EMSAH Seminar | Framing Suicidal Emotions in the Eighteenth-Century English Popular Press

Event Details

Date:

Friday, 02 May 2014 - Friday, 02 May 2014

Time:

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Room:

601

UQ Location:

Michie Building (St Lucia)

URL:

http://www.uq.edu.au/emsah/emsah-seminars

Event category(s):

Full Description:: By modern standards, suicide was remarkably ubiquitous in the English eighteenth-century press. By mid to late century, the frequency of suicide in newspapers and magazines—in news reports, correspondence, essays, satirical pieces, fictional vignettes and even suicide notes—helped to establish two significant prevailing perceptions: that suicide formed a distinctive feature of the English national character, and that the scourge had reached unprecedented levels. The nation, it appeared, was facing an unparalleled sociological crisis.

This presentation will pay close attention to the public dialogue that emerges between suicidal and pro-suicide authors and their morally-conservative detractors during this period, aiming to expose the emotional strategies deployed—such as disgust, contempt, pathos, and pride—in their various efforts to win over the hearts and minds of the reading community.

All are welcome, this event is open to the public, staff and students. Feel free to bring your lunch with you to the seminar, if you're on your lunch break.

About the Presenter

Eric Parisot is a UQ Postdoctoral Research Fellow, whose current project examines the relation between the literary representation and the social reality of suicide in the British eighteenth century. He is also the author of Graveyard Poetry (Ashgate).