the thought of Oswald Spengler as they depict a Western society that is collapsing irreversibly under the influences of government (totalitarian or democratic, equally repressive) and of economics (collectivist or capitalist, equally corrupt). Individuals who participate in this world, whether accepting or rejecting its invitations, are degraded by personal delusion, distraction, and stupidity. The best lack all conviction: artists alone, capable of accepting both absurdity and the “pure form” of ideas, have the potential to counteract this collapse, but they are hopelessly powerless even when sober. Futility is absolute. This paper will examine Witkiewicz’s apocalyptic vision, particularly as it gains concretion and objectification through his journey to the “tropical” and “savage” territories of Ceylon and Australia in 1914 in the company of his best friend, the anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski. Elizabeth Schreiber-Byers, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill “200 Years Past, Present, and Future: History and Fantasy in Pieter Harting’s Anno 2065.” Dreams of technological advances, universal literacy, and supranational European unity mark Dutch scientist Pieter Harting’s 1865 work of utopian fiction, Anno 2065. Published in three editions between 1865 and 1870 and translated into German (1865), French (1870), and English (1871), the work was the piece of fiction by the scientist known for his work in the fields of microscopy and botany. While his text has been criticized both at the time and by contemporary scholars as advancing a vision of the future firmly rooted in nineteenth-century sensibilities and technology, the short work is of interest from a literary perspective for its weaving of fantastical and historical elements like the inclusion of medieval scientist and friar Roger Bacon, who guides Harting’s literary alter ego, Dr. Dioscorides, also named for an ancient Greek scientist, through a world 200 years in the future. This paper attempts to salvage Harting’s work as a piece of literature focusing on these meta-textual elements and considering how they contribute both to our understanding of the text and its appeal to German-, French-, and English-language readers between 1865 and 1871. Robert Seguin, Hartwick College “Consumerism and the Spectre of Declassing: From DeLillo to McCarthy”
the thought of Oswald Spengler as they depict a Western society that is collapsing irreversibly under the influences of government (totalitarian or democratic, equally repressive) and of economics (collectivist or capitalist, equally corrupt). Individuals who participate in this world, whether accepting or rejecting its invitations, are degraded by personal delusion, distraction, and stupidity. The best lack all conviction: artists alone, capable of accepting both absurdity and the “pure form” of ideas, have the potential to counteract this collapse, but they are hopelessly powerless even when sober. Futility is absolute. This paper will examine Witkiewicz’s apocalyptic vision, particularly as it gains concretion and objectification through his journey to the “tropical” and “savage” territories of Ceylon and Australia in 1914 in the company of his best friend, the anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski. Elizabeth Schreiber-Byers, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill “200 Years Past, Present, and Future: History and Fantasy in Pieter Harting’s Anno 2065.” Dreams of technological advances, universal literacy, and supranational European unity mark Dutch scientist Pieter Harting’s 1865 work of utopian fiction, Anno 2065. Published in three editions between 1865 and 1870 and translated into German (1865), French (1870), and English (1871), the work was the piece of fiction by the scientist known for his work in the fields of microscopy and botany. While his text has been criticized both at the time and by contemporary scholars as advancing a vision of the future firmly rooted in nineteenth-century sensibilities and technology, the short work is of interest from a literary perspective for its weaving of fantastical and historical elements like the inclusion of medieval scientist and friar Roger Bacon, who guides Harting’s literary alter ego, Dr. Dioscorides, also named for an ancient Greek scientist, through a world 200 years in the future. This paper attempts to salvage Harting’s work as a piece of literature focusing on these meta-textual elements and considering how they contribute both to our understanding of the text and its appeal to German-, French-, and English-language readers between 1865 and 1871. Robert Seguin, Hartwick College “Consumerism and the Spectre of Declassing: From DeLillo to McCarthy”
SUS-2012-Abstracts-FINAL.docx