Lecture Series WS 25/26: Apocalypses

Climate disasters, wars, economic instability and the rise of anti-democratic forces – many historical and contemporary developments are reported, written and spoken about in terms of impending doom. The idea of the end times is part of the cultural knowledge of many societies and can serve to interpret the here and now and reflect on possible future scenarios.

The lecture series ‘Apocalypses’ organised by the KMG - Collegium Modern and Contemporary Studies and the MFN - Collegium Medieval and Renaissance Studies examines how people from the Middle Ages to the present day, from the former Soviet Union to the Caribbean and beyond, use apocalyptic patterns of interpretation to reflect on structures of meaning and reveal divine or secular truths. The lectures from various disciplines open up a historically and geographically broad panorama of apocalyptic patterns of thought and action, inviting critical reflection and historical classification of current diagnoses.

The programme below is available for download here.

14 October 25 Thomas Meier (Heidelberg)
Apocalypse without End – The End of the World between Fear and Hope

21 October 25 Johanna Buß (Würzburg)
From Cyclical Destruction of the World to the Rise of Consciousness: The Indian Ages of the World (Yugas) in Aurobindo

28 October 25 Stephan Kraft (Würzburg)
Apocalypse without an Aftermath. The Concerns of the Sylphs in Grimmelshausen's Simplicissimus Teutsch

4 November 25 Christian Wehr (Würzburg)
Apocalypse and Globalisation. Columbus' Messianic View of History

11 November 25 Matthias Flatscher (Würzburg)
The Recurring Desire for the Apocalypse. Normative Consequences of the Experience of the Spectral

18 November 25 Damian Dombrowski (Würzburg)
Fulfilment—Renewal—Destruction: Artistic Perspectives on the Apocalypse in the Early Middle Ages, Renaissance and Modern Times

25 November 25 Stephan Packard (Cologne)
Post-Digital Visions: Apocalyptics and the Integrated in the New Media Society

2 December 25 Laura Otto (Würzburg)
Here to Stay: Sargassum Algae and the Creeping Apocalypse of the Caribbean

9 December 25 Catrin Gersdorf (Würzburg)
Los Angeles, or, The End of the World: America between Utopia and Apocalypse

16 December 25 Gesine Drews-Sylla (Würzburg)
A World in Decline: Late Soviet Visions of the End Times

13 January 26 Esme Winter-Froemel (Würzburg)
Apocalypse of Language? Discourses on Italomania and Franglais in 16th and 20th Century France

20 January 26 Michelle Becka (Würzburg)
(Christian) Ethics in Apocalyptic Times?

27 January 26 Klaus Ridder (Tübingen)
15 Signs before the Last Judgement: Apocalyptic Elements in Medieval Short Stories

ORGANISATION
Prof. Dr. Stephanie Catani, Chair of Modern German Literature
Prof. Dr. Catrin Gersdorf, Chair of American Studies
Prof. Dr. Carlotta Posth, Junior Professorship for Medieval Comparative Literature
Prof. Dr. Kirsten Sandrock, Chair of English Literature and Cultural Studies