Torture in European Literature and Aesthetic Theory

Catalog description

Alongside the history of actual torture runs the history of representations of torture. Throughout the centuries, literature has worked through many of torture’s manifestations. Texts range from the biblical scenes of crucifixion and punishment to modern forms of torture. Writers like E.T.A. Hoffmann, Mirbeau, Kafka, Améry and Sartre have reflected on torture. And aesthetic theory has taken various stances towards the depiction of torture in the arts, ranging from Winckelmann and Lessing to Adorno and Elaine Scarry. Our graduate seminar will read and discuss a selection of literary and theoretical texts covering the period from the mid-18th century until today.