Dr. Jennifer Easler Lecture
For centuries, the primary mode of storytelling was the retelling of older tales. Even today, despite our interest in originality, we continue to translate, adapt, and retell old stories. This lecture explores the retelling as a narrative mode. We consider the tension within retellings between fidelity and invention: retellings attempt both to remain faithful to a tradition and to invent that tradition anew. In examining the ways in which various writers have attempted to resolve this tension, we find that it is in fact a productive tension, providing a way for us to think not just about originality and tradition, but also about larger issues of human existence, such as fate and free will.
Spring 2023 Lecture Series, Part 2 sponsored by the Philosophy Program and the Arts & Humanities Department.
University of Providence, University Center Lecture Room (UC131) Lower level across from classroom.