Event Title

Science and the Soul: Poetic Representations of Mortality

Presenter Information

Elisabeth Ekman, Colby CollegeFollow

Location

Davis 306

Start Date

30-4-2015 3:15 PM

End Date

30-4-2015 3:25 PM

Project Type

Presentation- Restricted to Campus Access

Description

What happens to us after we die? Science and religion have continually tried to answer this question, sometimes working in tandem, but often arguing against each other. This project analyzes the works of poets, including poems by Dickinson, Shakespeare, and Donne, that display the tensions provoked by the uncertainties of death. Specifically observing poets' arguments for/against the resurrection of the soul and the faith or science behind these reasonings, this project argues that poetic representations of mortality are frequently dualist in nature, and that a balance of both anxiety and calm are produced as a result of the unknown.

Faculty Sponsor

Elizabeth Sagaser

Sponsoring Department

Colby College. English Dept.

CLAS Field of Study

Humanities

Event Website

http://www.colby.edu/clas

ID

1843

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Apr 30th, 3:15 PM Apr 30th, 3:25 PM

Science and the Soul: Poetic Representations of Mortality

Davis 306

What happens to us after we die? Science and religion have continually tried to answer this question, sometimes working in tandem, but often arguing against each other. This project analyzes the works of poets, including poems by Dickinson, Shakespeare, and Donne, that display the tensions provoked by the uncertainties of death. Specifically observing poets' arguments for/against the resurrection of the soul and the faith or science behind these reasonings, this project argues that poetic representations of mortality are frequently dualist in nature, and that a balance of both anxiety and calm are produced as a result of the unknown.

https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/clas/2015/program/431