CFP: Werner Herzog, Film Director:
A Multidisciplinary Collection
Proposals due September 30, 2024
Werner Herzog (b. 1942) has long been a keen and powerful observer of life on this planet. Now in his 80s, he is still going strong as an acclaimed director, writer, and producer of dramas, documentaries, and the stage; as a social and historical commentator, an actor (he recently played The Client in The Mandalorian , 2019), and a memoir writer ( Every Man for Himself and God against All , 2023). As anyone interested in this CFP will know, Herzog is a titanic cultural force unto himself, and has been for decades now. Indeed, it is easy to see he has led overlapping (semi-)popular and arthouse/cult-style careers. Through his endlessly curious and skeptical eye, he has touched, and touched on, myriad aspects of our rapidly changing, contemporary society and our collective history that has brought us to our present moment.
There are many directions you could take your essay, but ultimately we are casting a wide, multidisciplinary net (cultural studies, film studies, gender, philosophy, literary studies, etc.) on his life and work as a film director, from his fiction to his documentaries. While Herzog is much too prolific for this book to systematically cover each and every one of his directed films, we do hope to have essays that span his directorial oeuvre in its myriad forms. Proposals that thematically unite two, or more, of his films would evoke special interest.
Some possible topics/directions/theories include, but are not limited to, the following:
Please do not send us a proposal on Stroszek (1977), as we will be co-writing an essay on this film for the collection.
All proposals (and later, essays) should be in English, with translations of German (or other) quotes, as needed.
We hope to include our proposed collection in the excellent Rowman & Littlefield’s “Critical Companion to Contemporary Directors” series ( https://rowman.com/Action/SERIES/_/LEXCCD/Critical-Companions-to-Contemporary-Directors ). As such, we suggest that you consider some of the entries in this series before sending us your proposal, for doing so will provide you with a better idea of the kind of book we hope to publish.
In short, you may consider any part of Herzog’s extensive directorial career for your essay. We are seeking 10 to 18 essays which, as a whole, will offer a breadth of coverage for his entire career as a director, even as each essay offers a focused, erudite, interesting argument about either a particular film or a theme found in/across his work. All essays should be written for an academic audience and should be between 6,000 and 7,000 words. Please use MLA style.
If interested, we would like to hear from you. Submission details below.
We are experienced academic writers and editors, and have co-edited multiple collections together, including:
Significant Food: Critical Readings to Nourish American Literature ,
https://ugapress.org/book/9780820366715/significant-food/
American Writers in Exile , https://www.salempress.com/critical_insights_writers_exile ;
Social Justice and American Literature, https://www.salempress.com/critical_insights_social_justice_american_lit ;
European Writers in Exile ,
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498560245/European-Writers-in-Exile ;
and, Connections and Influence in the Russian and American Short Story ,
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781793629883/Connections-and-Influence-in-the-Russian-and-American-Short-Story .
To contribute to this volume , please submit a 250-500 word abstract and a CV (abbreviated is fine) by September 30, 2024. Email MS Word documents to both of us (Jeff Birkenstein jbirkenstein@stmartin.edu & Robert Hauhart rhauhart@stmartin.edu ). Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions you might have in advance of the deadline. We thank you for your interesting ideas and look forward to hearing from you.
You will receive prompt confirmation of receipt.
Jeff Birkenstein & Robert Hauhart Saint Martin's University 5000 Abbey Way, SE Lacey, Washington, USA 98503
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Jean-Paul Sartre established the idea of existentialism in the nineteenth century, and it focused on the duties of the people's choices in the ecosphere that fell short of ethics. The main thesis of the theory of existentialism is that existence precedes essence and that one has to start from subjectivity.
Here are 127 existentialism essay topic ideas and examples to get you started: The concept of authenticity in existentialism. The role of freedom in existentialist thought. The meaning of life in a world without inherent purpose. Existentialist views on death and mortality.
Here is a set of essay questions you can use. They relate to the following classic existentialist texts: Tolstoy, My Confession. Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilyich. Dostoyevsky, Notes from Underground. Dostoyevsky, The Grand Inquisitor. Nietzsche, The Gay Science. Beckett, Waiting for Godot. Sartre, The Wall.
Essay grade Excellent. Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" is a literary masterpiece that is often regarded as one of the most influential works of existential literature. The novella is a thought-provoking exploration of the human experience, delving into themes of freedom, choice, absurdity, alienation, and death.
1. Nihilism and the Crisis of Modernity. We can find early glimpses of what might be called the "existential attitude" (Solomon 2005) in the Stoic and Epicurean philosophies of antiquity, in the struggle with sin and desire in St. Augustine's Confessions, in the intimate reflections on death and the meaning of life in Michel de Montaigne's Essays, and in the confrontation with the ...
The Range of Existentialism Research Paper Topics. Existentialism, a philosophical movement that originated in the 19th and 20th centuries, has been a significant influence on various aspects of modern thought and culture. This philosophical approach focuses on the individual's experience and emphasizes freedom, choice, and responsibility.
Write an essay describing the historical, geographical, and political context in which existentialism grew and thrived. Try to theorize as to the influence of context overall on the development of ...
Discussion of themes and motifs in Existentialism. eNotes critical analyses help you gain a deeper understanding of Existentialism so you can excel on your essay or test.
Essays and criticism on Existentialism - Critical Essays. "Existential literature" is a phrase that is seldom used anymore. The description has become, for the most part, irrelevant.
Get a custom paper now from our expert writers. In conclusion, the four themes of existentialism—the absurd, alienation, freedom and responsibility, and authenticity—provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the complexities of human existence. These themes challenge individuals to confront the irrationality and indifference of ...
Nature of existentialist thought and manner. According to existentialism: (1) Existence is always particular and individual—always my existence, your existence, his existence, her existence. (2) Existence is primarily the problem of existence (i.e., of its mode of being ); it is, therefore, also the investigation of the meaning of Being.
In 1945 in Paris Jean-Paul Sartre gave a public lecture with the title 'Existentialism is a Humanism' where he defended the priority of action and the position that it is a man's actions which define his humanity. In 1946, Jean Beaufret in a letter to Heidegger poses a number of questions concerning the link between humanism and the ...
In Existentialism is a Humanism, Sartre defines existentialism and explains his belief of "existence before essence.". He says that human beings don't have a pre-established purpose or something that we have to be. He goes in more detail by saying, "… man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world - and defines ...
Existentialism is one of the most talked about -- and least understood -- theories today. Broadly, existentialism is the philosophy of existence or experience. More specifically, existentialism is the philosophical cult of nihilism. In other words, existentialism represents the theory that is that each man exists as an individual in a ...
PDF Download. Download this essay in PDF.. About the Author. Addison Ellis is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at The American University in Cairo. His interests include Kant and Post-Kantian European Philosophy, with special attention to the topics of self-consciousness, ontology, and cognitive capacities and attitudes.
Existentialism is a frequent motif throughout Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. The author characterizes this motif and its characteristics through the unnamed protagonist life experiences and his relationships with society and thus its consequences. In the collection of essays "Shadow and Act" (1964), Ellison was already...
As a formal philosophy, Existentialism began to take form in the 1800s, with the writings of Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard thought of life as an impossible choice between two ...
Existentialism in Albert Camus' The Stranger. 3 pages / 1544 words. Existentialism is a philosophy centered upon the reasoning of existence and the way people find themselves living in the world. The comprehension of existentialism is that each person spends a lifetime changing their aspect and nature.
Existentialism - Free Essay Examples and Topic Ideas. Existentialism is a philosophical and literary movement that emphasizes individual existence, freedom, and choice. It focuses on the inherent meaninglessness and ambiguity of life, and how individuals must create their own meaning and purpose. Existentialists often examine the human ...
Absurdism and Nihilism are associated with existentialism, Absurdism relates to Camus' essay, The Myth of Sisyphus, and is considered part of existentialist thought, though he didn't. Despite the title try, Seriously Existentialism-for-Dummies Very good introduction and locates it within broader philosophy of e.g. Plato, Kant. And these...
Essay about Existentialism. Existentialism is a philosophical movement that stresses individual existence. Human beings are totally free and responsible for their own acts. Another main idea of existentialism is the limitation of reason and the irreducibility of experience to any system. Man is not a detached observer of the world; rather, he ...
Existentialism was a school of philosophy from the mid-20th century, with a series of profound themes about the meaning of life. Existentialism is a philosophical movement that first emerged during the mid-20th century, in the wake of World War II. The existentialists argued that our purpose and meaning in life came not from external forces ...
Stuck on your essay? Browse essays about Existentialism and find inspiration. Learn by example and become a better writer with Kibin's suite of essay help services.
Hillary Clinton's next book is a collection of essays, touching upon everything from marriage to politics to faith, that her publisher is calling her most personal yet. Simon and Schuster ...
The changes will be particularly profound in energy, manufacturing and medicine, says the futurist
Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) Beauvoir was born in Paris on January 9, 1908, and lived there most of her life. She was educated at the Sorbonne, where she met Jean-Paul Sartre in 1929. They ...
As our essay this week explains, solar power faces no such constraint. The resources needed to produce solar cells and plant them on solar farms are silicon-rich sand, sunny places and human ...
In short, you may consider any part of Herzog's extensive directorial career for your essay. We are seeking 10 to 18 essays which, as a whole, will offer a breadth of coverage for his entire career as a director, even as each essay offers a focused, erudite, interesting argument about either a particular film or a theme found in/across his work.