Dirk Vanderbeke | Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena (original) (raw)

Papers by Dirk Vanderbeke

Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture, 2020

Empathy is generally understood to be a pro-social emotion and a significant aspect of social int... more Empathy is generally understood to be a pro-social emotion and a significant aspect of social intelligence. It allows us to step into another person’s shoes and to share that person’s emotions and perspective; as such, it is closely related to sympathy and compassion. This ability should guide us in our recognition of pro-social, antisocial or even sociopathic behaviour and, as social beings, we should tend to feel drawn towards pro-sociality, altruism and reciprocity and averse to egotism, cruelty, atrocities and anti-sociality in general. This is not always the case. Not only does empathy show some weaknesses, being limited in its scope, endowed with only a short-term memory, and biased towards “us” rather than “them, ” it also has its dark sides and can easily be manipulated and employed for downright dangerous or evil purposes. Among the cognitive features that can be exploited for such ends is a kind of mental inertia, a.k.a. the confirmation bias or myside bias: once we have f...

International Journal of Literary Linguistics, 2017

This paper discusses aspects of direct speech in James Joyce’s story “The Sisters”. The story is ... more This paper discusses aspects of direct speech in James Joyce’s story “The Sisters”. The story is often analyzed with special attention to the gaps and ellipses in the utterances, which are usually read as omissions, evasions, or uncomfortable silences, and thus as indicative of some transgressive behaviour of the dead priest who is at the centre of the dialogues. In this article we explore the hypothesis that the utterances in question show features that are quite common in natural spoken language and thus may also be read as literary techniques to create authentic oral discourse. This hypothesis is not intended to invalidate previous interpretations, but to introduce an additional aspect of interpretation that has been neglected so far. In the context of a literary work, features of natural spoken language acquire new meaning, and the very attempt to narrow the gap between literary and natural spoken language appears as inauthentic, ominous and as an artistic strategy to express th...

Telling Stories/Geschichten erzählen

Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture, 2017

Eibl, Karl. 2016. Evolution—Kognition—Dichtung: Zur Anthropologie der Literatur. Munster: Mentis.... more Eibl, Karl. 2016. Evolution—Kognition—Dichtung: Zur Anthropologie der Literatur. Munster: Mentis. 284 pages. Paperback €38.00.

Literature, 2023

While fictional orality (spoken language in fictional texts) has received some attention in the c... more While fictional orality (spoken language in fictional texts) has received some attention in the context of quantitative register studies at the interface of linguistics and literature, only a few attempts have been made so far to apply the quantitative methods of register studies to interior monologues (and other forms of inner speech or thought representation). This article presents a case study of the three main characters of James Joyce’s Ulysses whose thoughts are presented extensively in the novel, i.e., Leopold and Molly Bloom and Stephen Dedalus. Making use of quantitative, corpus-based methods, the thoughts of these characters are compared to fictional direct speech and (literary and non-literary) reference texts. We show that the interior monologues of Ulysses span a range of non-narrative registers with varying degrees of informational density and involvement. The thoughts of one character, Leopold Bloom, differ substantially from that character’s speech. The relative heterogeneity across characters is taken as an indication that interior monologue is used as a means of perspective taking and implicit characterization.

Anglistik: International Journal of English Studies, 2021

Internationale Zeitschrift für Kulturkomparatistik, 2022

Der Artikel greift das Thema auf, das Wolfgang G. Müller in diesem Band für die Zeit vor dem 20. ... more Der Artikel greift das Thema auf, das Wolfgang G. Müller in diesem Band für die Zeit vor dem 20. Jahrhundert verfolgt hat, und führt aus, wie das Gedankenexperiment des Karneades seitdem in Philosophie, Wissenschaft, Jurisprudenz, Literatur und Film herangezogen und diskutiert wird. Es wird natürlich nicht möglich sein, hier alle möglichen Beispiele auszuführen – besonders in der Populärkultur findet sich das Dilemma des Karneades in immer neuen Formen und Metaphorisierungen – und es ist daher notwendig, dass ich mich auf einige theoretische Aspekte, einzelne Fallbeispiele und verschiedene wiederkehrende Motive und Muster beschränke, die in der Literatur und in Filmen von Bedeutung sind. Dabei tritt das Gedankenexperiment oft nicht in Reinform auf, und manche Elemente sind Veränderungen unterworfen, aber das Dilemma ist in seinen Grundzügen trotzdem immer noch klar erkennbar. Für die neuere Auseinandersetzung ist das sogenannte Trolley-Problem von besonderer Bedeutung und dabei auch Untersuchungen zu den kognitiven Reaktionen auf das Dilemma. Ein weiterer Ansatz findet sich in der Evolutionstheorie und der Diskussion um Altruismus und Selbstopfer, d.h. Phänomenen, die zunächst nicht mit dem darwinistischen Kampf ums Überleben vereinbar zu sein scheinen. Jenseits solcher theoretischen Fragen erforderte der Gerichtsfall von Mary und Josie Attard eine Entscheidung, ob es zulässig ist, bei gemeinsam nicht lebensfähigen siamesischen Zwillingen eines der Kinder sterben zu lassen, um wenigstens das andere zu retten. Auf einer ganz anderen Ebene muss sich die Gesetzgebung nach dem September 2001 damit auseinandersetzen, ob bei einem terroristischen Angriff ein entführtes Passagierflugzeug abgeschossen werden darf, um damit eine noch größere Katastrophe zu verhindern. Die theoretischen Konzepte wie auch die sehr realen Überlegungen hatten und haben ihren Widerhall in literarischen Texten und Filmen gefunden, und dieser Artikel stellt die wichtigsten Beispiele und die darin auftretenden Muster vor.

Pynchon Notes, Mar 22, 2002

The idea was born in 1998, at the conference "Gravity's Rainbow: The First 25 Years,&quo... more The idea was born in 1998, at the conference "Gravity's Rainbow: The First 25 Years," in Antwerp: to tour the zone, following Slothrop's footsteps and visiting some of the places mentioned in Gravity's Rainbow. It took two years to realize, but in June 2000, the "Into the Zone" tour got underway. Some obstacles could not be overcome–because of the inexplicable ignorance and obstinacy of various officials, the recalcitrance of reality or the inflexible German laws. Thus we were unable to obtain a balloon for the trip from the Brocken to Berlin, there were no hotels to be found, much less any rooms available, in Bad Karma, the director of the Greifswald zoo stubbornly refused to provide any chimps for the boat trip to Peenemunde, and it was impossible to get a permit from the German authorities to sample six kilos of hashish for strictly literary purposes. But we pushed on in the face of adversity.

Reconsidering Tolkien, 2005

Within the framework of fantasy literature, aspects of magic may take on the garb of science and ... more Within the framework of fantasy literature, aspects of magic may take on the garb of science and serve as functional explanations of the principles and laws by which the world is governed. This raises the question of how knowledge about the world and its natural laws is acquired, used, transmitted or hidden. Knowledge, of course, is inevitably connected with language, and the basically creationist origin of Tolkien’s world indicates the existence of a true language with a non-arbitrary form of signification, the knowledge of which equals the knowledge of the world and its underlying principles. The quest for true knowledge then turns into a kind of archaeological endeavour, piecing together the fragments of ancient language and lore, while the search for new knowledge is inevitably destructive and thus linked to evil. This presentation of knowledge unquestionably adds to the internal coherence of the texts, but undermines all claims that Tolkien’s work might offer useful solutions to pressing modern problems, as the premises of his fictional world and ours are ultimately irreconcilable.

James Joyce Quarterly, 2021

Connotations Vol. 13:3, 2003

Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture, 2020

International Journal of Literary Linguistics, 2017

Telling Stories/Geschichten erzählen

Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture, 2017

Literature, 2023

Anglistik: International Journal of English Studies, 2021

Internationale Zeitschrift für Kulturkomparatistik, 2022

Pynchon Notes, Mar 22, 2002

Reconsidering Tolkien, 2005

James Joyce Quarterly, 2021

Connotations Vol. 13:3, 2003

Handbook of Comics and Graphic Narratives, 2021

Following the definition of comics by Scott McCloud in Understanding Comics as sequential art and... more Following the definition of comics by Scott McCloud in Understanding Comics as sequential art and thus as “[j]uxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer” (1994, 9), it has almost become a tradition in comic studies to present their evolution as a process that began early in human history and then accompanied the development of civilization and culture to the present (e. g. McCloud 1994, 1016; Chute 2010, 12; Petersen 2011, 220 and passim; Boyd 2010, 98; Inge 2017, 9). This may appear as a belated legitimization of an art form that for a long time was regarded as trivial and dismissible, if not downright trash and detrimental to the mental state of its often juvenile audience. There is, however, more to the argument of a long and varied history of sequential arts than merely the attempt of a cultural upstart to find some honourable pedigree among the traditional and accepted forms of artistic expression. This chapter will outline this earlier history of graphic narratives before it turns to the rise of comics and their developments since the 19th century. While the ‘pre-history’ of comics necessarily includes examples from various countries and cultures, the account of comics proper will focus on Anglophone developments; occasionally influential authors and works from other countries will be mentioned, but it is simply impossible to offer a omprehensive history of world comics in the scope of this chapter.

De Gruyter eBooks, Jun 21, 2021

The Edinburgh Companion to the Essay, 2022

The combination of the words ‘science’ and ‘essay’ may seem to create an oxymoron. Science strive... more The combination of the words ‘science’ and ‘essay’ may seem to create an oxymoron. Science strives for strict objectivity, the exclusion of any subjective influence, the pure factuality of the observation and the subsequent results, and a bland rhetoric, all of which are in contrast to the commonly assumed features of the essay, i.e. self-reflection, subjective experience, and eloquence. However, the history of science shows that essayistic writing played a momentous role in the transmission of knowledge and the reflection of the processes of knowledge production. The term ‘essay’ was originally used for various kinds of scientific writing, but later it often marked a departure from the usually rigid format of the scientific paper towards a more open and also more accessible communication. The scientific essay supplemented the scientific paper, addressing larger scientific, philosophical, political, or personal concerns, and there was hardly a scientist of renown in the 20th century who did not write such essayistic texts in addition to their scientific books and papers. The style of such science essays can be quite diverse, and while some authors address crucial issues with an austere and serious voice, others employ the playfulness and rhetorical finesse that are usually attributed to the essayistic form. In my contribution I outline the history and developments of the scientific essay and discuss some particularly interesting examples from physics and biology.

Physics and Literature, 2021

Taking J.B.S. Haldane’s aphorism, that the universe may be queerer than we can suppose, as a guid... more Taking J.B.S. Haldane’s aphorism, that the universe may be queerer than we can suppose, as a guiding idea, the paper discusses literary works which openly or implicitly employ phenomena and concepts of quantum physics and are, thus, irreconcilable with our everyday experiences. Four kinds of texts will be touched upon: a) Fantasy, b) so-called quantum fiction, c) didactic texts which draw on fantastic literature to explain physics, and d) some works of mainstream literature that include more or less bizarre phenomena which may trigger associations with aspects of physics. While fantasy appears to be surprisingly conservative in the creation of alternative realities and unexpected physical phenomena, quantum fiction introduces quantum terminology and usually some of the wilder theoretical hypotheses into the stories, albeit frequently merely as devices to produce fantastic events or to add a scientific flavor to otherwise unremarkable fantastic texts. Didactic fantasy in the wake of George Gamow’s Mr Tompkins books tends to be rather repetitive and far less able to productively engage the reader’s imagination than the original fantastic works like Alice in Wonderland or some mainstream novels and stories which do not explain unexpected or bizarre phenomena. They, thus require the reader to actively participate in the construction of fictional worlds which may or may not be informed by quantum theoretical concepts.

Grundthemen der Literaturwissenschaft: Form, 2022

Der Versuch, die Form des Comics und der Graphic Novel in einem Handbuchbeitrag darzulegen, kann ... more Der Versuch, die Form des Comics und der Graphic Novel in einem Handbuchbeitrag darzulegen, kann kaum gelingen. Nicht nur gehen dem Comic viele Jahrhunderte voraus, in denen Bilderzählungen zu den wesentlichen Informationsträgern und -vermittlern gehörten und in denen die formalen Grundformen des späteren Comics schon in weiten Zügen angelegt waren. Comics selbst haben inzwischen eine hundertjährige Geschichte hinter sich, in denen unterschiedlichste Wege gefunden wurden, die Potentiale des Mediums auszuloten und auf immer neue Weise weiterzuentwickeln. Comics mögen über lange Zeit eine verachtete Kunstform gewesen sein, aber sie waren in dieser Zeit trotzdem überaus erfolgreich, und immer wieder haben kreative und innovative Künstler dieses Medium als Ausdruckform für sich gewählt. Die folgenden Seiten können also nur einen unzureichenden und viel zu kurzen Überblick über einige der wichtigsten Aspekte geben. Ich konzentriere mich dabei auf die Elemente, die auch in der Literatur und Literaturwissenschaft von Bedeutung sind und daher einen interdisziplinären Austausch begünstigen.

Traditionell beginnen Überblicksartikel zu Comics mit der Feststellung, dass das lange missachtete Medium inzwischen in den Feuilletons und in der Literatur- und Medienwissenschaft Anerkennung gefunden hat. Danach folgt ein kurzer Abriss über die Geschichte der Bilderzählung seit den Wandmalereien der Höhle von Lascaux; die üblichen Stationen sind ägyptische Fresken, die Trajanssäule, der Teppich von Bayeux, Maya-Codices und die Druckgraphik von William Hogarth, bis schließlich der Beginn des eigentlichen Comics zu Beginn oder im Verlauf des 19. Jahrhunderts erreicht wird und damit die ausführliche Darstellung der Geschichte des Mediums beginnen kann (z.B. McCloud 1994, 10-17; Chute 2010, 12; Petersen 2011, 2-20, Boyd 2010, 98; Inge 2017, 9). Damit wird der Grundauffassung von einem Primat des geschriebenen Wortes gefolgt, die Bildgeschichte erscheint als ein untergeordnetes Phänomen, das aber zur Legitimation des Mediums vornehmlich in der Hochkultur gesucht und gefunden wird, bis es sich dann etabliert und schließlich gegen lange Widerstände als ein Äquivalent zu anderen Medien mit eigenem ästhetischen und kognitiven Potential durchsetzen kann.

Die folgende Behandlung des Comics weicht von diesem Muster ab, indem der Geschichte der Bilderzählung vor der Entstehung des Comics breiterer Raum gewidmet wird und die Entwicklung des Mediums im 20. Jahrhundert dann auf dieser Basis neu interpretiert wird. Visuelle Information wird dabei nicht als ein kulturelles Nebenprodukt oder als Illustration der eigentlich dominierenden Schrift verstanden, sondern als zunächst vorherrschendes oder zumindest gleichrangiges Medium, das für die meisten Menschen erst relativ spät von geschriebenen Texten abgelöst wurde, um dann in der Form des Comics zurückzukehren.

Ich werde mich in diesem Rahmen auf die wesentlichsten Elemente beschränken müssen, die auch für die Literaturwissenschaft von Bedeutung sind; dazu gehören Sequentialität, Serialität, Seitengestaltung, Zeitkonstruktion und Intermedialität.

Cultural Studies in the EFL Classroom, 2006

The Orphan in Fiction and Comics since the 19th Century, 2018

This chapter explores the representation, role, and function of orphans in comics and graphic nov... more This chapter explores the representation, role, and function of orphans in comics and graphic novels. If orphans are no longer a central motif in mainstream 20th-century literature, this is decidedly not the case in the comics where, ever since the end of the 19th century, orphans seem to be the norm rather than the exception. Depending on the different genres—funnies and gag-a-day strips, comic books, superhero comics, underground comix, and autobiographical comics—orphans appear in very diverse contexts, even if specific patterns are, of course, clearly noticeable. Sometimes the motif serves the generic requirements, or traditional narrative types are resurrected, but then the orphan occasionally also seems to serve commercial interests. In the face of their near ubiquity, however, orphans in comics have not been systematically researched. Of course, in the discussion of single works like Gasoline Alley or subgenres like the superhero comics the motif could not have escaped notice, but no thorough investigation has yet been published, an omission which this chapter intends to remedy.
When sequential pictorial narratives started to appear in American newspapers and Sunday supplements, the stories were short and consisted of only a few pictures. These minimal stories, usually culminating in a joke, lent themselves to the depiction of humorous pranks and mischief and thus also to juvenile protagonists, and as the format did not allow for any development of background or extended characterisation, it is occasionally difficult or impossible to determine whether the youngsters are orphans or functional orphans, or whether parents simply do not make an appearance. Thus, we learn only after quite some time that the Yellow Kid is, indeed, an orphan while most of the other urchins seem to have parents who are, however, usually absent from the stories.
When the artists began to organise the strips into longer narrations which were still published in the original format of daily strips, this also had an impact on the orphan motif. Unlike novels, which can speed up the narration and omit unwelcome aspects of the story but also include elements that were not considered suitable for the innocent entertainment of the funnies, the comic strips published on a day-to-day-basis were at the same time more and less realistic. They were less realistic as the time is frequently frozen and no real development takes place, but they are also more realistic as temporal gaps are very rare, if they exist at all. In addition, the series, which often ran on for many years—some are still around today—were not completely planned out, and experimental changes could be introduced quickly; in this they are similar to serialised novels of the 19th century, which could also accommodate reader’s responses for higher circulation and commercial success. If a new feature or figure seemed promising to the comic artist or the publisher, it could be included immediately, but if it did not meet the approval of the audience, it could easily be dropped again equally quickly. Famously, the publisher of Gasoline Alley wanted to increase the appeal and reach a female audience and thus demanded to have a child added to the strip. But as courtship, marriage, and pregnancy would have taken up considerable time and also include elements that were not acceptable in the funnies, the child was delivered as an orphan to the doorstep of the main character and, being very successful, stayed with him ever after. Similarly, Huey, Dewey and Louie were dropped off at Donald’s house by his sister and simply never picked up again—in consequence, most readers assume that they must be orphans, even though strictly speaking they are on a very long visit to their uncle.
In such cases, orphanhood is not linked to any loss, grief, or suffering, but once orphans are presented outside of a safe environment like the peer group in the Yellow Kid comics or the home of the foster parent in Gasoline Alley, more traditional plot elements or clichés à la Oliver Twist appear. In Little Orphan Annie, the orphanage where the young heroine grows up is a dismal place with little warmth or affection, and the danger of being returned there remains a constant threat throughout the series. In other stories, in particular in early detective and superhero comics, orphans and orphanages are occasionally introduced as potential victims of corrupt and criminal officials and administrators; they will eventually be saved by the respective hero who originally, and particularly in the era of the New Deal, frequently followed a social agenda.
With the rise of the superhero comics, the motif of the orphan undergoes a radical change. As in 20th-century fantasy, the heroes and, less often, heroines are to some extent constructed on the patterns of the mythological hero and follow modified variants of the heroic journey described in the Campbellian monomyth, and thus they are quite regularly orphans. In addition, some of them witness the violent death of one or both parents which may trigger the decision to fight crime. But then those heroes are also haunted by the return of the trauma and occasionally more or less justified feelings of guilt. Over the decades, such stories of origin are usually embellished and extended, and in some storylines the heroic orphans have become neurotic or even psychotic.
With the turn to underground comix, graphic novels and life writing, orphans become less frequent. Autobiographical plot elements and more mature topics shift the works towards the real living conditions of the 20th century in which orphanhood is no longer a common phenomenon. The loss of parents happens at later stages of life, and the actual moment of loss is often embedded in the routines or mechanics of modern life; in consequence, the experience is numbed and the protagonists have to come to terms with their seeming indifference and failure at “authentic” grief. These works may still show the graphic eccentricities and an occasionally bizarre imagery that mark some subgenres of comics and graphic novels, but they are ultimately quite close to the narratives in mainstream literature which explore emotional responses to tragedy in our world, a world that is marked by alienation, inhibitions, fragmentation, and isolation.
In comics journalism or documentary comics, the focus is often on catastrophes like war or natural disasters, and here orphans or functional orphans may become important again. The orphan appears as the emblematic consequence of failed politics, aggression and violence, inhumanity, or simply social incompetence and indifference in our urban landscapes.

Magic, Science, Technology, and Literature, 2006

Anglistentag 1997 Giessen, 1998

Perspectives on English Revolutionary Republicanism, 2014

Tteaching Postmodernism - Postmodern Teaching, 2004

In the title of volume in which this paper was published, the two elements ‘Teaching Postmodernis... more In the title of volume in which this paper was published, the two elements ‘Teaching Postmodernism’ and ‘Postmodern Teaching’ are divided by a dash. I want to suggest that this dash is akin to the line between the signifier and the signified in Saussure’s and Lacan’s theories of language, i.e. it is a rigid bar that separates two terms which cannot be brought together. The juxtaposition of the two terms is oxymoronic. The very idea of “teaching something” implies that there is, at least for the moment, a certain “something” that is central to the endeavour of teaching while other topics are momentarily less important and can thus be marginalized. Moreover, teaching requires some kind of instance, i.e. a teacher, who is already informed about the issues at stake and is thus in a position to guide the process, i.e. to instruct. This puts her into a position of authority and knowledge, a position that is challenged by the most basic concepts of postmodernism.
This should not yet present a real problem, as teaching does not necessarily require the intrusion of an authoritarian voice. Neither does it need the power games of evaluation and grading to be successful. Instead participation, exploration and investigation can lead to forms of integrated understanding and mutual assistance in the course of learning, and so the heavy hand of the old-time teacher can be substituted by less rigid forms of guidance or interaction.
Unfortunately, postmodernism not only challenges previous concepts of centrality and knowledge, it is also, and prides itself on being, counterintuitive. The death of the author/individual, the denial of any reality outside of language – a language that inevitably fails to signify beyond the infinite play of signifiers – or the social construction of the physical world are not concepts that lend themselves to easy access by students. And while counterintuitive aspects also enter into other fields of knowledge where they can still be readily taught and experimentally observed (quantum theory immediately comes to mind), postmodern ideas resist all attempts at direct investigation and experimental verification.
My paper explores some of the logical dilemmas that face the teacher who tackles postmodernism – and I will draw on some experience from classes on “Postmodernism for Beginners” or introductions to English studies.

Comics und Naturwissenschaften, 2019

Evolution and Popular Narrative, 2019

This paper suggests that that in the field of evolutionary criticism popular literature and cultu... more This paper suggests that that in the field of evolutionary criticism popular literature and culture are no less important than canonical works as investigations into popular narratives may lead to results that are in contrast with those derived from the classics and other acclaimed works of “high” literature. In consequence, this research complements the more common studies of canonical works and provides data that may prove to be useful for the exploration of human nature and also for the reconstruction of our evolutionary past. The specific topic chosen to make this point is the representation of love and marriage. Other themes and motifs, e.g. violence, cheater detection, revenge, or mobility, would, of course, also be suitable for scrutiny.
In order to present a conclusive argument, the paper includes a brief survey of the ongoing discussion on mate selection, stable pair bonding and monogamy in our evolutionary history. I argue that that the evidence for monogamy, long-term bonding and female mate selection in hominins is not yet conclusive and that alternative models should also be taken into consideration. The main section of this paper then analyses two of the most successful genres in popular culture, the romance novel and the adventure plot, the latter including subgenres like the Arthurian romance, the Western, detective and spy fiction, a large segment of science fiction, as well as myths, legends, and fairy tales. The results indicate a preference for figures and narrative patterns that differ from those found in research on canonical works. In romance novels, we frequently find the temporal erotic attraction of a cad or rogue which indicates that sexual interest is not simply geared towards the selection of a male who promises a stable and beneficial long-term relationship; in the adventure plot, male-male interaction is usually far more important than mate selection, and sexual relations are usually short-term and correlated to success in inter-male competition. Popular culture thus offers important insights and needs to be taken more seriously in evolutionary criticism.

Dasselbe noch einmal - Die Ästhetik der Wiederholung (Carola Hilmes + Dietrich Mathy (eds.), 1998

Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this volume explores representations of skin in literatur... more Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this volume explores representations of skin in literature, art, art history, visual media, and medicine and its history. The essays collected here probe the symbolic potential of skin as a shifting sign in various historical and cultural contexts, and also examine the material and organic properties of the body’s largest organ. They deal with skin as a sensual organ, as an interface or contact zone, as the visual marker of identity, and as a lieu de memoire in different periods and media. In its material characteristics, skin is regarded as a medium, a canvas, a surface, and an object of both artistic and medical investigations.

The contributions investigate representations of skin in sculpture, painting, film, and fictional, as well as non-fictional, texts from the 16th century to the present. The topics addressed here include the problematic representation of racial identity via skin colour in various media; the sensual qualities of the skin, such as smell or taste; the form and function of tattoos as markers of personal, as well as collective, identity; and scars as signifiers of personal pain and collective suffering.

The series presents accessible readings of major works of contemporary literature in English for... more The series presents accessible readings of major works of contemporary literature in English for schools and universities by specialists in the respective fields. All those seeking an introduction to or further inspiration on specific texts and their authors as well as those in need of a comprehensive, substantial survey of writings in English should profit from this book. The choice of some dozens of texts for each of the genres – in the present case film – is based on the teaching experience of the book’s editors and contributors, but also reflects their individual preferences. The comprehensively structured articles begin with a short introduction to the author’s biography, the text’s generic traditions and historical contexts, followed by discussions of its innovative quality and its intertextual aspects. A plot synopsis and an analysis of a key scene are also included, leading to an interpretation that focuses on the text’s main issues. Articles conclude with suggestions on teaching activities and a list of up-to-date secondary sources.

The current volume in two parts provides new material for the study of film and offers readings of 35 films, underscoring the richness of the contemporary scene of film in English around the globe. The editors and the contributors hope to transmit some of the enthusiasm films have always inspired in them.

The Mighty Heart or the Desert in Disguise - The Metropolis between Realism and Fantasy, 2007

The essays collected in this volume highlight the narrative as a phenomenon inherent in human nat... more The essays collected in this volume highlight the narrative as a phenomenon inherent in human nature. They examine the likely purpose of artistic and literary expression and its contribution to survival in an early human environment. They also consider the developing interest in shaping experience through the narrative, and investigate the consequent significance of traits acquired throughout the ages for the production and reception of texts. In doing so, the book provides a highly diverse overview of the latest research and debates in this innovative field of research.

Die Untersuchung möglicher evolutionärer Ursprünge menschlichen Verhaltens und dabei auch der Kunst und Literatur hat sich in den letzten Jahren zu einem fruchtbaren, aber auch umstrittenen Arbeitsfeld entwickelt. Galt noch vor wenigen Jahren das Paradigma, dass ausschließlich Kultur die menschliche Lebenswirklichkeit bestimmt, so werden inzwischen alternative Modelle diskutiert, nach denen auch evolutionär erworbene Faktoren eine wesentliche Rolle spielen können. Daraus ergeben sich spannende Fragestellungen für die Untersuchung der Funktionalität des Erzählens in der frühmenschlichen Umwelt, der Entwicklung narrativer Strukturen sowie auch der Rolle bei der Produktion und Rezeption fiktionaler Texte. Die in diesem Band versammelten Aufsätze diskutieren diese Fragen aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven und geben damit einen umfassenden Überblick über den aktuellen Forschungsstand in diesem wesentlichen interdisziplinären Forschungsgebiet.

Evolution and Popular Narrative, 2019

The contributors to this volume share the assumption that popular narrative, when viewed with an ... more The contributors to this volume share the assumption that popular
narrative, when viewed with an evolutionary lens, offers an incisive
index into human nature. In theory, narrative art could take a near
infinity of possible forms. In actual practice, however, particular
motifs, plot patterns, stereotypical figures, and artistic devices
persistently resurface, indicating specific predilections frequently
at odds with our actual living conditions. Our studies explore
various media and genres to gauge the impact of our evolutionary
inheritance, in interdependence with the respective cultural
environments, on our aesthetic appreciation. As they suggest,
research into mass culture is not only indispensable for
evolutionary criticism but may also contribute to our
understanding of prehistoric selection pressures that still influence
modern preferences in popular narrative.

The Orphan in Fiction and Comics since the 19th Century, 1918

The orphan has turned pout to be an extraordinarily versatile literary figure. By juxtaposing div... more The orphan has turned pout to be an extraordinarily versatile literary figure. By juxtaposing diverse fictional representations of orphans, this volume sheds light on the development of crucial concepts such as childhood, family, the status of parental legacy, individualism, identity, and charity. The first chapter argues that the figure of the orphan was suitable for negotiating a remarkable range of cultural anxieties and discourses in novels from the Victorian period. This is followed by a discussion of both the (rare) examples of novels from the first half of the 20th century in which main characters are orphaned at a young age and Anglophone narratives written from the 1980s onward, when the figure of the orphan proliferated once more. The trope of the picaro, the theme of absence, and the problem of parental substitutes are among the issues addressed in contemporary orphan narratives. The book also looks at the orphan motif in three popular fantasy series, namely Rowling’s Harry Potter septology, Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, and Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. It then traces the development of the orphan motif from the end of the 19th century to the present in a range of different types of comics, including funnies and gag-a-day strips, superhero comics, underground comix and autobiographical comics.

An Stelle eines Abstracts: Ich wurde gebeten, diese Arbeit ins Internet zu stellen, und folge die... more An Stelle eines Abstracts: Ich wurde gebeten, diese Arbeit ins Internet zu stellen, und folge dieser Bitte mit einigen Bedenken. Ich stimme zwar den meisten darin enthaltenen Untersuchungen und Schlussfolgerungen noch zu, aber durchaus nicht allen. Dies betrifft besonders die Ausführungen zur Psychoanalyse. Meine Sicht dazu hat sich in den Jahren seit der Veröffentlichung deutlich geändert, und ich würde psychoanalytische Konzepte heute nicht mehr als Grundlage für eine Erklärung, sondern nur noch als weiteres Beispiel für die in der Arbeit beschriebenen Phänomene heranziehen. Die Arbeit wurde 1994 veröffentlicht und ist also nicht mehr ganz neu. Sie entstand aus Gesprächen mit Physikern und der darauffolgenden Lektüre wissenschaftlicher und populärwissenschaftlicher Texte zur Quantenphysik, bei denen ich feststellte, dass die Ausführungen zu den ungewöhnlichen und unerklärbaren Phänomenen deutliche Ähnlichkeiten mit Erklärungen und Interpretationen zu James Joyces enigmatischem Werk Finnegans Wake aufwiesen. In kurzer Zeit stieß ich auf immer mehr Bereiche, in denen sich analoge Erklärungsmuster finden ließen – im Mythos, der vorsokratischen Philosophie, in mystischem Denken, in der Renaissancephilosophie und in der Psychoanalyse. Der Gedanke, dass all diese Bereiche intrinsisch miteinander verbunden sein könnten und möglicherweise sogar jeweils versuchten, eine gemeinsame Wahrheit auszudrücken, erschien mir unsinnig; stattdessen wurde deutlich, dass sich die Analogien auf bestimmte sprachliche und speziell rhetorische Mittel zurückführen ließen, die jeweils wieder herangezogen wurden, um das Undarstellbare sprachlich zu erfassen. Die Arbeit verfolgt dementsprechend den Gedanken, dass der Versuch, Phänomene darzustellen, für die es (noch) keine adäquate Sprache gibt, quasi automatisch zu ähnlichen Darstellungsformen und Erklärungen führt. So mögen die Aussagen mystischen Denkens und der Quantenphysik zwar gelegentlich ähnlich klingen, dies lässt aber nicht auf inhärente inhaltliche Analogien schließen, sondern verweist lediglich darauf, dass sich die darzustellenden Phänomene der Alltagssprache verweigern und daher nicht adäquat dargestellt werden können – worauf sowohl Physiker als auch mystische Denker immer wieder verweisen. Ich möchte an dieser Stelle betonen, dass meine Arbeit keine Aussagen über naturwissenschaftliche Inhalte oder auch naturwissenschaftliches Arbeiten trifft und auch keinesfalls wissenschaftskritische oder relativistische Tendenzen verfolgt. Es geht in den Ausführungen zur Physik lediglich um die auch von Physikern immer wieder geäußerten Probleme, ihre Hypothesen und Theorien zu den bizarren Phänomenen der Quantenphysik aus der Mathematik in eine Sprache zu übersetzen, die von unseren Vorfahren dazu entwickelt wurde, unsere eher begrenzten Sinneseindrücke zu kommunizieren und unser Alltagsleben zu bewältigen. Allerdings ließe sich evtl. der Schluss ziehen, dass das gehäufte Auftreten bestimmter sprachlicher und rhetorischer Muster darauf verweist, dass ein Prozess der Theoriebildung noch nicht abgeschlossen ist und die jeweiligen Phänomene noch keine ausreichende Erklärung gefunden haben.
Die Pagination dieser Datei entspricht nicht der veröffentlichten Fassung.

Theoretische Welten und literarische Transformationen, 2004

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit den neuesten Entwicklungen im Verhältnis von Literatu... more Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit den neuesten Entwicklungen im Verhältnis von Literatur und Naturwissenschaft. Im ersten Teil findet eine kritische Auseinandersetzung mit den science wars statt. Eine besondere Rolle spielt dabei die "Rhetorik der Naturwissenschaften", da hier auch die Literaturwissenschaft zum Tragen kommen kann. Dabei werden rhetorische Elemente in der naturwissenschaftlichen Sprache nicht als Beleg für Mängel in der Erkenntnisfähigkeit kritisiert, sondern gerade auch Konzepte nutzbar gemacht, die die Erkenntnisträchtigkeit von Metaphern untersuchen. Darüber hinaus werden Aspekte aus der Gedächtnisforschung, der Rhetorik, der Kognitionsbiologie und der Evolutionstheorie dafür herangezogen, Fragen nach der Sprachentstehung und der Herkunft der anscheinend ubiquitären rhetorischen und poetischen Elemente der Sprache zu beleuchten. Die Arbeit soll damit einen Beitrag auf dem Weg zu einer produktiven Interdisziplinarität leisten.

Im zweiten Teil werden derzeit gängige literaturwissenschaftlichen Positionen zur literarischen Verarbeitung neuerer naturwissenschaftlicher Themen behandelt. Im Vordergrund steht eine Kritik an der kategorischen Ablehnung von Einflussmodellen, da diese nicht nur konzeptionelle Fehler aufweist, sondern auch dem Befund zuwiderläuft. Es folgen Untersuchungen von literarischen Texten, an denen sich nicht nur ein souveräner und kritischer Umgang mit naturwissenschaftlichen Themen zeigen lässt, sondern auch eine imaginative Bearbeitung, die jeden Verdacht auf ein hierarchisches Gefälle oder eine Abhängigkeit von wissenschaftlichen Wahrheitsansprüchen unterläuft.

Call for Papers, International Conference