Series

The series ‘Quellen zur Kunst’ (Examining Art through Sources) presents the works of art it examines from the perspective of one or several contemporary literary sources. The starting point for these examinations is the traditional understanding of a painting, sculpture, piece of architecture or graphic representation. The sources used can take the form of not only literary essays, artists’ statements and iconographic ensembles, but also, for example, pamphlets, chronicles or reviews.

This series of publications is primarily reserved for those works which pursue new avenues of cultural studies research in the humanities and also address interdisciplinary issues. First and foremost, therefore, it places particular emphasis on studies which are able to go beyond merely taking an, at times, overly isolated view of individual subjects by dealing with cultural studies issues and by broadening horizons.

Since 2015, monographs, anthologies and conference proceedings on subjects relating to the history of knowledge from literary studies and its related disciplines have been published in the series ‘Das Unsichere Wissen der Literatur’ (The Changeable Knowledge of Literature). In addition to reflecting methodically on the relationship between literary texts and discursive contexts, the series focuses on the diverse and partly contradictory functions of literature in the production, discussion and diffusion of cultural knowledge. If knowledge is understood as a process rather than substance, the changeable knowledge of literature with its fiction, fantasies and fakes proves to be a key factor in understanding processes of knowledge production which need to be constantly reappraised.

The series entitled ‘klang-reden. Schriften zur Musikalischen Rezeptions- und Interpretationsgeschichte’ (Tonal Discussions. Studies on the history of the reception and interpretation of music) was founded by the Institute for the History of Musical Reception and Interpretation in 2008. To date, the series has focused on Mozart, modern classical music, baroque music, popular music and methods used in musical interpretation research. One of its significant incentives in studying this field is, in particular, to place topics relating to musical practice in a clear context.

Since it was founded 100 years ago by the musicologist Willibald Gurlitt, the music department at the University of Freiburg has studied the history of music from the early Middle Ages to the present. The volumes in the series ‘Freiburger Beiträge zur Musikwissenschaft’ (the Freiburg Contributions to Musicology), which have been published under the title Voces since 1995, are dedicated to upholding this tradition. This title refers to the tradition of medieval solmisation, which was taught and used until during the 16th century and represents a key element in understanding medieval sources of music. In this respect, the publications in the series are intended to bring to life the works they focus on through historical and music theory source criticism in tandem with intensive analytical examinations, and in this way make them more understandable for readers today.

The Freiburger Romanistische Arbeiten is the most important series of publications for Romance studies in Freiburg. It publishes projects funded by the Dr Jürgen and Irmgard Ulderup Foundation, including outstanding postgraduate dissertations. These research studies from the fields of linguistics, literary studies and cultural studies fulfil the series’ goal of publishing works based on both intermedia and interdisciplinary research, as well as those that address up-to-date, contemporary issues. Its volumes are mostly published in German, but also in French, Italian, Spanish and English.

This yearbook has been published since 1993 and is regarded as the most important institution in research into Hofmannsthal. On the one hand, it places the works of Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874–1929) in the aesthetic and socio-historical context of modern European culture. According to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung , its publication of previously unpublished correspondence is one of its particular merits. On the other hand, contributions from renowned experts in literature, the fine arts, philosophy, psychology, politics, and in dance and theatre at the turn of the century are also collected in this yearbook.

For an academic discipline like German studies to make its mark, global networking is essential, especially in a country such as Australia, which due to its geostrategical location does not allow for proliferent German studies research in the same way that Europe does. ‘Limbus—The Australian Yearbook of German Literary and Cultural Studies’ is intended to take this need into account. Its goal is to further promote Australian German studies to readers with some knowledge of this field and to provide a specifically Australian forum for international discussion on this subject area. Each annual issue focuses on a particular main topic decided on by the editors, and in no way ignores the ideas and opinions of Germanists living and working outside Australia. This periodical, which was first published in 2008, regularly publishes academic essays and reviews of new academic publications from the field of German literary and cultural studies. Its editors are assisted by an academic panel consisting of experts from around the world.

Anthologies and monographs are collected in our publishing house’s flagship series, which addresses current topics from the field of humanities, in particular based on interdisciplinary questions. Founded in 1988 by the distinguished Germanist Gerhard Neumann (1934–2017), this highly respected series has become irreplaceable in literature studies and cultural studies research.

The series entitled ‘Nordica’ offers up-to-date literary studies contributions to Scandinavian studies in the form of monographs and anthologies. Since it was founded in the year 2000, the series has established itself above all as a forum for discussion and the application of cultural and media studies approaches to new Scandinavian studies. ‘Nordica’ offers its readers the chance to follow recent developments in interdisciplinary theory and methods with innovative reading matter on literature, film and other media from northern Europe. Interdisciplinary networking, the relevance of literary studies in general for Scandinavian studies and the significance of Scandinavian cultural heritage for interdisciplinary literature studies are important in this respect. Accordingly, the series has already published studies on the definitive authors of Nordic literature such as Strindberg, Ibsen, Hamsun and Inger Christensen, on Scandinavian contemporary and youth literature, which is widely read internationally, and also on the relation between text and pictures, and literature and radio or jazz.

Monographs, anthologies and conference proceedings that address subjects from the fields of dance, theatre studies and musical theatre studies are published in the series entitled Scenae, which was founded in 2013. In view of the multifaceted variety of the performing arts and media, it examines issues from an interdisciplinary perspective and constantly bears in mind the fascinating interplay between theory and practice and between academic study and art.

While the ecclesial, theological and social history of modern Catholicism, which has developed since 1800, has been researched extensively, its manifestations with regard to literary and cultural history have tended to receive merely sparse attention and be regarded with extreme reservation. In this regard, the series entitled ‘Catholica’ breaks new ground, primarily in German-speaking research into this field. By being the first series to raise awareness of the broad spectrum of the image of literary Catholicism since 1800 in terms of literary aesthetics, historical assessment, cultural appraisal, the history of piety and intellectualism, and the intensive interdependence between and permeation of authors and milieus, plus their mutual distancing from each other, it shows that Catholic literature is also part of the plural modernity of the 19th and 20th centuries, which abounds with self-contradictions.

The series »Ethnomusicology in the 21st century«, which was established at Goethe University in Frankfurt in 2021, includes monographs, edited volumes and conference proceedings on the fields of ethnomusicology and the anthropology of music. In light of the increasing importance of digitalisation, political debates on postcolonial and post-migrant societies, and the global health and climate crises, this series explores their consequences for music-making, discussing current issues, research approaches and paradigms.

Dying, death and grief have to be regarded as fundamental aspects of cultural coexistence because humans cannot avoid dealing with them when they live with others. A diminishing circle of friends and family, the pain of loss, the transformation of a living being into a dead body, the symbols and rituals of saying farewell to the deceased, plus the contribution of medical, religious and other forms of expertise along with many other aspects reveal, on the one hand, the potential of the utter devastation a person’s death can trigger. On the other, these forms of expression and modes of behaviour also underline that dying and death are not purely natural occurrences. They transpire amid societal mechanisms which reflect a large and, at times, contradictory variety of reflective processes in addressing the finite nature of life. Death is a human’s greatest certainty in life. In this respect, the series of publications Thanatological Studies provides a forum for both theoretical and empirical works which address the social, normative, aesthetic, spiritual, bodily, psychological and other facets of death and dying, and by extension grief and remembrance, from the perspectives of different academic disciplines.

This series is intended as a forum for a form of literary studies whose cultural studies expansion has been consolidated since the ›turns‹ in recent decades. The monographs and anthologies it publishes address the ›textures‹ which literature (and culture in general) is composed of: the literal materials and the media and cultural contexts that are inserted and interwoven into texts. These works and analyses are characterised by their openness towards incisive theoretical discussions in literary, media and cultural studies as well as their demands for innovative approaches.

The volumes in the series intro: Literaturwissenschaf provide a sound, compact and understandable introduction to both fundamental and current topics relating to a form of literary studies whose cultural studies expansion is based, for example, on the ‘turns’ of recent decades, such as the cultural turn, spatial turn, social turn, etc. The books will appeal to students of all branches of philology who would like to obtain an overview of their respective subject area, and the structured discussions, concise summaries, bibliographical references as well as questions and suggestions for further research in the volumes will facilitate students’ introduction to the subject matter.