Call for Papers: The Jewess of Toledo and Goya: Images of Spain

Marje Schuetze-Coburn Announcement
Location
Spain
Subject Fields
German History / Studies, Immigration & Migration History / Studies, Jewish History / Studies, Spanish and Portuguese History / Studies

As Feuchtwanger Librarian at the University of Southern California Libraries and Secretary for the International Feuchtwanger Society, I am forwarding this Call for Papers related to Lion Feuchtwanger, exile literature, and Spain. 

For more information about this upcoming conference in Toledo, Spain, please contact conference organizer Prof. Isabel Hernández at isabelhg@ucm.es.

 

"The Jewess of Toledo and Goya: Images of Spain in German Exile Literature"
Meeting of the International Feuchtwanger Society 
Real Fundación Toledo

Toledo, September 7-9, 2016

Published in 1955, Lion Feuchtwanger’s novel The Jewess of Toledo became an instant bestseller both in Germany and in particular in the USA. It was during Feuchtwanger’s years in exile in California, where he had lived since 1941, that he explored this topic which had intrigued him since 1926 when he had become fascinated with the history, architecture and landscape of Spain while travelling in the country with his wife Marta. In 1951 he finally gave literary expression to his interest in Spain with his novel Goya.

Many of the other writers who were forced to leave Germany during the Third Reich also developed an affinity for Spain and a special interest in Spanish history. For some, the move into exile had been straightforward, for others their flight abroad had followed a dangerous path, which in some cases took them through Spain. In addition to works created in exile which deal with Spain, works by the so-called inner emigrants, e.g. Reinhold Schneider’s Las Casas vor Karl V, also deserve consideration.

In contrast to the image of Italy, the image of Spain as portrayed in the texts of exiled German writers was never aestheticized. Material taken from Spanish history offered these authors the opportunity to use the past as a means to interpret their own times, which explains their preference for the historical novel. In recent years the historical novel has experienced a revival, suggesting a comeback for many of the works written in exile. The current political and social situation in many countries confirms the topicality of novels such as Feuchtwanger’s The Jewess of Toledo

Organized by the International Feuchtwanger Society in cooperation with the Dept. of German at the University of Madrid and the Goethe Institute Madrid, the conference will take place in Toledo, an ideal setting for discussion of Feuchtwanger’s novels and the image of Spain in the literature of German exile.

Please send your abstract for a 20-minute presentation (300 words maximum) along with a short bio to Isabel Hernández (isabelhg@ucm.es) by December 31, 2015. Conference languages are German, Spanish and English. Selected and edited papers will be published.

 

Contact Information

Prof. Dr. Isabel Hernández
Dpto. de Filología Alemana
Directora del IULMyT
Facultad de Filología - Edif. D-2.345
Avda. Complutense, s/n
E-28040 Madrid

Contact Email
isabelhg@ucm.es