Edited by: Michael Stone

In its century in print, Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice stands as one of the seminal pieces of twentieth-century literature, abiding perpetually in the social consciousness, and spanning in influence from the popular to the scholarly. In light of its lasting influence, this edited volume will coincide with the centenary of Death in Venice’s first publication in the 1912 Neue Deutsche Rundschau as a celebration and reflective look at both the work itself, which has in subsequent years been accepted into the popular canon of twentieth-century literature in more than thirty different languages, as well as the shift in critical approaches to it that have themselves undergone transformation. As we approach the century mark, and with the ever-growing scholarly community being introduced and re-introduced to Mann’s novella, this volume seeks to go beyond those numerous scholarly and critical works already devoted to Death in Venice, focusing specifically on viewing the work and its reception retrospectively over the last century. In particular, how has scholarship and criticism of it evolved since its initial introduction to the world-public, and how when viewed from such a distance does it change one’s reading of it?

Possible essay topics include, but are not limited to:
• How does Death in Venice fit in Mann’s oeuvre?
• How has the reception/interpretation of the novella changed in the last century?
• In light of new scholarship, what new approaches/readings might one have of Death in Venice?
• How does Death in Venice correspond to twentieth-century and/or early twenty-first century philosophical movements?
• How does Aschenbach, a relatively early character in the Mann corpus, compare with his late protagonists?
• How might this book be read/received differently were it written in 2012?
• Is Death in Venice “gay literature?” Should it be?
• Can Death in Venice be read through the lens of the geopolitics of Middle Europe?
• How have recent translations impacted the interpretations of Death in Venice?
Essays of no more than 5000 words should be prepared for blind review and submitted in Chicago Style to michael.stone@utdallas.edu on or before April 30, 2010. An abstract of approximately 250 words should be attached in a separate document. Acceptance