Minds in Ecstasy: Altered States of Consciousness in 19th- and 20th-Century German Literature and Theory

In Dionysian ecstasy, or mystical illumination, or meditative absorption; under the influence of alcohol, of hallucinogenic drugs, or of music (Wagnerian or not); in deliriums of fever, of carnival, of love; in states of panic, mass euphoria, madness; and every time we dream: There are numerous and manifold situations in which the human mind operates in ways notably different from the usual mode of waking consciousness, situations in which perceptions and imaginations turn strange, feelings of unfamiliar quality emerge, and things may appear inexplicably meaningful. In this panel, we will discuss literary representations of minds in any such "other" condition, with a particular interest in the narrative means and strategies employed to make possible the communication of what are often felt to be incommunicable, ineffable experiences. We also welcome papers on anthropological, psychological, or otherwise philosophical considerations the subject of "altered" states of consciousness has received in German intellectual history.

Please send in proposals as e-mail attachments to Karsten Gogolin, Johns Hopkins University:
gogolink@jhu.edu.

(Deadline: April 1, 2006.)