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Scholarly & Social Meeting; Professor Matthias Riedl Apocalyptic Violence and Revolutionary Action: Thomas Müntzer's "Sermon to the Princes"

Type: 
Lecture
Audience: 
Open to the Public
Speaker: 
Matthias Riedl
Building: 
Nador u. 11
Room: 
Hanak
Tuesday, January 15, 2013 - 5:30pm
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Date: 
Tuesday, January 15, 2013 - 5:30pm to 7:00pm

We are pleased to announce the first lecture of this semester in the series "History Department Scholarly & Social Meeting"  taking place next

Tuesday, January 15, in Hanák Room, at 17:30.  

Matthias Riedl will speak about:  

Apocalyptic Violence and Revolutionary Action: Thomas Müntzer's "Sermon to the Princes"

 

Abstract: Thomas Müntzer's "Sermon to the Princes" (1524) marks a turning point in the history of apocalypticism. The catastrophic transformation of a religiously and politically corrupted old world into a theocratic new world had been part of the apocalyptic imagery all along; but Müntzer presents this transformation in an unprecedented way as revolutionary action, as a synergistic action of God and man. The talk will introduce some preliminary results of my ongoing research on Müntzer, but also discuss the methodological difficulties that have emerged from it. It will challenge the two dominant narratives about the rebel, the Marxist and the Lutheran, and -tentatively- provide an alternative approach. The presentation will explore the historical and intellectual context of Müntzer's sermon and its complex narrative structure. It aims to analyze the peculiar double nature of the text as a pious treatise on mystical experience and as an unconcealed call to mass murder.  

PROGRAM:  

17:30 - 18:15: Presentation by Matthias Riedl.
Place: Hanák Room (Nádor 11, 2nd floor)  

18:15 - 18:50: Discussion  

19:00 - open end: Drinks and informal meeting of students and faculty.
Place: Central Bistro & Bar

The Scholarly-Social Meetings, a joint student-faculty initiative, combine lecture series with after-hours integrative event. The aim of the Scholarly-Social Meetings is to provide insights into the work undertaken at our department and, no less importantly, to bring our students and faculty together in a more informal way, building up an academic community beyond the day-to-day scholarly activities.

 

All faculty, students and staff are welcome!
 
We are looking forward to seeing you all,

Nadia Al-Bagdadi         (Head of Department)  

Matthias Riedl
Jan Bröker
Francesco La Rocca
(Organizers)