Intermediality is a phenomenon that has proliferated in the arts since the 1990s, not least in the realm of literature, resulting in works that transgress the boundaries of the text in various ways. ‘Media combination’, one of the three subcategories of intermediality defined by Irina Rajewsky, is characterized by a media constellation that combines ”at least two conventionally distinct media or medial forms of articulation” which are ”each present in their own materiality and contribute to the constitution and signification of the entire product in their specific way” (Rajewsky 2005).
This seminar will focus on different forms of this type of intermediality at the intersection of literature and visual or performative arts in post-war Lebanon. In the aftermath of the civil war (1975-90), in the absence of any official attempts of coming to terms with the recent past, Lebanese writers and artists took on the task to critically address political and societal conflicts, past and present. In recent years, we notice a growing number of hybrid forms combining text and image, such as comics, the graphic novel, concept art, street art as well as performance and film/video. Recurrent themes in these works are individual and collective memories, the character of private and public spaces, and actual local, regional and global conflicts.
We will explore how text and image are combined, and to what aim. How do the textual and the pictorial track of comics, graphic novels or blogs (by Zeina Abirached, Mazen Kerbaj, Zena Khalil, Lena Merhaj and others) complement/support or contradict/subvert each other? Blurring the boundaries between fact and fiction, visual artists (like Khalil Joreige and Joana Hadjithomas, Walid Raad and The Atlas Group, or Lamia Joreige) often create fictitious ‘documents’, invent characters and weave stories around them, thus challenging the archive, historical truth and the mere existence of an objective reality. Similar strategies can be noticed in performance and video works by Rabih Mroué and Lina Majdalanie. Ghassan Salhab’s films and videos bring into dialogue image, (often poetic) text and sound. In contrast to earlier conceptions of iltizam (artistic commitment), the artist does no longer present a univocal statement. Rather, the audience is asked to produce their own interpretation and to take on their responsibility as a citizen.
The seminar is open for students of other literary and cultural studies programs (MA NTS, BAPS, Kulturpoetik and others). The texts we will discuss are either translated to or originally written in English, thus the knowledge of Arabic is not mandatory. In case all participants speak sufficiently German, the class may be held in German.
Selected readings and material:
Irina O. Rajewsky: ”Intermediality, Intertextuality, and Remediation: A Literary Perspective on Intermediality”, in: Intermédialités 6 (Autumn 2005), 43-64; Out of Beirut (ed. Suzanne Cotter, Oxford 2006); Home Works I-III (ed. Ashkal Alwan, Beirut 2003-2008; https://www.ashkalalwan.org/); Samandal, Comics Magazine and non-profit organization (https://samandalcomics.org/).
Important note: In view of the latest developments of the Covid-19 pandemic, the University of Muenster decided that all our courses will be held digitally. This seminar that was planned to be held as a hybrid seminar, i.e. mainly digital sessions alternating with a few face-to-face sessions, will thus be held in a digital form only. With a few exceptions, the sessions will be held synchronically via Zoom (Tuesday, 2-4 pm). Please make sure to register at HISLSF before Friday 30 Oct., 10 am, so that I can contact you by email and inform you about how we will meet in the first session on November 3rd (and the following sessions) as well as the access code to our seminar on Learnweb.
- Lehrende/r: Barbara Winckler