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German Literary Studies and the Nation

Publication ,  Journal Article
Norberg, J
Published in: German Quarterly
December 1, 2018

© 2018, American Association of Teachers of German This paper argues that German literary studies was, from its inception, an entirely nationalist and nation-building endeavor, perhaps the quintessential nationalist project. Among the discipline's foundational premises are its belief in and commitment to a diversity of culturally individuated national communities (rather than one uniform humanity), a non-hierarchical plurality of vernaculars (rather than classical languages), and historically inflected and culturally expressive aesthetic forms (rather than transhistorically and transregionally valid templates of excellence). Three disciplinary activities of early Germanistik—Germanic historical linguistics, vernacular canon formation, and national literary history—are introduced as key instruments of nationalization. In conclusion, the paper claims that contemporary German Studies in the US, thankfully a reflective and critical enterprise, nonetheless remains institutionally completely dependent on the paradigm of the linguistically and culturally defined nation.

Duke Scholars

Published In

German Quarterly

DOI

EISSN

1756-1183

ISSN

0016-8831

Publication Date

December 1, 2018

Volume

91

Issue

1

Start / End Page

1 / 17

Related Subject Headings

  • 4705 Literary studies
  • 2005 Literary Studies
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Norberg, J. (2018). German Literary Studies and the Nation. German Quarterly, 91(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/gequ.12055
Norberg, J. “German Literary Studies and the Nation.” German Quarterly 91, no. 1 (December 1, 2018): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/gequ.12055.
Norberg J. German Literary Studies and the Nation. German Quarterly. 2018 Dec 1;91(1):1–17.
Norberg, J. “German Literary Studies and the Nation.” German Quarterly, vol. 91, no. 1, Dec. 2018, pp. 1–17. Manual, doi:10.1111/gequ.12055.
Norberg J. German Literary Studies and the Nation. German Quarterly. 2018 Dec 1;91(1):1–17.
Journal cover image

Published In

German Quarterly

DOI

EISSN

1756-1183

ISSN

0016-8831

Publication Date

December 1, 2018

Volume

91

Issue

1

Start / End Page

1 / 17

Related Subject Headings

  • 4705 Literary studies
  • 2005 Literary Studies