CCI Seminar: “Friedrich Klopstock’s “Heretical” Poetics: Der Messias & the Case of Doubting Thomas ”, Matthew Stoltz, Library Art Gallery, 4:40PM February 21 (EN)

Dear Bilkent University members,

Bilkent University Library is pleased to invite you to attend the CCI Colloquium Series event!

Title: Friedrich Klopstock’s “Heretical” Poetics: Der Messias & the Case of Doubting Thomas

Place/Date/Time: Library Art Gallery, 21 February 2020, 4.40 p.m.

Short speaker bio: Matthew Stoltz earned his PhD in 2019 from the Department of German Studies at Cornell University. His research explores the interplay between aesthetics, literature and religion from the mid to late eighteenth century. He draws on a range of disciplines to investigate the ways in which literature is used to reconcile contradictions between faith and reason.

Short description of talk: This presentation examines Friedrich Klopstock’s [1724-1803] epic poem _Der Messias_ together with its accompanying aesthetic manifesto “Von der Heiligen Poesie” [on sacred poetry]. Declaring his fidelity to the letter of religion on the one hand, yet developing expansive amplifications of scripture on the other, this talk identifies the heretical underpinnings of Klopstock’s methodological approach to scripture. This disjoint between theory and practice culminates most dramatically in Klopstock’s representation of Doubting Thomas, the only apostle to demand that faith be grounded on empirical evidence.

The language of the talk will be English. All Bilkent members are invited.

Best regards,
Bilkent University Library