Paraphrase. Rewriting the Rewritten

Workshop

Abstract

As an “art of speaking otherwise” (Andrew Piper) or, to rephrase, the skill of saying the same thing again in different words, paraphrasing forms the foundation of understanding and all text-based traditions. Regardless of methods and theories, skilful paraphrasing plays a crucial role in the transmission and interpretation of texts. Arguably, the very idea of a European Republic of Letters is based not just on the practice, but also an implicit theory of paraphrase. However, due to its lack of conceptual stability and its location in a zone of indeterminacy between text and metatext, paraphrase seems to resist theory. This workshop is a first attempt at making the theory of paraphrasing explicit by studying some of its central practices. It sets out to examine those “inconspicuous operations of quoting, summarising, paraphrasing, describing, etc.” (Steffen Martus) which have so far lived under our theoretical radar, but which recently have acquired new urgency with the advent of advanced technological paraphrasing tools. By shedding light on the art of rewriting (ars paraphrastica) from historical and current practices of literature, literary studies, classical philology, and philosophy, the workshop seeks to translate hitherto separate research fields into a common framework that allows us to understand a key premise for analysing Europe as an entity based on the dynamic exchange of – paraphrased – ideas and texts.

Programme

 Please contact Sina Dellanno or Christian Benne for further information and registration