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“I am obsessionless in an age of obsession”, laments a writer in a 2016 edition of Elle. Indeed, one is tempted to agree with her diagnosis of an ‘age of obsession’, not only because recent publications assure us that this is so (e.g. Neil Verma’s Narrative Podcasting in an Age of Obsession, 2024), but simply because obsessions seem pervasive. Be it fan culture (witness the global fan community of BTS ecstatically celebrating their reunion) or the ideal of intense passionate love (which eerily often slips into stalking), fixations on people, objects, rituals, etc. are woven into the fabric of our life world. In this seminar, we will adopt a literary approach to obsession by charting how contemporary literature engages with various manifestations of obsession. We will also ask which fascination these stories of obsession exert on their readers or, in the case of theatre, audiences. Four case studies will form the basis of our discussion: the theme of stalking in McEwan’s Enduring Love and Caroline Kepnes’s You (the latter is now a popular Netflix series), fandom in Stephen King’s Misery, and artistic rivalry in Amadeus. By the end of this seminar, students will hopefully not be obsessionless, but quite the contrary: obsessed with the exciting stories that contemporary literature has to offer. Please obtain the following books: Ewan McEwan, Enduring Love (ISBN-13: 978-0099276586) Peter Schaffer, Amadeus (ISBN 978-0-141-18889-8) Caroline Kepnes, You (ISBN-13: 978-1471137372) Stephen King, Misery (ISBN-13 : 978-1982150808) |
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