MA Thesis by Evelyn Koch
This MA thesis looks at the concept of the 'eerie landscape' in British literature and film.
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Book Chapters by Evelyn Koch
Epen der Weltliteratur – Eine komparatistische Einführung, 2023
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Akteur Wasser: Betrachtungen aus den Rechts-, Geo-, Kunst-, Musik- und Literaturwissenschaften, 2022
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Thomas Honegger, Maureen F. Mann (Eds.): Laughter in Middle-earth: Humour in and around the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien., 2016
Link to chapter: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mlf&AN=EIS119660739&site=... more Link to chapter: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mlf&AN=EIS119660739&site=ehost-live.
With J.R.R. Tolkien's works being among the most read texts of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and the film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by Peter Jackson being incredibly successful as well, there is naturally an abundance of parodies. This paper does not attempt to list them all but to look at how parody works, and what strategies are involved to create a parody of Tolkien's works. Thus, I have categorised some of the parodies according to their underlying strategy: as textual or social parody, and whether they involve strategies of exaggeration/understatement, whether they substitute heroes and villains with non-heroes or non-villains, whether they make the quest ridiculous or trivial, make fun of place names and proper names, or add vulgarity or obscenity to the original text.
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Papers by Evelyn Koch
Fastitocalon Studies in Fantasticism Ancient to Modern Vol. IX - Fantastic Languages - The Language of the Fantastic, 2020
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Fastitocalon , 2017
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Term Papers by Evelyn Koch
This work looks at how flyting is employed in Shakespeare's plays.
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This work looks at the depiction of friars in The Canterbury Tales, and how Chaucer incorporates ... more This work looks at the depiction of friars in The Canterbury Tales, and how Chaucer incorporates and subverts contemporary stereotypes about friars.
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This work analyses how Ireland was constructed as the western edge of the world in the works of G... more This work analyses how Ireland was constructed as the western edge of the world in the works of Gerald of Wales and other medieval sources from England in order to justify the conquest of Ireland under Henry II.
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Book Reviews by Evelyn Koch
Symbolism. An International Annual of Critical Aesthetics. Special Focus: Beyond Mind, 2019
Link to review: https://www.degruyter.com/view/book/9783110634952/10.1515/9783110634952-017.xml
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Symbolism 2018 : Special Focus: "Cranes on the Rise" - Functions of Metaphor in Autobiographical Writing, 2018
Book Review of Adam Scovell's Folk Horror: Hours Dreadful and Things Strange.
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Scientia Poetica, 2017
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Conference Presentations by Evelyn Koch
The 26th International Thomas Hardy Conference and Festival, 2024
Landscapes in Thomas Hardy’s works are noisy and constantly produce sounds – from the phenomenon ... more Landscapes in Thomas Hardy’s works are noisy and constantly produce sounds – from the phenomenon of susurration mentioned at the beginning of Under the Greenwood Tree, the droning sound of trees in “She Hears the Storm” or the “shrivelled voice of the heath” in The Return of the Native that comprises a plethora of highly individual sounds ranging from the mourning of the wind, the aching sounds of beeches and the almost inaudible rustling of withered heathbells. These “acoustic pictures”, as Hardy calls them in The Return of the Native, not only immerse the reader and intensify their emotional reaction, as David James has argued, but also strengthen the sense of an interconnectedness of all parts of the natural world. Protagonists in Hardy’s works who are attentive and responsive to the sensory impressions of soundscapes have a more harmonious relationship with nature and are more open to new perceptions. This notion anticipates the posthuman philosophy of Michel Serres and his concept of noise in which a spectrum is proposed that sees human language as the embodiment of rationality, order and cognition at one end, and noise as the product of non-human agents at the other end which consists of unfiltered information and sounds that are regarded as chaotic and purely sensory. I argue with Serres that Hardy’s soundscapes function as a means to convey sensory information that goes beyond the limits of language in order to represent nature and landscape as a network in communication with each other. Not only does this underline the notion that landscape has agency, but protagonists in Hardy’s texts who engage with this noise value nature more and can profit from this experience.
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05.07.2023: “Egdon Heath as an EcoGothic Landscape in Thomas Hardy’s The Return of the Native”; H... more 05.07.2023: “Egdon Heath as an EcoGothic Landscape in Thomas Hardy’s The Return of the Native”; Haunted Landscapes: Nature, Super-Nature, and Global Environments; Falmouth University
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Online-Workshop Folk Horror als Gegenstand und Herausforderung der Kulturwissenschaften, 2021
05.11. 2021: „Posthumanistische Landschaften im Folk Horror“; Online-Workshop Folk Horror als Geg... more 05.11. 2021: „Posthumanistische Landschaften im Folk Horror“; Online-Workshop Folk Horror als Gegenstand und Herausforderung der Kulturwissenschaften; Universität Zürich
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"Folklore on Screen", Sheffield Hallam University, 2019
One of the traits that sets Folk Horror apart from other genres is its particular use of non-line... more One of the traits that sets Folk Horror apart from other genres is its particular use of non-linear time. Whereas in Gothic fiction the past has a bearing on the present, Folk Horror develops this theme even further by using cyclic time, a concept derived from folktales, folklore and myth which corresponds to the Ancient Greek concept of Aiôn. Cyclic time creates the illusion of being removed from the consequences of linear time, i.e. events and even deaths are reversible, for example. Folk Horror television series such as The Owl Service (1969) and Children of the Stones (1977) employ the concept of cyclic time and even films like The Wicker Man (1973) suggest the cyclical re-enactment of certain rituals in accordance with the cyclical re-occurrence of the seasons. In Folk Horror, cyclic time has the function of creating a sense of fairy-tale-removedness of time once the space of an isolated community has been entered which sets a stark contrast to the linear time flow of modernity. Another function is to usher in evil and due to its cyclical nature it may be defeated for now by single protagonists, but it will never vanish completely, only until the next cycle is starting again. For instance, in The Owl Service, a fateful love triangle from the Welsh folk tales of the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi is cyclically re-enacted every generation, i.e. the protagonists are trapped in a non-linear time convoluting mythical, historical and present times, resulting inevitably in the misery and even death of all involved. Contrary to the book, the television series’ ending suggests that the cycle will start again. This suggests that in Folk Horror evil cannot be ultimately defeated.
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Conference paper given at "Understanding Imaginary Worlds" - A Students' Conference on World-buil... more Conference paper given at "Understanding Imaginary Worlds" - A Students' Conference on World-building in Fantasy, Science-Fiction, and Beyond. 13-14 June, 2019, University of Bonn
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conference presentation at:
Fantastic Beasts, Monstrous Cyborgs, Aliens and Other Spectres: Expl... more conference presentation at:
Fantastic Beasts, Monstrous Cyborgs, Aliens and Other Spectres: Exploring Alterity in Fantasy and Science Fiction. International Student Conference, 19-20 October 2018, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
One of the recurring tropes of Star Trek has been rubber-forehead aliens, i.e. life forms which are very similar to humans apart from a few facial features. Audiences usually feel comfortable with these species precisely because they are so relatable to humanity. In Star Trek: Discovery, a semi-fictitious fungal species called prototaxites stellariation is introduced which by means of their invisible mycelium network enable spaceships to jump through the universe and even to parallel universes, a method referred to as organic propulsion system in the series. Fungi are something we encounter every day, often without noticing, be it by being surrounded by them or by eating them in form of mushrooms or yeast. However, fungi are remarkable creatures, neither plants nor animals but a kingdom of their own. They are so vastly different from us that scientists have only recently begun to understand how they work. Then again, fungi are also a trope of Weird Fiction, ever since H.P. Lovecraft’s Fungi from Yuggoth (1929-30), because their abcanny alterity renders them perfect for representing something totally inhuman. On the one hand, Star Trek: Discovery manages to incorporate actual pieces of information from mycology – e.g. the astro-mycologist Paul Stamets in the series is named after the real-life mycologist of the same name – on the other, the function of the fungi in the series is to confront the audience with the Other, something that makes the viewer feel uncomfortable since we cannot relate to them because of their alterity. We do not know whether they are good or bad or have any intentions at all which makes them ultimately perfect aliens – in the true sense of the word.
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conference presentation at:
Writing Renaissance Experience – Experiencing Renaissance Writing; 5-... more conference presentation at:
Writing Renaissance Experience – Experiencing Renaissance Writing; 5-6 July 2018, Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
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MA Thesis by Evelyn Koch
Book Chapters by Evelyn Koch
With J.R.R. Tolkien's works being among the most read texts of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and the film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by Peter Jackson being incredibly successful as well, there is naturally an abundance of parodies. This paper does not attempt to list them all but to look at how parody works, and what strategies are involved to create a parody of Tolkien's works. Thus, I have categorised some of the parodies according to their underlying strategy: as textual or social parody, and whether they involve strategies of exaggeration/understatement, whether they substitute heroes and villains with non-heroes or non-villains, whether they make the quest ridiculous or trivial, make fun of place names and proper names, or add vulgarity or obscenity to the original text.
Papers by Evelyn Koch
Term Papers by Evelyn Koch
Book Reviews by Evelyn Koch
Conference Presentations by Evelyn Koch
Presentation available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4nGUCXJk14&list=PLKDxI0JOa-WhG2jBlhhYyqLeSoNsL92mE&index=7
Fantastic Beasts, Monstrous Cyborgs, Aliens and Other Spectres: Exploring Alterity in Fantasy and Science Fiction. International Student Conference, 19-20 October 2018, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
One of the recurring tropes of Star Trek has been rubber-forehead aliens, i.e. life forms which are very similar to humans apart from a few facial features. Audiences usually feel comfortable with these species precisely because they are so relatable to humanity. In Star Trek: Discovery, a semi-fictitious fungal species called prototaxites stellariation is introduced which by means of their invisible mycelium network enable spaceships to jump through the universe and even to parallel universes, a method referred to as organic propulsion system in the series. Fungi are something we encounter every day, often without noticing, be it by being surrounded by them or by eating them in form of mushrooms or yeast. However, fungi are remarkable creatures, neither plants nor animals but a kingdom of their own. They are so vastly different from us that scientists have only recently begun to understand how they work. Then again, fungi are also a trope of Weird Fiction, ever since H.P. Lovecraft’s Fungi from Yuggoth (1929-30), because their abcanny alterity renders them perfect for representing something totally inhuman. On the one hand, Star Trek: Discovery manages to incorporate actual pieces of information from mycology – e.g. the astro-mycologist Paul Stamets in the series is named after the real-life mycologist of the same name – on the other, the function of the fungi in the series is to confront the audience with the Other, something that makes the viewer feel uncomfortable since we cannot relate to them because of their alterity. We do not know whether they are good or bad or have any intentions at all which makes them ultimately perfect aliens – in the true sense of the word.
Writing Renaissance Experience – Experiencing Renaissance Writing; 5-6 July 2018, Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
With J.R.R. Tolkien's works being among the most read texts of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and the film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by Peter Jackson being incredibly successful as well, there is naturally an abundance of parodies. This paper does not attempt to list them all but to look at how parody works, and what strategies are involved to create a parody of Tolkien's works. Thus, I have categorised some of the parodies according to their underlying strategy: as textual or social parody, and whether they involve strategies of exaggeration/understatement, whether they substitute heroes and villains with non-heroes or non-villains, whether they make the quest ridiculous or trivial, make fun of place names and proper names, or add vulgarity or obscenity to the original text.
Presentation available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4nGUCXJk14&list=PLKDxI0JOa-WhG2jBlhhYyqLeSoNsL92mE&index=7
Fantastic Beasts, Monstrous Cyborgs, Aliens and Other Spectres: Exploring Alterity in Fantasy and Science Fiction. International Student Conference, 19-20 October 2018, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
One of the recurring tropes of Star Trek has been rubber-forehead aliens, i.e. life forms which are very similar to humans apart from a few facial features. Audiences usually feel comfortable with these species precisely because they are so relatable to humanity. In Star Trek: Discovery, a semi-fictitious fungal species called prototaxites stellariation is introduced which by means of their invisible mycelium network enable spaceships to jump through the universe and even to parallel universes, a method referred to as organic propulsion system in the series. Fungi are something we encounter every day, often without noticing, be it by being surrounded by them or by eating them in form of mushrooms or yeast. However, fungi are remarkable creatures, neither plants nor animals but a kingdom of their own. They are so vastly different from us that scientists have only recently begun to understand how they work. Then again, fungi are also a trope of Weird Fiction, ever since H.P. Lovecraft’s Fungi from Yuggoth (1929-30), because their abcanny alterity renders them perfect for representing something totally inhuman. On the one hand, Star Trek: Discovery manages to incorporate actual pieces of information from mycology – e.g. the astro-mycologist Paul Stamets in the series is named after the real-life mycologist of the same name – on the other, the function of the fungi in the series is to confront the audience with the Other, something that makes the viewer feel uncomfortable since we cannot relate to them because of their alterity. We do not know whether they are good or bad or have any intentions at all which makes them ultimately perfect aliens – in the true sense of the word.
Writing Renaissance Experience – Experiencing Renaissance Writing; 5-6 July 2018, Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
The Podcast: Form, Functions, Future. An International Symposium; 8-9 February 2018, Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
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