The City as Metaphor. Why Writers Love Venice: course description
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Kevin Newmark, Boston College
When does a place become a principal character in its own right, rather than just a mere setting or background? This question has fascinated writers of all times, and in many cases "Venice" has been the answer. This course will study the way the question is treated by Thomas Mann, John Ruskin, Henry James, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Marcel Proust, among others. Secondary material, including films and on-site visits, will also be utilized. A classic of this genre, "Death in Venice," by Thomas Mann, will provide the starting point of our study. We will use Mann's powerful evocation of Gustav von Aschenbach's fateful visit to Venice to ask: why Venice? What is it, exactly, about Venice that draws the artistic imagination so persistently toward it? How is it that Venice holds the promise of both beauty and knowledge as well as the risk of death and destruction? An examination of the different responses that are proposed to this question in several other masterpieces of world literature will allow students to appreciate the unique nature of Venice as an object, not just of artistic, but also of historical, cultural and personal reflection. By studying the way great writers have used Venice, we will begin to appreciate how the various facets of the city can also reflect and illuminate our own situation, by inviting us to scrutinize contemporary culture, history, and the accompanying systems of value that have been constructed around them.
