Dr. Philip Mosley, professor of English and Comparative Literature at Penn State Worthington Scranton recently lectured in Taipei, Taiwan and also contributed to the program notes for an opera production in England.
Dr. Mosley's lecture at at Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei, Taiwan "Realism and Class in Contemporary Cinema: Some European Examples," focused on how cinema may represent new approaches to class necessitated by the rise of a large population of the workless, the homeless, political refugees, and migrant workers.
"The idea of "realist" cinema also begs to be rethought in relation to these new representations," Dr. Mosley said. "(In my lecture) I used examples from two dramas, "The Promise and The Child" about such marginal members of society, directed by the Dardenne brothers from Belgium, about whom I am currently writing a book, and from "Dirty Pretty Things," a drama by British director Stephen Frears that deals with London's illegal immigrant underclass.
His presentation was made at the invitation of Dr. Ying-ying Chien, director of the university's comparative literature graduate program. Dr. Chien had previously taught at Penn State some years ago. Fu Jen Catholic University is a large institution located in Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan.
When the English Royal Opera staged "Die tote Stadt" by Erich Wolfgang Korngold at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London in January, Dr. Mosley provided a four-page write-up for the program book. His short essay, titled, "From Page to Stage," is about the derivation of Korngold's opera from Rodenbach's 1892 novel, "Bruges-la-Morte".
Dr. Mosley translated "Bruges-la-Morte" from French into English in 1986, with a new edition published in 2007.
In 2008, he received the Prix de la Traduction Litteraire from the French Community of Belgium for his translations of Belgian authors.