Paul Goring: Lotteries and literature in eighteenth-century Britain and beyond

Ústav české literatury a Ústav českého jazyka FF MU Vás zve na přednášku

Paula Goringa z Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Přednáška proběhne v pondělí 7. října ve 14:00, v budově na Arna Nováka 1, místnost D51. Program je možné sledovat i online na Zoomu (link je na konci pozvánky).

‘Lotteries and literature in eighteenth-century Britain and beyond’

State-run lotteries were an important part of Britain’s fiscal-cultural landscape from the 1690s until their abolition in the 1820s. They were used to raise large sums of money for the government (much of which was used to fund Britain’s military campaigns) and they captured the imaginations of people of all classes who fantasized about winning a fortune. This lecture examines a selection of the many literary responses to the lotteries, exploring how some authors of plays, poems and prose fiction found ideas and inspiration in lotteries, whilst others tried to intervene in lottery culture – in some cases trying to put an end to the whole institution. The lecture will suggest that literature performed important ‘cultural work’ in relation to lotteries, but that lotteries also ‘worked’ for the world of literature. The lecture will be given in English.

Paul Goring is Professor of British Literature and Culture at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He is British and was educated at the University of London and the University of Wales. He specializes in eighteenth-century studies and has particular interests in the novel (notably the works of Laurence Sterne) and theatre history. He is currently a Senior Researcher on a project entitled ‘The Invention of the Lottery Fantasy’, funded by the Norwegian Research Council.