THE ESSAY AS FORM IN GERMAN LITERATURE, CRITICISM, AND FILM

19th Annual Graduate Student Conference in Germanic Languages & Literatures at Yale University
APRIL 4-5, 2008
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

Fifty years after Adorno's claim that “the essay does not permit its domain to be predefined” the challenge to approach the essay as a form of expression is still pertinent. Rather than defining itself in the context of genres, the essay defies categorization. The essay is open, since it strives to be both – a form and the erosion of a form.

The status of the essay as form – in the context of writing and film – is still open to discussion. We want to explore this critical potential and we invite papers which address the essay in German literature, criticism and/or film.

Keynote Speakers:
Nora Alter (University of Florida)
Ulrich Plass (Wesleyan University)