No description available.

This thesis looks at the intertextuality among Lessing's Nathan der Weise, Kleist's Der Findling and Kafka's Das Urteil. Focus is laid on the repeated deployment of specific character types: an elderly, morally minded merchant and his adopted children. By tracing the similarities and differences of these literary works, themes of economics and adoption come to be understood as central motifs in these texts, and the different depictions of these motifs are shown to reflect differing notions of the self. The analyses in this thesis draw heavily upon the theory of the abject as portrayed in Julia Kristeva's Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection. Whereas Kristeva understands abjection as functioning within the context of a "social economy," this thesis tracks its treatment within other economic structures, starting with a moral economy in Lessing's drama, moving to an emotional economy in Kleist's novella, and ending with a semiotic economy in Kafka's novella. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2015. / April 3, 2015. / Abjection, Adoption, Kafka, Kleist, Lessing / Includes bibliographical references. / Christian Weber, Professor Directing Thesis; Alina Weber, Committee Member; Birgit Maier-Katkin, Committee Member.

This paper examines the question of what it means to be German. Its goal is to show a historic comparison between what was published in the 19th-century and what has changed since the end of WWII. The basis of the first part will be, among others, Richard Wagner's article "Was ist deutsch" (1865/1878) and Johann Gottlieb Fichte's "Reden an die deutsche Nation" (1807/1808). In the second part, these concepts and ideas will be put into relation with today's situation. That means, there will be a short introduction to the historical events that lead to today's situation of many people of Turkish descent living in Germany and constituting an inherent part of German society. This part also uses different media to show how Germans address the question of German identity since 1945. I argue that nowadays, especially people with migratory background, i. e. second- or third-generation immigrants deal with the topic of national identity and what it means to be "German," although these people do not comply with all categories of German national identity established in the 19th-century by personalities such as Fichte or Wagner. So, I will investigate if these categories are still applicable today. After few examples of what 19th-century thinkers would qualify as "pure Germans," my main focus will be on literature, music, and films by people with migratory background and how they express themselves towards German identity. I will show that Germany is more multicultural than pure and does to a certain extent no longer correspond to the ideals of the 19th-century, even though recent political movements raise their voice against this kind of new national identity. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2015. / April 3, 2015. / Includes bibliographical references. / Christian Weber, Professor Directing Thesis; Birgit Maier-Katkin, Committee Member; A. Dana Weber, Committee Member.

This thesis investigates wondrous events in G.E. Lessing's play Nathan der Weise as well as Kleist's novellas Der Findling and Das Erdbeben in Chili. These textual analyses explore the effects that wonders have on the three narratives as well as literature in general. Several prominent scholars from the mid-eighteenth to early-nineteenth century are engaged for their interpretations of wonder and miracles from religious, philosophical, and aesthetic perspectives, so as to gain a contemporary understanding of the topics. Such interpretations inform the three textual analyses that focus on major ‘wonders' that indicate the crucial role this topic has in literature. This thesis posits wonders and the wondrous to occupy a central discourse in these stories and make up the narrative core not just for literature, but for storytelling in a broader sense. This idea is validated by the ambiguity of the concept of Wunder/wonder, and its movement between the fields of religion and literature. Wonder uncovers an elemental foundation in literature; it reveals the dynamic potential storytelling has on society, while the stories show the ways in which society utilizes stories – and thus the wondrous – to maintain its order. Ultimately, the wonders discussed deal with a rupture, a wound, in the common, established order. The reciprocated sense of wonder leads both characters and readers deeper into the ‘wound,' further into the discourse and to the core of literature, society, religion; that which is based in wondrous narrative. Such discourses, as the stories reveal, base themselves in the struggle between nature and culture. Literature and poetry asserts itself as a medium between nature and culture alternative to reason, religion, myth, and so on through its regenerative display of the wound and thoroughgoing presence of wonder. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester 2016. / April 1, 2016. / Heinrich von Kleist, Lessing, Miracles, Wonder, Wondrous / Includes bibliographical references. / Christian Weber, Professor Directing Thesis; Alina Dana Weber, Committee Member; Birgit Maier-Katkin, Committee Member.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.