The seminar would examine texts that explore changes in character(s) or cultural context through stretches of time. Some examples would include: Hermann Broch's Die Schlafwandler trilogy which follows characters through several decades of European history, or Per Jersild's novel Return of the Geniuses which traces cultural evolution via specific historial characters through the millennia, or Marie Cardinal's Le Passe empiete, which examines the ancient character Klytemnestra in a 20th century context. Contributors to this seminar might consider the revision of ancient characters in modern texts (e.g., Christa Wolf's Cassandra) or the changes in a family line through time (e.g., Faulkner's Absalom! Absalom! or Isabel Allende's La Casa de los Espiritus) or even changes of today's culture in future time (comparing science fiction projections, for example).

Email proposals to: Kathleen L. Komar (Komar@ucla.edu); Ross Shideler (Shideler@ucla.edu); or Katherine King (King@humnet.ucla.edu)

Or mail to any of our names at: Department of Comparative Literature, 212 Royce Hall, Box 951536, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1536. Fax 310-825-9754.