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Description
Literature both explores and exerts enigmatic forces of attachment. For Max Weber, 鈥榗harisma鈥� represented a source of authority that inheres in neither rationality nor tradition but in the mysterious attraction exerted by an 鈥榚xtraordinary鈥� individual, and was thus close to notions of grace and the sacred. Literature provides a particularly apt medium through which to depict and analyze the subtle power of charisma, which so often resists precise definition.
The course will examine a variety of modes and paradigms through which charisma has featured in European literature from the Medieval period to the 20th century. Particular attention will be paid to 鈥榙ark鈥� charisma, which, figured variously as corruption, seduction, or hypnosis, has often lured individuals and communities to act in contrast to the dictates of reason or morality.
Reading List/ Suggested Reading
Primary works read will include:
- Chretien de Troyes, The Knight of the Cart
- Dante, The Divine Comedy
- Goethe, Faust (Part I)
- Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
- Bram Stoker, Dracula
- Viktor Dyk, The Ratcatcher
- Hermann Broch, The Spell
Theoretical works will draw upon Immanuel Kant, Critique of Judgment; Samuel Coleridge, Biographia Literaria; Thomas Carlyl, On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History; Max Weber, 'The Sociology of Charismatic Authority'; and Elias Canetti, Crowds and Power.
Please note: This module description is accurate at the time of publication. Amendments may be made prior to the start of the academic year.
Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year
Last updated
This module description was last updated on 19th August 2024.
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