Papers by Vanessa C Weller
Magistra: A Journal of Women's Spirituality in History, 2024
This article is an expansion of the conference paper of the same name given at the 59th Internati... more This article is an expansion of the conference paper of the same name given at the 59th Internation Congress of Medieval Studies (ICMS) at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.
Are all translations created equal? In poetry, can a translation ever be a substitute for the ori... more Are all translations created equal? In poetry, can a translation ever be a substitute for the original? Translation necessitates the consideration of language as medium, and of whether or not all languages are capable of saying more or less the same thing. America’s favourite dark Romantic, Edgar Allan Poe, enjoys an exuberant reputation in France, thanks to his early translator, none other than flâneur and composer of Les Fleurs du Mal, Charles Baudelaire. This paper explores the meaning behind why and for whom translation occurs.
An unpublished translation from French into English of Hippolyte Taine's 1858 satirical essay, "L... more An unpublished translation from French into English of Hippolyte Taine's 1858 satirical essay, "La vie et opinions philosophiques d'un chat" produced to satisfy the requirements of the Master of Arts in Cultural Translation at the American University of Paris.
Drafts by Vanessa C Weller
In recent years there has been a cultural and social reckoning which attempts to right the wrongs... more In recent years there has been a cultural and social reckoning which attempts to right the wrongs of systemic racism and promote inclusion for minority groups. Sometimes (pejoratively) referred to as "wokeism" this movement, at its strongest on college campuses, has become divisive as the portent of "cancel culture" which lacks nuance precisely due to its zerotolerance stance. This paper attempts to add nuance to the conversation around problematic cultural production by giving context to the theatrical tradition of blackface, its adoption by Hollywood via minstrelsy, vaudeville, and the stage, and whether it should continue to have a place in contemporary cultural production in the United States and France.
Conference Presentations by Vanessa C Weller
Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association Conference, 2024
Although Alfred Jarry and Georges Méliès are often cited as progenitors of the Parisian avant-gar... more Although Alfred Jarry and Georges Méliès are often cited as progenitors of the Parisian avant-garde in theatre and film respectively, eventually influencing André Breton’s Surrealism, a debt is also owed to Alice Guy, for she, too, developed many of the themes and aesthetics of avant-gardism, the most notable of which is her questioning of societal norms through gender. Her status as a feminist icon was established in the 1970s by Nicole-Lise Bernheim, Claire Clouzot, and the Mouvement de Libération des Femmes (MLF); but what is left unsaid when categorizing Guy as a woman filmmaker? This paper interrogates the standard timeline of film history and the presumption that the contributions to the new medium of film were made by the male contributors who so often receive the credit. This both reinforces previous scholarship that has already demonstrated the false narrative of assuming that Alice Guy did not contribute anything new to cinema (McMahan, Simon, Slide, and others), and puts Guy in dialogue with André Breton’s Surrealism. I make the case that the gendered nature of Guy's innovation: women-centered storytelling and gender non-conformity; in conjunction with her penchant for absurdism, demonstrate her innovative take on the burgeoning cinematic media of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Recognizing not only Guy's contribution to early cinema but also her connection to the avant-garde allows for both a reinterpretation of the genesis of avant-gardism in the 20th century and a reevaluation of Guy's filmography beyond her gender.
International Congress on Medieval Studies, 2024
When considering the works of Medieval mystics, the Beguines stand out as a lay order that thrive... more When considering the works of Medieval mystics, the Beguines stand out as a lay order that thrived undermarginalization by the Catholic church. Their practice, centered in northern France and the Low Countries,encapsulates the collective conscience of the Free Spirit movement and the theological inquiries of Hildegard von Bingen, Mechthild von Madgeburg, and Meister Eckhart. The condemned heretic Marguerite Porete, a woman who proposed the possibility of a direct line to God two hundred years before the Protestant reform, and her work, "Le Mirouer des simples âmes anienties et qui seulement demeurent en vouloir et désir d'amour" consider the spiritual endeavors of the Middle Ages as well as ecclesiastical norms made to be broken.
This study aims to determine the linguistic and cultural importance of Marguerite Porete’s "Mirouer des simples âmes" which condemned its authoress to burn at the stake for her heretical presuppositions. Did Marguerite Porete's linguistic tendencies affect the content of her treatise? Are her syntax and word choice exemplary of the period, or subtly subversive within the context of 13th century religious texts? An analysis of terminology as well as linguistic markers will constitute the bulk of this study, with the hypothesis that an experimental linguistic style will reflect an experimental philosophical or theoretical content. The methodology used is a case study analysis of intratextual excerpts of the manuscript to determine their linguistic and (when appropriate) literary value as “ordinary” examples of Middle French versus a more pronounced “experimental” use of grammar and vocabulary, including the presence or absence of grammatical gender, word order, and dialectical or Latinate phraseology. With the understanding no standardization of French existed at the time, a self-standardization in the form of linguistic tendencies of the author/translator is used to determine the linguistic validity of the excerpts.
American Comparative Literature Association Annual Meeting, 2024
The creation of intensely personal art can only stand the test of time if it fulfills the criteri... more The creation of intensely personal art can only stand the test of time if it fulfills the criteria needed to be labeled “art,” which seems in some cases to preclude the audience. Throughout his diverse endeavors, and despite the list of monikers that attempt to define Jean Cocteau, he maintained an aura of originality that defied categorization. This mutability allowed for an almost mythic, superhuman reputation forged by his admirers. Cocteau’s pioneering techniques and themes paved the way for other French directors, particularly the nouvelle vague generation who became active at the end of Cocteau’s life. Yet Cocteau himself had a very rigid perception of art forged in his bourgeois upbringing that prohibited him from fully embracing the avant-garde movements of his youth, looking back toward the classics to define his creative output. Obsessed with both poetics and Greek myth from a young age, it is no wonder that Cocteau found inspiration in the Orpheus myth, and in particular its modern interpretation by Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke. From the anxiety of influence to the pitfalls of adaptation, this paper attempts to triangulate Cocteau, Rilke, and Greek tragedy via the theoretical writings of Harold Bloom, Dudley Andrew, Antonin Artaud, and Jean Baudrillard, among others, to interrogate the creative impulse, that necessity of the artist to balance creativity with precision, the aesthetic with the actual, that leads to art and creation.
20TH & 21ST-CENTURY FRENCH & FRANCOPHONE STUDIES INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM, 2024
The dearth of women filmmakers and opportunities for women in the film industry in general has be... more The dearth of women filmmakers and opportunities for women in the film industry in general has been called to our collective attention in the wake of #Metoo and the debauchery of Harvey Weinstein and his ilk. Since the advent of the moving picture, however, women have had a hand in shaping the industry through their contributions of technique, technology, narrative form, and the unique female perspective of transmuting image into art. Just as autofiction blurs the written word’s demarcation of truth, so, too, do the cinécriture of Agnès Varda and the documentarian’s eye of Márta Mészáros express a fluidity between fact and fiction via-à-vis the camera’s lens. These grandes dames of European cinema both began as documentary filmmakers during the iconoclast years of La Nouvelle Vague which, as a turning point in cinema, marked other European movements from the 1960s onward.
The following essay aims to analyze the perception of the non-conformist woman and her motivations through a comparison of the female protagonists Mona in Agnès Varda’s Vagabond (Sans toit ni loi, 1985), and Kata and Anna in Márta Mészáros’ Adoption (Örökbefogadás, 1975), specifically how her ostracization from a male-dominated society brings about the impetus to create a niche for herself, the dynamic of female-centered friendship, and the inherent dangers of a woman who knows her own mind.
Charles F. Fraker Conference, 2023
Tied with the notion of progress, modernity has inverted the concept of authenticity. With modern... more Tied with the notion of progress, modernity has inverted the concept of authenticity. With modernity, humanity has been estranged from the romantic, pastoral authenticity of the 19th century and into the authenticity of ideas. Patents, constructions, machines, works of art, are physical representations born in the human mind. Their authenticity is presumed as artifacts of our objective reality. A camera to shoot and a screen to project allow something ephemeral and instantaneous to become something permanent and archivable, that is, film footage. When facts of seeing are strung together to create a fictionalized facsimile of reality such as a feature film, the non-physical idea becomes a semi-physical image and a very physical reel of film. This liminal space between the objective and subjective allows for a reimagining of truth. Memory, image, and sound are integrated to give the illusion of narrative and meaning. The symbol of the carousel, deeply ingrained in representations of childhood, nostalgia, and the carefree days of summer, is simultaneously the perfect foil to modernity and its perfect mechanical representation.
Through an analysis of the science fiction genre, and specifically the time travel subgenre, this paper highlights the ways in which visual culture interrogates themes of morality, redemption, nostalgia and second chances through film and television. Fritz Lang’s 1934 film Liliom and the 1959 episode “Walking Distance” from Rod Serling’s anthology science fiction series The Twilight Zone (1959-1965), each highlight modernity’s disruption of image, persona, truth, and authenticity, centering the emotional climax once again upon a humble carnival ride: the carousel.
Colloque de l'APFUCC, 2023
La Négritude, comme définie par Aimé Césaire, ne permet pas à la femme noire de se définir
elle... more La Négritude, comme définie par Aimé Césaire, ne permet pas à la femme noire de se définir
elle-même, car la définition ne laisse pas entrer un regard féminin sur le champ de bataille racial. Malgré les efforts des femmes noires, telles que Suzanne Césaire et Paulette et Jane Nardal, à intellectualiser l’expérience d’être noire bien avant que les hommes y soient arrivés, on constate aujourd’hui la marginalisation des femmes noires dans leur propre mouvement littéraire et politique sous prétexte de n’être « que des femmes ». Seulement à l’arrivée d’un mouvement féministe et une nouvelle génération de femmes noires pendant les années 1960 et 1970, que les contraintes de A. Césaire s’enlèvent et une définition plus expansive de l’expérience noire puisse s’installer. Parmi celles qui ne craignent pas dépasser les bornes de leur genre, Le Baobab fou de Ken Bugul ose une écriture de soi d’une femme représentée par elle-même.
Kentucky Foreign Language Conference, 2023
Lorsqu’on pense aux deux grands fantaisistes du XIX siècle, E.T.A. Hoffmann et Gérard de Nerval, ... more Lorsqu’on pense aux deux grands fantaisistes du XIX siècle, E.T.A. Hoffmann et Gérard de Nerval, on a l’impression de se perdre dans une réalité de rêve dans lequel tous les génies sont un peu fous. Ainsi il est commode de se débarrasser des bizarretés et anormalités des auteurs en disant que c’est de la folie sans comprendre leur but littéraire, stratagème philosophique, ou état d’être lors de la composition de leurs œuvres. On pourrait voir dans « Aurélia » comme dans « L’Homme de sable » un récit brut qui raconte la descente aux enfers du malade mental et des « enivrements vulgaires » aux gourmands du fantastique. Cela ne découvrirait qu’une fraction de l’esprit humain et de la conscience de l’être.
Le dédoublement omniprésent dans l’œuvre de Nerval est parfois interprété comme symptôme de la maladie mentale, parfois comme preuve de contact avec l’au-delà, mais toujours de manière singulière et symbolique. Il est aussi indéniablement influencé par le romantisme allemand et en particulier les nouvelles de Hoffmann. Je propose comparer « L’Homme du sable » de Hoffmann à « Aurélia » de Nerval pour pénétrer le concept de « l’homme est double » dans les deux œuvres, concept qui tente de nous faire partager l’angoisse ainsi que la réalisation du soi des deux narrateurs, dans deux récits avec des fins divergente. A travers Freud, Shoshana Felman et Hiashi Mizuno, entre autres, j’espère pouvoir montrer cette philosophie littéraire et d’encadrer les névroses des deux auteurs par leurs œuvres.
Kentucky Foreign Language Conference, 2023
During its long history, Austrian Identity has been shaped by the languages and cultures of Centr... more During its long history, Austrian Identity has been shaped by the languages and cultures of Central Europe. The interchange between Slavic, Germanic, and Hungarian at the beginning of the 20th century was largely rooted out of the public education system until concerted reform efforts at the beginning of the 21st century. By correcting course, Austria has now embraced the minority languages it previous attempted to purge. The questions of identity that were suppressed have nevertheless always existed.
This paper seeks to explore the role that language plays in identity by using the German language, and specifically Austrian dialects of German, to pose questions about identity, culture, and language. To do so, I will analyze socio-linguistic identity markers in the 2008 film Revanche directed by Götz Spielmann, a multilayered morality play set in the Lower Austrian Mostviertel. In addition, examples of non-standard dialects of Austrian are discussed through the linguistic prism of recent educational reforms regarding dialects and minority languages in Austria. Finally, using postcolonial theory as a starting point, in particular Gayatri Spivak’s notion of the subaltern, a hierarchy of linguistic identity can be observed that is applicable to the pluricentric notion of the German language in Austria today. This multipronged analysis will allow for a nuanced view of language and identity that is as applicable to Central European Studies as to Postcolonial or Minority Language Studies.
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Papers by Vanessa C Weller
Drafts by Vanessa C Weller
Conference Presentations by Vanessa C Weller
This study aims to determine the linguistic and cultural importance of Marguerite Porete’s "Mirouer des simples âmes" which condemned its authoress to burn at the stake for her heretical presuppositions. Did Marguerite Porete's linguistic tendencies affect the content of her treatise? Are her syntax and word choice exemplary of the period, or subtly subversive within the context of 13th century religious texts? An analysis of terminology as well as linguistic markers will constitute the bulk of this study, with the hypothesis that an experimental linguistic style will reflect an experimental philosophical or theoretical content. The methodology used is a case study analysis of intratextual excerpts of the manuscript to determine their linguistic and (when appropriate) literary value as “ordinary” examples of Middle French versus a more pronounced “experimental” use of grammar and vocabulary, including the presence or absence of grammatical gender, word order, and dialectical or Latinate phraseology. With the understanding no standardization of French existed at the time, a self-standardization in the form of linguistic tendencies of the author/translator is used to determine the linguistic validity of the excerpts.
The following essay aims to analyze the perception of the non-conformist woman and her motivations through a comparison of the female protagonists Mona in Agnès Varda’s Vagabond (Sans toit ni loi, 1985), and Kata and Anna in Márta Mészáros’ Adoption (Örökbefogadás, 1975), specifically how her ostracization from a male-dominated society brings about the impetus to create a niche for herself, the dynamic of female-centered friendship, and the inherent dangers of a woman who knows her own mind.
Through an analysis of the science fiction genre, and specifically the time travel subgenre, this paper highlights the ways in which visual culture interrogates themes of morality, redemption, nostalgia and second chances through film and television. Fritz Lang’s 1934 film Liliom and the 1959 episode “Walking Distance” from Rod Serling’s anthology science fiction series The Twilight Zone (1959-1965), each highlight modernity’s disruption of image, persona, truth, and authenticity, centering the emotional climax once again upon a humble carnival ride: the carousel.
elle-même, car la définition ne laisse pas entrer un regard féminin sur le champ de bataille racial. Malgré les efforts des femmes noires, telles que Suzanne Césaire et Paulette et Jane Nardal, à intellectualiser l’expérience d’être noire bien avant que les hommes y soient arrivés, on constate aujourd’hui la marginalisation des femmes noires dans leur propre mouvement littéraire et politique sous prétexte de n’être « que des femmes ». Seulement à l’arrivée d’un mouvement féministe et une nouvelle génération de femmes noires pendant les années 1960 et 1970, que les contraintes de A. Césaire s’enlèvent et une définition plus expansive de l’expérience noire puisse s’installer. Parmi celles qui ne craignent pas dépasser les bornes de leur genre, Le Baobab fou de Ken Bugul ose une écriture de soi d’une femme représentée par elle-même.
Le dédoublement omniprésent dans l’œuvre de Nerval est parfois interprété comme symptôme de la maladie mentale, parfois comme preuve de contact avec l’au-delà, mais toujours de manière singulière et symbolique. Il est aussi indéniablement influencé par le romantisme allemand et en particulier les nouvelles de Hoffmann. Je propose comparer « L’Homme du sable » de Hoffmann à « Aurélia » de Nerval pour pénétrer le concept de « l’homme est double » dans les deux œuvres, concept qui tente de nous faire partager l’angoisse ainsi que la réalisation du soi des deux narrateurs, dans deux récits avec des fins divergente. A travers Freud, Shoshana Felman et Hiashi Mizuno, entre autres, j’espère pouvoir montrer cette philosophie littéraire et d’encadrer les névroses des deux auteurs par leurs œuvres.
This paper seeks to explore the role that language plays in identity by using the German language, and specifically Austrian dialects of German, to pose questions about identity, culture, and language. To do so, I will analyze socio-linguistic identity markers in the 2008 film Revanche directed by Götz Spielmann, a multilayered morality play set in the Lower Austrian Mostviertel. In addition, examples of non-standard dialects of Austrian are discussed through the linguistic prism of recent educational reforms regarding dialects and minority languages in Austria. Finally, using postcolonial theory as a starting point, in particular Gayatri Spivak’s notion of the subaltern, a hierarchy of linguistic identity can be observed that is applicable to the pluricentric notion of the German language in Austria today. This multipronged analysis will allow for a nuanced view of language and identity that is as applicable to Central European Studies as to Postcolonial or Minority Language Studies.
This study aims to determine the linguistic and cultural importance of Marguerite Porete’s "Mirouer des simples âmes" which condemned its authoress to burn at the stake for her heretical presuppositions. Did Marguerite Porete's linguistic tendencies affect the content of her treatise? Are her syntax and word choice exemplary of the period, or subtly subversive within the context of 13th century religious texts? An analysis of terminology as well as linguistic markers will constitute the bulk of this study, with the hypothesis that an experimental linguistic style will reflect an experimental philosophical or theoretical content. The methodology used is a case study analysis of intratextual excerpts of the manuscript to determine their linguistic and (when appropriate) literary value as “ordinary” examples of Middle French versus a more pronounced “experimental” use of grammar and vocabulary, including the presence or absence of grammatical gender, word order, and dialectical or Latinate phraseology. With the understanding no standardization of French existed at the time, a self-standardization in the form of linguistic tendencies of the author/translator is used to determine the linguistic validity of the excerpts.
The following essay aims to analyze the perception of the non-conformist woman and her motivations through a comparison of the female protagonists Mona in Agnès Varda’s Vagabond (Sans toit ni loi, 1985), and Kata and Anna in Márta Mészáros’ Adoption (Örökbefogadás, 1975), specifically how her ostracization from a male-dominated society brings about the impetus to create a niche for herself, the dynamic of female-centered friendship, and the inherent dangers of a woman who knows her own mind.
Through an analysis of the science fiction genre, and specifically the time travel subgenre, this paper highlights the ways in which visual culture interrogates themes of morality, redemption, nostalgia and second chances through film and television. Fritz Lang’s 1934 film Liliom and the 1959 episode “Walking Distance” from Rod Serling’s anthology science fiction series The Twilight Zone (1959-1965), each highlight modernity’s disruption of image, persona, truth, and authenticity, centering the emotional climax once again upon a humble carnival ride: the carousel.
elle-même, car la définition ne laisse pas entrer un regard féminin sur le champ de bataille racial. Malgré les efforts des femmes noires, telles que Suzanne Césaire et Paulette et Jane Nardal, à intellectualiser l’expérience d’être noire bien avant que les hommes y soient arrivés, on constate aujourd’hui la marginalisation des femmes noires dans leur propre mouvement littéraire et politique sous prétexte de n’être « que des femmes ». Seulement à l’arrivée d’un mouvement féministe et une nouvelle génération de femmes noires pendant les années 1960 et 1970, que les contraintes de A. Césaire s’enlèvent et une définition plus expansive de l’expérience noire puisse s’installer. Parmi celles qui ne craignent pas dépasser les bornes de leur genre, Le Baobab fou de Ken Bugul ose une écriture de soi d’une femme représentée par elle-même.
Le dédoublement omniprésent dans l’œuvre de Nerval est parfois interprété comme symptôme de la maladie mentale, parfois comme preuve de contact avec l’au-delà, mais toujours de manière singulière et symbolique. Il est aussi indéniablement influencé par le romantisme allemand et en particulier les nouvelles de Hoffmann. Je propose comparer « L’Homme du sable » de Hoffmann à « Aurélia » de Nerval pour pénétrer le concept de « l’homme est double » dans les deux œuvres, concept qui tente de nous faire partager l’angoisse ainsi que la réalisation du soi des deux narrateurs, dans deux récits avec des fins divergente. A travers Freud, Shoshana Felman et Hiashi Mizuno, entre autres, j’espère pouvoir montrer cette philosophie littéraire et d’encadrer les névroses des deux auteurs par leurs œuvres.
This paper seeks to explore the role that language plays in identity by using the German language, and specifically Austrian dialects of German, to pose questions about identity, culture, and language. To do so, I will analyze socio-linguistic identity markers in the 2008 film Revanche directed by Götz Spielmann, a multilayered morality play set in the Lower Austrian Mostviertel. In addition, examples of non-standard dialects of Austrian are discussed through the linguistic prism of recent educational reforms regarding dialects and minority languages in Austria. Finally, using postcolonial theory as a starting point, in particular Gayatri Spivak’s notion of the subaltern, a hierarchy of linguistic identity can be observed that is applicable to the pluricentric notion of the German language in Austria today. This multipronged analysis will allow for a nuanced view of language and identity that is as applicable to Central European Studies as to Postcolonial or Minority Language Studies.