Guest Lecture Verena Holztrattner (Universität Salzburg)
Verena Holztrattner is a research fellow with the project “Gender and Comedy in the Age of the American Revolution” at the Department of English and American Studies at the University of Salzburg. She holds an MA in English Studies and the Creative Industries and is currently working on a dissertation project on contemporary American drama, more specifically on dramatic work (to be) written and produced during President Trump’s first year in office. She has worked with several theater companies and teaches English language courses at the University of Salzburg. Her research interests include Theater and Performance Studies and Gender Studies.
Abstract
The guest lecture “Early American Conduct Literature” aims to familiarize students with one of the most prevalent yet largely forgotten literary traditions of the early American Republic: the advice or conduct tradition. After a brief introduction to the socio-political context which gave rise to and helped popularize conduct literature in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, questions concerning authorship, readership, content, form, and style will be addressed. A specific focus will be placed on the societal function and relevance of American conduct literature written and read during one of the nation’s most formative periods. The defining characteristics of conduct literature as well as its versatility and hybridity as a genre will be illustrated by the example of Susanna Haswell Rowson’s diverse body of work.
The event is free and open to the public.
This lecture is organized by the Department of American Studies.
Department of American Studies Graz
Institut für Amerikanistik
Attemsgasse 25/II
A-8010 Graz
Tel. +43/316/380-2465
amerikanistik(at)uni-graz.at