Nicholas Rennie (Columbia University) will speak about his unpublished paper “Tears and the Physiology of Memory in Lessing’s Miß Sara Sampson.” He describes his project as follows:

This paper aims to demonstrate the centrality of sentimental remembering and forgetting in the vocabulary and logic of Lessing’s Miß Sara Sampson, as well as the prominence of the struggles to bring both – remembering and forgetting – under control. I argue that what is ultimately at stake in the drama is the ability or inability of characters to form a productive relationship to the past (a question that connects the play to such other works by Lessing as Der junge Gelehrte, Minna von Barnhelm, and Nathan der Weise, as well as the Laokoon, the Erziehungsschrift, and writings from the Fragmentenstreit).

The workshop will take place on Tuesday, June 9, at noon/12:00 PM (Eastern Time) beziehungsweise 18 Uhr (mitteleuropäischer Zeit) via Zoom. We are grateful to Peter Gilgen (Cornell) for agreeing to moderate the session.

To register, please use the following link: https://bccte.zoom.us/meeting/register/a9t6zmqfT8SKUvP3ekbjyg.