2005 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Emerson in the Eyes of his Contemporaries
| Project/Area Number |
15520167
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
ヨーロッパ語系文学
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| Research Institution | Mie University |
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Principal Investigator |
ODA Atsuko Mie University, Faculty of Humanities, Professor, 人文学部, 教授 (80194554)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
NODA Akira Mie University, Faculty of Humanities, Associate Professor, 人文学部, 助教授 (40218326)
TAKEDA Masako Osaka Shoin Women's University, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Professor, 学芸学部, 教授 (30024475)
FUJITA Yoshiko Higashi Osaka Junior College, Division of General Education, Professor, 短期大学部, 教授 (60079085)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2005
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| Keywords | Emerson / Hawthorne / Thoreau / Melville / Dickinson / Whitman / Romanticism / American Renaissance |
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| Research Abstract |
Throughout the term of project, we had a monthly meeting in which we read Emerson's essays and poems closely and discussed them in reference to his contemporaries, Hawthorne, Melville, Thoreau, Dickinson and Whitman. We've found our meeting very fruitful because works by Emerson's contemporaries offer excellent insights into Emerson's writings and help us to focus on his most important ideas.
We learned that Emerson influenced not only Thoreau and Whitman, who are regarded as his disciples, but also Hawthorne, Melville and Dickinson, who have previously been discussed as stark contrasts to Emerson. We should be careful about whether Emerson is an original thinker or a good representative of the spirit of the age. The latter aspect of Emerson is what makes him Emerson. We agreed that his contemporaries recognized Emerson as a "master" of expression.
On this result, ODA explained Emerson's influence on Hawthorne's growth as a novelist. FUJITA examined Thoreau's idea of relation between science and literature. NODA pointed out similarity between Emerson and Melville in terms of quotation and originality. TAKEDA traced Dickinson's appreciation of Emerson. PATTERSON, an investigator abroad, explored the historical relationship between Emerson and Whitman, observing key areas of influence as well as important differences.
As for presentations, ODA spoke on "The Old Manse and the Concord as Emersonian Symbol" at the Nathaniel Hawthorne Bicentennial Conference in the Unites States in July, 2004, and participated in the symposium on American Renaissance at the General Meeting of the Kansai Chapter of the American Literature Society of Japan in December, 2004. FUJITA chaired the symposium, "American Renaissance : Science and Literature" and also gave a talk on Emerson at the Thoreau Society Conference in Japan.
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Research Products
(22 results)
