APASA Cafe: Anabaptism in German Historical Fiction

UPCOMING EVENT

Topic: Utilizing the “Anabaptist Thing” in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century German Historical Fiction

Speaker: Berit Jany, Ph.D., Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Colorado

When: Friday, November 4, 2022, 11 AM to 12 PM Eastern Time

Where: Via Zoom or teleconference

Description: The talk explores images of early Anabaptism in selected Austrian, Swiss, and German fictional writing. Through a critical reading of the movement’s representations in historical fiction dating from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the presenter takes inventory of chief characteristics of Anabaptist life and piety and observes which of these aspects are selected for portrayal in fictional texts. This includes an investigation of how authors have fictionalized the Anabaptist movement, its commitment to theological precepts and non-resistance, and its separation from society. The reading of these selected texts is also concerned with underlying programmatic aims and ideological convictions cloaked by literary articulations of encounters between society and fictional representatives of the early movement.

Register: Registration is required to attend; click here to register. You will receive an email with options to call in via telephone or use the web. If you do not have web access to register, contact Andrea Waksmunski (axw360@case.edu) for a call-in number.