The Rhine River: An Aesthetic, Environmental, and Political History

Catalog description

From Hölderlin to Hugo, cannonballs to canalization, this course examines representations of Europe's most important waterway in the modern period. Although it has long been seen as a "natural" border between France and Germany, the Rhine River has been anything but undisputed. Both the French and German nationalist movements claimed the river as their own, spawning a bi-lingual catalogue of songs, poems, and historical legends. We will approach the Rhine from an interdisciplinary perspective, with readings from economists, environmentalists, historians, and cultural studies scholars. We will be aided by a vast array of primary source material. Taught in English.