Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Literature Travelling Seminar: Memory, Perception, Projection: The Long History of Imagination in 18th and 19th Century Literature

September 24

Mme Anne-Claire Michoux, UNINE

Dr Emma Depledge, UNIFR

Prof. Ros Ballaster, Oxford University

Recent critical studies have challenged the long-held view that the eighteenth century witnessed the decline of drama and a rise in anti-theatrical prejudice. Eighteenth-century theatre is now not only recognised as a vibrant and varied cultural form, ranging from tragedy and comedy to pantomime, melodrama, and farce, but also celebrated for the insights it offers into eighteenth-century culture and society. Drama of the period has enabled critics to explore both key eighteenth-century concepts, such as privacy and the rise of the individual, and drama's relationship to other emerging genres like the novel. Varied interconnections exist between the theatre and the novel, with the genres in dialogue and tension throughout the period. This workshop will therefore explore the many avenues through which theatricality permeated other eighteenth-century literary genres, with a particular emphasis on the complex and fraught relationship between the eighteenth-century novel and contemporary theatre. Many novelists started their careers as playwrights, such as Henry Fielding and Elizabeth Inchbald, contributing to the influence of drama on the development of the novel. Doctoral students will have the opportunity to attend a workshop on theatricality in the eighteenth century led by one of the leading experts in the field, Professor Ros Ballaster (Mansfield College, University of Oxford). Professor Ballaster is currently developing a project on Georgian Theatre and the novel. Students are also invited to present an aspect of their research relevant to this area and benefit from feedback and comments from both Prof. Ballaster and participants.

Fribourg

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