Research team
Expertise
My expertise lies in the research areas of Modern German Literature and Jewish Studies. I research literary and aesthetic constellations in the period from the Enlightenment to the present day. In my dissertation, I analyzed discourses of remembrance of the Shoah in literature and audiovisual media. I dedicated my habilitation to the significance of friendship for German-language literary history. Accordingly, my methodological expertise lies in the areas of discourse analysis and the study of literature in relation to cultural as well as to sociological contexts. My research also focuses on German-Jewish literary history, the relationship between literature and migration, intersectionality and gender research. Authors that I have worked on intensely include G. E. Lessing, M. Mendelssohn, Rahel Levin Varnhagen, Clemens Brentano, Heinrich Heine, Fanny Lewald, Therese von Bacheracht, Louise Aston, Berthold Auerbach, Gustav Freytag, Karl Wolfskehl, Stefan George, Walter Benjamin, Gertrud Kolmar, Wolfgang Hildesheimer, Alfred Andersch, Hannah Arendt, Jean Améry, Imre Kertész, Primo Levi, Ruth Klüger, Robert Schindel, Doron Rabinovici, Esther Dischereit, Katja Petrowska, Olga Grjasnowa and Sasha Marianna Salzmann.
Intersections of Jewish and Working-Class Emancipation in 19th Century German Writing (1830-1860): Affinities and Differences in Revolutionary Times.
Abstract
The project investigates the intersections between Jewish and working-class emancipation in German literature from 1830 to 1860, with a focus on the revolutionary period of 1848/49. Employing an intersectional framework, the research explores literary texts by Jewish and non-Jewish authors, analyzing their portrayals of mutual struggles for social and political equality. It sheds light on how literature served as a medium for empathy, critique, and visionary thought during a period of intense societal transformation. Despite the significant overlap between these movements, their literary dimensions remain underexplored, particularly in the context of 19th-century Jewish writing and its relation to early socialist ideals. This project aims to address these gaps by examining lesser-known authors and works, including those by women. This approach highlights how literature of the time reflected and shaped discourses on emancipation, identity, and belonging. By revisiting this pivotal historical period through an intersectional lens, the study not only contributes to literary and Jewish studies but also offers insights into broader questions of identity and diversity. It expands the canon of 19th-century literature while fostering interdisciplinary dialogue, bridging historical research with contemporary debates on intersectionality and inclusion.Researcher(s)
- Promoter: Michaelis-König Andree
Research team(s)
Project type(s)
- Research Project