In his fall 2008 Dean’s Lecture, Professor of German Dennis Mahoney explores Wagner’s tetralogy as inspiration for a number of works that followed it ó including Tolkien, Peter Jackson and Howard Shore’s takes on The Lord of the Rings. He also discusses why German writers and composers from the time of the Enlightenment through literary and musical Romanticism pay such close attention to the economic, political, religious, and erotic value that human beings invest in material objects.
Video (MP4), Audio (MP3)
Dennis Mahoney, professor of German and director of the Living/Learing Center’s Global Village Residential Learning Community, delivered his College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Lecture — one of the highest honors for faculty in the college — on Thursday, Nov. 6 2008 in Memorial Lounge, Waterman. Mahoney, an expert of on literature from the Age of Goethe and German Romanticism, spoke on on “Rings and Precious Things in German Literary and Musical Culture.”
His lecture explored Wagner’s tetralogy as inspiration for a number of works that followed it — including Tolkien, Peter Jackson and Howard Shore’s takes on The Lord of the Rings. He also explored why German writers and composers from the Enlightenment through literary and musical Romanticism paid such close attention to “the economic, political, religious, and erotic value that human beings invest in material objects.”
The College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Lecture Series honors faculty members who are both excellent teachers and highly respected professionals in their own disciplines.