The First World War Seen from an Ideological, Historiographic and Literary Viewpoint

“Gassed,” by John Singer Sargent, portrays the effects of mustard gas on a group soldiers during World War I

In the year that marks the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War (1914-1918), the IEA remembers some lessons the conflict taught the world, in the seminar Can History teach us Anything? 100 Years of the First World War. Organized in partnership with the Martius Chair of German and European Studies, linked to University of São Paulo, and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the meeting will take place on November 28, from 2 to 8 pm, at the Institute’s Events Room.

The seminar will feature five lectures, divided in two panels: Literature, coordinated by Helmut Galle, professor at the Modern Literature Department of the School of Philosophy, Literature and Human Sciences (FFLCH), and History and the History of Ideas, coordinated by Karen Lisboa, professor at FFLCH’s History Department.

The first panel will be devoted to an aesthetic reflection on literary production concerning the First World War. The speakers will focus on the current boom of European graphic novels on the subject, particularly the works of Jacques Tardi and Joe Sacco; on the representation of conflict in expressionist lyric poetry; and on two great works of literature dealing with the situation of the Jews in the post-war scenario: “Radetzkymarsch,” by Joseph Roth, and “A Guest for the Night,” by Samuel Agnon.

Political and historiographic issues will be addressed in the second panel, with lectures aimed at describing and interpreting the First World War in the context of globalization; at discussing the possibilities of learning from history; and at analyzing the ideological milieu surrounding the conflict.

The speakers will explore the following topics:

• Narration through Images: The Representation of the Battle of the Somme by Joe Sacco – Valéria Sabrina Pereira (UFMG)
• The First World War in Expressionist Lyric Poetry – Elcio Loureiro Cornelsen (UFMG)
• Jewish Perspectives on the First World War: Joseph Roth and S.Y. Agnon – Luiz Sergio Krausz (USP)
• The struggle of ideas in the First World War – Rainer Schmidt (USP/DAAD)
• Can History Teach Us Anything? Purviews of the First World War – Winfrid Halder (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf)

The event will be broadcast live on the web.