From 22 to 24 October 2003, the RIALE research group at the Universitat de València organises the Interdisciplinary Seminar ‘Romantic Landscapes: Germany and Spain’, an interdisciplinary meeting focused on the study of cultural, literary, and artistic relations between German and Spanish Romanticism.
The seminar is hosted between the Valencian Library, located at the San Miguel de los Reyes Monastery, and the Faculty of Philology at the Universitat de València, gathering researchers from various Spanish and European universities specialised on compared literature, German philology, history of ideas, and cultural studies.
Coordinated by Berta Raposo, with an organising committee comprised by Karen Andresen, José Antonio Calañas, Hang Ferrer, Ingrid García Wistädt, Isabel Gutiérrez, and Ferran Robles, the seminar is intended to analyse the reception and influence of German Romanticism in Spain, as well as the processes of cultural exchange that have contributed to set European thinking and literary creation.
The programme tackles central issues such as the universalism of German Romanticism, the presence of authors like Novalis, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Heinrich Heine, Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué o Richard Wagner in the Spanish culture, as well as the reception of their works in literature, music, and literature review during the 19th and 20th centuries.
The sessions feature specialists from the Complutense University of Madrid, the University of Alcalá, the University of Valladolid, the University of Córdoba, the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, the Universitat Politècnica de València, and the Universitat de València, among other academic institutions.
The outstanding contributions presented include the studies on the reception of E.T.A. Hoffman in Spain, the influence of Heinrich Heine on Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, the presence of Richard Wagner in Spanish literary culture, and the connections between German Romanticism and modern narrative. The seminar also has a specific section for relations between Romanticism and music, ending with a didactic concert by the soprano Victoria Lorente, and the pianist Anton Gil Vodermaver.
With this initiative, RIALE reinforces its bet on the study of cultural transfer between Spain and German-speaking world, a line of research that will turn into essential for the further career of the group. Additionally, the seminar contributes to establishing an interdisciplinary academic network intended to analyse literary reception, spreading of ideas, and the processes of cultural mediation within the European space.
The meeting draws attention to the importance of Romanticism as a space for dialogue between cultural traditions, and as a starting point for new comparative perspectives in the study of Hispanic-Germanic relations.
