.G. Sebald’s Poetics of History. Bloomsbury Academic, 2017.
- Öhlschläger, Claudia, & Neihaus, Michael. (Hg.). W.G. Sebald-Handbuch: Leben – Werk – Wirkung. Metzler, 2017.
- Patt, Lise, & Dillbohner, Сhristel (Eds.). Searching for Sebald: Photography after W.G. Sebald. Institute of Cultural Inquiry, 2007.
- Schütte, Uwe (Ed.). W.G. Sebald in Context. Cambridge University Press, 2023.
- Schütte, Uwe. W.G. Sebald. Leben und literarisches Werk. De Gruyter, 2020.
- Schwartz, Lynne Sh. (Ed.). The Emergence of Memory. Conversations with W.G. Sebald. Seven Stories Press, 2007.
- Sebald, W. G. „Auf ungeheuer dünnem Eis“. Gespräche 1971 bis 2001. Hg. von Thorsten Hoffmann. Fischer, 2011.
- Sebald, W. G. Die Ausgewanderten. Eichborn, 1992.
- Sebald, W. G. TEXT+KRITIK. Zeitschrift für Literatur. H. 158. 2., aktualisierte Auflage, 2012.
- Sebald, W. G. Unheimliche Heimat. Essays zur österreichischen Literatur. Residenz Verlag, 1991.
- Suleiman, Susan R. (Ed.). Exile and Creativity: Signposts, Travelers, Outsiders, Backward Glances. Duke University Press, 1998.
- Wolff, Lynn. L. W.G. Sebalds’s Hybrid Poetics. De Gruyter, 2014.
- Зебальд, B.Г. Макс Фербер: рассказ из книги «Изгнанники, четыре долгих рассказа». Пер. с нем. В. Менис // Иностранная литература. 2019. № 11. С. 86–140.
- Зебальд, В. Г. Аустерлиц. Пер. с нем. М. Кореневой. Азбука-классика, 2006.
- Зебальд, В. Г. Головокружения. Пер. с нем. Е. Соколовой. Новое издательство, 2019.
- Зебальд, В. Г. Естественная история разрушения. Пер. с нем. Н. Федоровой. Новое издательство, 2019.
- Зебальд, В. Г. Кольца Сатурна. Английское паломничество. Пер. с нем. Э. Венгеровой. Новое издательство, 2019.
- Зебальд, В. Г. Пауль Берейтер. Из книги «Изгнанники. Четыре долгих рассказа. Пер. с нем. М. Кореневой // Иностранная литература. 2004. № 11. С. 128–152.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
No, we do not have a political agenda, or engage in political campaigning. The objectives of our professional, non-profit association are to assist our emigrated colleagues and to conduct joint research with scholars around the world.
As you can see from the list of the projects of our association, the scope of our research is quite broad: from historical studies that shed light on the origins of current events to interdisciplinary research in political philosophy and political theory, epistemology and sociology, bioethics and medical humanities, philosophy of science and many others.
There are no restrictions. We welcome the participation of colleagues from any country.
We conduct our activities in various languages, mainly French, Russian and English.
No, IPHI was created as an international association with the objective of cooperation between researchers from different countries. IPHI will carry out projects that touch on all areas of humanities and social sciences. The association brings together researchers from different countries. The main languages of IPHI research projects are French, Russian, English and German, but other languages are also possible.
No, it is not obligatory. Everyone is free to choose whether or not to make information about themselves public. However, for those planning to publish descriptions of their projects on our website, their name is required, as our projects are not anonymous.
We welcome participation in our events and projects and are always open to new proposals. At the same time, we do not oblige members to participate; it is their voluntary decision.
We will be delighted to hear from Ukrainian colleagues who wish to join our projects and events. We treasure the cooperation and the opportunity to look at topical issues from different angles.
We cooperate with colleagues in Russia. However, we do not publish information about them on our website to avoid exposing them to additional risks.
In the future, we will prepare separate pages in the respective languages for projects concerning Ukraine, Belarus and other countries.
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