Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hochbruck (Universit?t Freiburg): "Edgar Allan Poe"

15.12.2011, 14:15 - 15:45 Uhr, U5/00.24

At 200 years, E. A. Poe is still alive in the popular imagination mostly as a prince of gothic darkness. While it is true that Poe’s life was riddled with tragedy and financial problems, he was also a supreme ironist. Indeed, he was often (if weirdly) comical — a crosscurrent of his work that warrants further exploration.

Wolfgang Hochbruck is Professor for Northamerican Studies at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universit?t Freiburg. He completed his doctoral dissertation at the University of Freiburg in 1990 after studying English, German, and History in Germany, Canada, and the U.S., service in the navy, and years as a journalist. Various positions in North American Studies in Osnabrück, Mannheim, Stuttgart, and Braunschweig eventually brought him back to Freiburg in 2003. Past and current projects include the Civil War in American memory, Living History as theatrical performance, nineteenth century melodrama, and volunteerism as an integral and constitutive aspect of a republican civil society. Prof. Hochbruck is one of the directors of the Freiburg Centre for Security and Society.