Topics in Literary and Cultural Theory: Erich Auerbach and the Origin of Existential Realism

Subject associations
GER 520 / COM 520
Term
Spring 2018
Instructors
Jane O. Newman
Registrar description
This seminar takes seriously Auerbach's statement that "existential realism" lies at the core of Mimesis, and look for that realism's "origin" in the theo-philosophical apparatus of the book as well as in a selection of the texts about which he writes. Theories of Realism and existence are also explored. Students gain an overview of Auerbach reception to date and challenge some of the ways his work has been read as only concerned with a Eurocentric canon or as an expression of a post-colonial habitus. In final work for the course, students investigate the "existential realism" of a text, film, or image in their own field.