Thomas Mann am Strand : Tourismus und Alltag in "Tod in Venedig"

in Carstensen, Thorsten; Pirholt, Mattias (Eds.) Das Abenteuer des Gewöhnlichen : Alltag in der deutschsprachigen Literatur der Moderne (2018)

Grotesque humour and undignified Life in Yu Hua’s novels

Scientific Conference (2017, July)

Yu Hua’s novels, especially "To Live" (活着) und "Brothers" (兄弟), are characterized by their preference for grotesque scenes in which protagonists face situations of humiliation and degradation. In ... [more ▼]

Yu Hua’s novels, especially "To Live" (活着) und "Brothers" (兄弟), are characterized by their preference for grotesque scenes in which protagonists face situations of humiliation and degradation. In "Brothers", the protagonist Song Gang has to undergo a surgery and becomes provided with female breasts, in order to promote an ointment for breast augmentation. According to Mikhail Bakhtin, the deformation of the human body is typical for grotesque humor (as can be shown in Rabelais). Bakthin's description of grotesque humor, however, reveals a certain affinity towards totalitarian politics, and this is certainly true also for Yu Hua. In his novels, grotesque Humor is associated with a political situation in which human dignity is constantly getting undermined. As Yan Lianke puts it, living in modern china is categorically "without dignity": This statement is confirmed in Yu Hua’s novels. The texts deal with the protagonists’ search for dignity, and at the same time they explore the possibility of critical writing under conditions of political control. [less ▲]

Werkimmanente Intertextualität bei Peter Handke : Selbstzitat, -fortschreibung, -kommentar und -parodie

Scientific Conference (2017, March)

Franz Werfels politische Utopie an der Peripherie des Kriegs: "Die vierzig Tage des Musa Dagh"

in Glesener, Jeanne; Kohns, Oliver (Eds.) Der Erste Weltkrieg in der Literatur und Kunst : Eine europäische Perspektive (2017)

"A Noble Animal" : Animalische und andere Tiere in D. H. Lawrence' "St. Mawr"

in Doll, Martin; Kohns, Oliver (Eds.) Politische Tiere : Zoologie des Kollektiven (2017)

Weltliteratur und das Missverstehen des Romans : Orhan Pamuks »Masumiyet Müzesi«

in Colloquium Helveticum: schweizer Hefte fuer allgemeine und vergleichende Literaturwissenschaft (2017), 46

The notion of world literature is often understood as a global distribution of literary forms and structures from Europe to the rest of the globe. Under the premise that non-European literatures don't ... [more ▼]

The notion of world literature is often understood as a global distribution of literary forms and structures from Europe to the rest of the globe. Under the premise that non-European literatures don't just reproduce European forms, but reinterpret and change them in the process of adaptation, world literature can be defined as a "productive misunderstanding". This article attempts to show that Orhan Pamuk's novel "Masumiyet Müzesi" ("Museum of Innocence") is in this sense a productive appropriation of European forms of the novel. Pamuk's novel is a narration about the modernization of Turkey in the 20th century, which is depicted as a chain of faulty imitation that nevertheless creates something new. Similarly, the "Museum of Innocence" is characterized by an abundance of intertextual relations to the tradition of European novel (e.g., to Proust's texts), which, however creates a "productive misunderstanding". [less ▲]

Politische Tiere : Zur Einleitung

in Doll, Martin; Kohns, Oliver (Eds.) Politische Tiere : Zoologie des Kollektiven (2017)

Amok und Nachahmung : Erinnerung an eine mediengeschichtliche Studie aus aktuellem Anlass

in Literaturkritik.de (2016), (8),

Über Sichtbarkeit und Tastbarkeit von Würde: Kant und Schiller

Presentation (2016, July)

Perspektiven der politischen Ästhetik

Book published by Wilhelm Fink (2016)

Das Thema der »politischen Ästhetik« lässt sich nicht auf manipulative Techniken (z. B. in der Form von Propaganda) reduzieren. »Politische Ästhetik« ist vielmehr auch die Organisation der Sichtbarkeit ... [more ▼]

Das Thema der »politischen Ästhetik« lässt sich nicht auf manipulative Techniken (z. B. in der Form von Propaganda) reduzieren. »Politische Ästhetik« ist vielmehr auch die Organisation der Sichtbarkeit, die jede Form politischer Macht benötigt und voraussetzt, sowie die künstlerische Reflexion dieser Ordnung in ästhetischen Werken der Literatur und Kunst. Der Band versammelt verschiedene Sondierungen, die ein facettenreiches Bild zu »Perspektiven der politischen Ästhetik« darstellen. [less ▲]