Event overview
A conference on the literary depictions of smell in work-specific contexts
Jointly organised by the Centre for Comparative Literature and the Decadence Research Centre at Goldsmiths, University of London
The conference aims to investigate literary depictions of smell pertaining to work-specific contexts from comparatist angles, or in different cultural contexts that invite comparison. It operates with a broad definition of work which includes the production of material goods and the provision of services; work might consist in traditionally ascribed, paid, forced or honorary duties.
It is distinguished from private pursuits by its claim to contribute to society as a whole, but the value invested in work – or types thereof – may differ significantly; it may be despised as the bondage of unfree classes, criticised as an exercise of undue privilege, celebrated as a form of social integration or a path to social improvement or religious salvation, explored as an opportunity for personal growth, enjoyed as a socially recognised form of self-realisation, or endured as a mere source of sustenance.
Literary-historical studies on such olfactory motifs have chiefly focussed on specific works which thematise smell in exceptional detail (for example, on Wilhelm Raabe’s novella on the stench of industrial pollution, on George Orwell’s references to the stench pertaining to industrial labour, or on Émile Zola’s evocation of oppressive atmospheres in the Parisian market halls); on rare smell motifs in national literatures written in an age of olfactory silence (for example, on fresh scents as indicators of a traditional housewife’s domestic rule in German Bourgeois Realism, or on smells of characters as traces of their work lives in High-Victorian English Fiction); and on cultural differences in the evaluation of smell across regions (for example, on the fresh smell of Westernised households in nineteenth-century Russian fiction) and times (for example, on the utility-focussed approach to natural scents in the literature of Antiquity).
Hans J. Rindisbacher’s pioneering cultural-historical study of olfactory perception in literature has compared sensibilities of German, French, English and Russian cultures, but comparative literary studies dedicated to motifs of work-related smell deserve to be developed further, as they throw into relief social and cultural similarities and differences between attitudes towards work and related smells.
For our conference, which invites papers on works from any society, culture and historical period, decadent literature is of particular, but not exclusive interest.
For more information on the event and the programme
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Apr 2024 | 10:00am - 7:00pm | |
| 26 Apr 2024 | 10:00am - 3:00pm |
Accessibility
If you are attending an event and need the College to help with any mobility requirements you may have, please contact the event organiser in advance to ensure we can accommodate your needs.
