Description
Literature both explores and exerts enigmatic forces of attachment. For Max Weber, ‘charisma’ represented a source of authority that inheres in neither rationality nor tradition but in the mysterious attraction exerted by an ‘extraordinary’ 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 ‘dark’ 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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