Studies in Literature and the Arts (487-0-1)

Topic

Modernist Tragedy

Instructors

Ryan Dohoney
ryan.dohoney@northwestern.edu
Office Hours: Email instructor to arrange a meeting.

Meeting Info

Kresge 5531 Comp Lit. Sem. Rm.: Mon 2:00PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

Modernist Tragedy

This seminar will explore what Kierkegaard referred to as "the ancient tragical motif as reflected in the modern," tracking the persistence of Greek Tragedy as a resource for creativity in the 20th-21st centuries. We will put into dialogue theorists of Greek Tragedy (Aristotle, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Benjamin, Williams, Butler, Cavarero, Critchley, et al.), musicians (Strauss, Stravinsky, Milhaud, Partch, Honegger, Orff, Barber, Britten, Rochberg, Nono, Xenakis, Birtwistle, Rihm, Rzewski, Soper, Chen, Lim, et al.) and writers (Hölderlin, Racine, Cocteau, Yeats, Brecht, Christa Wolf, et al.). The course is organized around "complexes" of philosophical, literary, and musical entanglement treating Elektra, Oedipus Rex, Antigone, the Oresteia, Medea, and other tragic dramas.

Registration Requirements

This seminar is intended for graduate students in Music Studies and Comparative Literary Studies.

Learning Objectives

Students will gain a foundation in tragic aesthetics in the fields of philosophy, literature, and music. They will gain skills in analyzing tragic form across the arts.

Evaluation Method

In-class participation, weekly discussion posts, a final research project

Class Materials (Required)

Materials will be provided via the Canvas site and Library Course Reserves. There are no books for purchase.