On September 19, at 5:30pm, the Department of German at NYU and Deutsches Haus at NYU present “The Con Game as Art Form: Herman Melville and Thomas Mann,” a public lecture by Elisabeth Bronfen.
In our post-factual world, in which alternative facts compete with truth, issues of confidence and skepticism, peddling in hope and betraying this promise have again become timely concerns. In this lecture, Elisabeth Bronfen will examine The Confidence-Man by Melville to discuss the political, psychoanalytic and aesthetic aspects of this literary theme. Thomas Mann’s Die Bekenntnisse des Hochstaplers Felix Krull will allow for a comparison between the European imposter and the American confidence game.

About the speaker:
Elisabeth Bronfen is Professor of English and American Studies at the University of Zurich as well as Global Distinguished Professor at New York University.
She earned her PhD at the University of Munich with her work on literary space in the work of Dorothy M. Richardson’s novel Pilgrimage, as well as her habilitation on representations of femininity and death, Over Her Dead Body. A specialist in 19th and 20th century literature, she has also written articles and books in the area of gender studies, psychoanalysis, film, cultural theory and visual culture.

Date and Time: Friday, September 19, 5:30pm - 7:00pm

Location: Deutsches Haus at NYU, 42 Washington Mews, New York, NY 10003

More information: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfUu2lzb2mrPFxERNXFhWGfy6Y8TOG7Z-WrSevH4kfUpoHyzg/viewform?usp=dialog