London Hellenism and the Modern Imaginat

This course reopens the long-term debate on the symbolic significance of things “Hellenic” in the construction of European modernity, with Britain primarily the focus (although certain influential German texts will be included). Covering a range from the Enlightenment and Romanticism to colonial, imperial, and contemporary manifestations, we will examine texts that are either derived from or respond to the Hellenic, whether as mimetic ideal, symbolic inspiration, narrative location, or occasion for cultural reflection. We will explore ways in which the “Greeks” have been constructed in various national and historical contexts through explicit figurations, interpretations, or incarnations of the Hellenic, including the self-constructions of contemporary Greeks as response to European Philhellenism.

Theoretical and hermeneutical emphasis will be placed on the relation between aesthetics and politics from the Age of Revolution to the Age of Empire, from the early national and colonial imagination to contemporary ‘Culture Wars’. Questions of canon formation, tradition, innovation, and cultural intersection/influence will also be prominently addressed. Material will be drawn primarily from literature and philosophy, but will also include historiography, art history, travel literature, theater, and political theory.

The city of London is a living treasure of innumerable traces of this whole trajectory, which we will explore in complementary visits separate from the seminar sessions. I envision this course as an instance of immersive collaborative learning, with hands-on practicum fieldwork experience, that I expect will find its way to the students’ written assignments. Depending on programming and availability, we will pursue the possibility of attending relevant theater productions.