Lecture at the University of Twente
On Thursday, 24 February 2005, from 4.00 to 5.00 pm, Garmt de Vries, member of the Dutch Jules Verne Society, will give a lecture for the Studium Generale of the University of Twente. The topic of the lecture is “Science and technology in Jules Verne’s works”. The lecture will be in Dutch.
The French author Jules Verne is often called “father of science fiction”. In his many novels he described marvellous inventions such as submarines and airplanes, long before they were a reality. Well, that is the popular image of Jules Verne. This view of Jules Verne as the prophet of progress is, however, not correct. It is true that Verne had a special interest in science and technology, but he was not a seer. His machines are based on technical developments of his time, and he often explicitly mentioned the sources he consulted. A lot can be said about Jules Verne’s vision of progress. He was aware of the enormous potential that technical developments could offer, but also of the dangers they entailed. Moreover, it is important to realize that Jules Verne was first of all a writer, and not an engineer. By means of text fragments and illustrations, we will try to give an impression of Jules Verne’s relationship with science.
Practical information
The lecture is held on Thursday, 24 February, from 4.00 to 5.00 pm, in “de Vrijhof”:
PlattegrondOn the website of the University of Twente you can find a route description and a plan.
Entrance is free.
