“Enduring Valedictions: Suicide Notes, Farewell Letters, and the Emotional Weight of ‘Taking One’s Leave’ 1914-1915”
Matt specializes in the history of the First World War and twentieth-century German history. His dissertation, Inclination toward Death: Suicide and Sacrifice in First World War Germany, reconstructs the historically-situated meanings of wartime suicide as part of a broader spectrum of self-destructive behaviors, and situates suicide within the context of Germans’ dynamic socio-cultural, moral, and emotional attitudes towards and experiences with death, violence, and killing. He has been kind enough to include a very brief outline of earlier chapters and the thesis in his draft so that attendees have an idea of how Chapter 3 fits into the larger project.
This event will be held virtually on Zoom on February 2nd at 5pm Eastern. Please email Cheyenne (ckpett@umich.edu) or Albert (Albertca@umich.edu) for a copy of the paper and the Zoom link. Please do not circulate this paper beyond the worksop without the author’s advanced approval. We hope to ‘see’ you there!
