The 1920s are a period of profound social, cultural, and technological transformation across the globe. Known as the Roaring Twenties in the US, Goldene Zwanziger in Germany, años locos in Argentina, Les Années Folles in France, or Anni Ruggenti in Italy, the rise of new energy discourses that fundamentally shaped the modern world took place in these years. This seminar seeks to explore the multifaceted representations and implications of energy (oil, coal, electricity, …) in the literature of the 1920s (from Upton Sinclair in the US to Alfred Döblin and Joseph Roth in Germany). By examining how energy as a literal force was depicted in various literary texts, we aim to understand its role in shaping the cultural and intellectual landscapes of the time. Furthermore, by integrating a material perspective, we will examine how the material conditions and infrastructures of energy shaped the lived experiences and cultural expressions of the time.

Objectives:

1. Comparative Analysis of the Roaring Twenties:
   
   • Investigate how the material realities of energy production and consumption contributed to different notions of modernity in Europe, the United States, and other global contexts during the 1920s.
   
   
   • Explore how literature from these regions reflected and responded to the material transformations brought about by new energy infrastructures, such as electrification, the rise of the automobile, and the expansion of oil industries.
   
   


2. Global Perspectives on Energy Discourses:
   
   • Consider how non-Western literatures of the 1920s engaged with energy discourses, and how these engagements compare with Western narratives.
   
   
   • Assess the impact of global energy developments, such as the rise of oil economies, on literary expressions and cultural imagination across different regions.
   
   

Expected Outcomes:

1. A deeper understanding of the role of symbolic and material energy discourses in shaping the literature and culture of the Roaring Twenties.


2. Insights into the comparative nature of modernity, with a focus on how material conditions of energy production and use influenced cultural and literary expressions in different regions.


3. An enriched perspective on how global energy developments influenced literary expressions and cultural imagination during this transformative period.