She's been buried for only two months, the cause of the car crash that killed her not yet fully resolved. Yet academics at a Berlin university already are studying how Princess Diana became a global icon.
The worldwide outpouring of emotion surrounding Diana's death triggered discussions in the halls of Berlin's Free University that inspired a semesterlong lecture series beginning Thursday."Myth and Politics: Diana - from the Princess of Wales to the Queen of Hearts" will feature experts in history, literature, communications, sociology, psy-chology and political science.
"It's not just about studying Princess Diana backwards and forwards," says assistant professor Sigrid Koch-Baumgarten, one of two political scientists who organized the lectures. "We're now in a situation where new myths are being built, and we're interested in this construction."
After Diana's death in Paris on Aug. 31, millions watched the funeral on TV, hundreds of thousands sent condolence cards and tons of flowers piled up at her family's estate. Elton John's musical tribute to the princess has become the best-selling single of all time.
Although the British royals have a lot of German relatives, organizers say the lecture series doesn't reflect any special German take on Diana, just professional curiosity.
"We got interested in understanding this phenomenon and its roots and examining the political effects," says assistant professor Sabine Berghahn, the other organizer of the lecture series.
The free lectures, which are open to the public in a hall that seats 164 people, begin Thursday, when the topic will be "Torn World and Hidden Meaning: On the function of mythical figures for the modern age."
Future topics include "Love, Publicity and a `State Funeral' - About Feelings as a Resource for Political Rule" and " `The People's Princess' - The Cult of Mary and the Adoration of Lady Di."
One week will be devoted to past icons like Argentina's Eva Peron and Prussia's Queen Luise, whose funeral in 1810 drew thousands of mourners to Berlin.
"There are certainly many possibilities for making comparisons," says Berghahn. "Che Guevara, Marilyn Monroe - every age has its icon. And naturally it gets stronger through the media."
The lecture series wraps up with discourses that range from her role as a feminist figure, "Diana and the Emancipation"; as a republican one, "Diana as Angel of Death of the Monarchy?"; and an attempt to psychoanalyze Queen Elizabeth II's "Glassy Heart and Stone Heart."
Koch-Baumgarten concedes that reams of articles have been written in an attempt to explain why so many people of different generations, sexes, nationalities and social levels identified with Princess Diana.
"I don't know if the world needs" more Diana analysis, she says. "I would consider that an exaggeration."
But she believes the events surrounding Diana's death provide a classic opportunity to teach students the analytical methods social scientists use to examine what goes on in the world.
"How many students will come, I don't know," Koch-Baumgarten said.
Students won't get graded on the course and don't have to do any homework.
"No tests will be given," Berghahn promises. "They don't get any credits. If they go, it's out of pure interest."