The Critical Reception of Alfred Döblin's Major Novels

The Critical Reception of Alfred Döblin's Major Novels

Author: Wulf Köpke

Publisher: Camden House

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 9781571132093

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The first thorough study in English of the reception of Döblin's novels, written by one of the foremost Döblin scholars. Alfred Döblin (1878-1957) is one of the major German writers of the twentieth century. His experimental, ever-changing, avant-garde style kept both readers and critics off guard, and although he won the acclaim of critics and hada clear impact on German writers after the Second World War (Günter Grass called him "my teacher"), he is still largely unknown to the reading public, and under-researched by literary scholars. He was a prolific writer, with thirteen novels alongside a great many other shorter fiction works and non-fiction writings to his credit, and yet, paradoxically, he is known to a larger public as the author of only one book, the 1929 novel Berlin Alexanderplatz, which sold more copies in the first weeks of publication than all his previous novels combined. Alexanderplatz is known for its depiction of the criminal underground of Berlin and a montage and stream-of-consciousness technique comparable to James Joyce's Ulysses; it became one of the best-known big-city novels of the century and has remained Döblin's one enduring popular success. Döblin was forced into exile in 1933, and the works he wrote in exile were neglected by critics for decades. Now epic works like Amazonas, November 1918, and Hamlet, Oder die lange Nacht nimmt ein Ende are finding a fairer critical evaluation. Wulf Koepke tackles the paradox of Döblin the leading but neglected avant-gardist by analysis of contemporary and later criticism, both journalistic and academic, always taking into account the historical context in which it appeared. Wulf Koepke is Professor Emeritus at Texas A&M University.


Book Synopsis The Critical Reception of Alfred Döblin's Major Novels by : Wulf Köpke

Download or read book The Critical Reception of Alfred Döblin's Major Novels written by Wulf Köpke and published by Camden House. This book was released on 2003 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first thorough study in English of the reception of Döblin's novels, written by one of the foremost Döblin scholars. Alfred Döblin (1878-1957) is one of the major German writers of the twentieth century. His experimental, ever-changing, avant-garde style kept both readers and critics off guard, and although he won the acclaim of critics and hada clear impact on German writers after the Second World War (Günter Grass called him "my teacher"), he is still largely unknown to the reading public, and under-researched by literary scholars. He was a prolific writer, with thirteen novels alongside a great many other shorter fiction works and non-fiction writings to his credit, and yet, paradoxically, he is known to a larger public as the author of only one book, the 1929 novel Berlin Alexanderplatz, which sold more copies in the first weeks of publication than all his previous novels combined. Alexanderplatz is known for its depiction of the criminal underground of Berlin and a montage and stream-of-consciousness technique comparable to James Joyce's Ulysses; it became one of the best-known big-city novels of the century and has remained Döblin's one enduring popular success. Döblin was forced into exile in 1933, and the works he wrote in exile were neglected by critics for decades. Now epic works like Amazonas, November 1918, and Hamlet, Oder die lange Nacht nimmt ein Ende are finding a fairer critical evaluation. Wulf Koepke tackles the paradox of Döblin the leading but neglected avant-gardist by analysis of contemporary and later criticism, both journalistic and academic, always taking into account the historical context in which it appeared. Wulf Koepke is Professor Emeritus at Texas A&M University.


Berlin Alexanderplatz

Berlin Alexanderplatz

Author: Alfred Döblin

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2004-01-01

Total Pages: 410

ISBN-13: 9780826477897

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Alfred Döblin (1878-1957) studied medicine in Berlin and specialized in the treatment of nervous diseases. Along with his experiences as a psychiatrist in the workers' quarter of Berlin, his writing was inspired by the work of Holderlin, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche and was first published in the literary magazine, Der Sturm. Associated with the Expressionist literary movement in Germany, he is now recognized as on of the most important modern European novelists. Berlin Alexanderplatz is one of the masterpieces of modern European literature and the first German novel to adopt the technique of James Joyce. It tells the story of Franz Biberkopf, who, on being released from prison, is confronted with the poverty, unemployment, crime and burgeoning Nazism of 1920s Germany. As Franz struggles to survive in this world, fate teases him with a little pleasure before cruelly turning on him. Foreword by Alexander Stephan Translated by Eugene Jolas>


Book Synopsis Berlin Alexanderplatz by : Alfred Döblin

Download or read book Berlin Alexanderplatz written by Alfred Döblin and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2004-01-01 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alfred Döblin (1878-1957) studied medicine in Berlin and specialized in the treatment of nervous diseases. Along with his experiences as a psychiatrist in the workers' quarter of Berlin, his writing was inspired by the work of Holderlin, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche and was first published in the literary magazine, Der Sturm. Associated with the Expressionist literary movement in Germany, he is now recognized as on of the most important modern European novelists. Berlin Alexanderplatz is one of the masterpieces of modern European literature and the first German novel to adopt the technique of James Joyce. It tells the story of Franz Biberkopf, who, on being released from prison, is confronted with the poverty, unemployment, crime and burgeoning Nazism of 1920s Germany. As Franz struggles to survive in this world, fate teases him with a little pleasure before cruelly turning on him. Foreword by Alexander Stephan Translated by Eugene Jolas>


Why the Church?

Why the Church?

Author: Hans Joas

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2024-10-01

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1503640809

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Why did Christianity produce the special organizational form "church" in the first place? Is it possible to be a Christian without the church? To what extent is Christian faith in community with other believers an alternative to the mere self-optimization of individuals? In this accessible and questioning new work, Hans Joas traverses theological, church-historical, sociological, and ethical territory in search of a viable conception of the church adequate to contemporary globalized societies. Across eleven essays that draw on work by Ernst Troeltsch, Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, H. Richard Niebuhr, Leszek Kolakowski and others, Joas reflects on key debates—from the failure of so-called secularization theory to explain religiosity in modern society, to the role of Christianity and the church in relation to rampant nationalism and refugee crises, and to the question of whether or not human dignity ever was, or still is, the highest value in the West. Addressing the sociology of the church as the distinctive communal formation of Christianity for the last two millennia, Joas underscores the need for Christian conceptions of church to balance theological sensibility with concrete sociological grounding. In the process, he considers the relation of a community of faith to contemporary ideas about the optimization of life.


Book Synopsis Why the Church? by : Hans Joas

Download or read book Why the Church? written by Hans Joas and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2024-10-01 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why did Christianity produce the special organizational form "church" in the first place? Is it possible to be a Christian without the church? To what extent is Christian faith in community with other believers an alternative to the mere self-optimization of individuals? In this accessible and questioning new work, Hans Joas traverses theological, church-historical, sociological, and ethical territory in search of a viable conception of the church adequate to contemporary globalized societies. Across eleven essays that draw on work by Ernst Troeltsch, Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, H. Richard Niebuhr, Leszek Kolakowski and others, Joas reflects on key debates—from the failure of so-called secularization theory to explain religiosity in modern society, to the role of Christianity and the church in relation to rampant nationalism and refugee crises, and to the question of whether or not human dignity ever was, or still is, the highest value in the West. Addressing the sociology of the church as the distinctive communal formation of Christianity for the last two millennia, Joas underscores the need for Christian conceptions of church to balance theological sensibility with concrete sociological grounding. In the process, he considers the relation of a community of faith to contemporary ideas about the optimization of life.


Detectives, Dystopias, and Poplit

Detectives, Dystopias, and Poplit

Author: Bruce Campbell

Publisher: Boydell & Brewer

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 1571135936

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The first broad treatment of German genre fiction, containing innovative new essays on a variety of genres and foregrounding concerns of gender, environmentalism, and memory. Some of the most exciting research and teaching in the field of German Studies is being done on "genre fiction," including detective fiction, science fiction, and what is often called "poplit," to name but a few. Such non-canonical literature has long been marginalized by the German tradition of Bildung and the disciplinary practice of German literary studies (Germanistik). Even today, when the examination of non-canonical texts is well established and uncontroversial in other academic contexts, such texts remain understudied in German. And yet, the trend toward "German Studies" and "cultural studies" approaches within the field has raised considerable interest in theanalysis of genre fiction, resulting in both a great deal of new scholarship and a range of new courses. This first broad treatment of German genre fiction brings together innovative new scholarship, foregrounding themes of gender, environmentalism, and memory. It is an ideal companion to research and teaching. Written in accessible English, it speaks to a wide variety of disciplines beyond German Studies. Contributors: Bruce B. Campbell, Ray Canoy, Kerry Dunne, Sonja Fritzsche, Maureen O. Gallagher, Adam R. King, Molly Knight, Vibeke Rützou Petersen, Evan Torner, and Ailsa Wallace. Bruce B. Campbell is Associate Professor of German Studies at the College ofWilliam and Mary. Alison Guenther-Pal is Assistant Professor of German and Film Studies at Lawrence University. Vibeke Rützou Petersen is Professor Emerita of Women's Studies at Drake University.


Book Synopsis Detectives, Dystopias, and Poplit by : Bruce Campbell

Download or read book Detectives, Dystopias, and Poplit written by Bruce Campbell and published by Boydell & Brewer. This book was released on 2014 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first broad treatment of German genre fiction, containing innovative new essays on a variety of genres and foregrounding concerns of gender, environmentalism, and memory. Some of the most exciting research and teaching in the field of German Studies is being done on "genre fiction," including detective fiction, science fiction, and what is often called "poplit," to name but a few. Such non-canonical literature has long been marginalized by the German tradition of Bildung and the disciplinary practice of German literary studies (Germanistik). Even today, when the examination of non-canonical texts is well established and uncontroversial in other academic contexts, such texts remain understudied in German. And yet, the trend toward "German Studies" and "cultural studies" approaches within the field has raised considerable interest in theanalysis of genre fiction, resulting in both a great deal of new scholarship and a range of new courses. This first broad treatment of German genre fiction brings together innovative new scholarship, foregrounding themes of gender, environmentalism, and memory. It is an ideal companion to research and teaching. Written in accessible English, it speaks to a wide variety of disciplines beyond German Studies. Contributors: Bruce B. Campbell, Ray Canoy, Kerry Dunne, Sonja Fritzsche, Maureen O. Gallagher, Adam R. King, Molly Knight, Vibeke Rützou Petersen, Evan Torner, and Ailsa Wallace. Bruce B. Campbell is Associate Professor of German Studies at the College ofWilliam and Mary. Alison Guenther-Pal is Assistant Professor of German and Film Studies at Lawrence University. Vibeke Rützou Petersen is Professor Emerita of Women's Studies at Drake University.


The Wallenstein Figure in German Literature and Historiography 1790-1920

The Wallenstein Figure in German Literature and Historiography 1790-1920

Author: Steffan Davies

Publisher: MHRA

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 1906540284

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Albrecht von Wallenstein (1583-1634), one of the most famous and controversial personalities of the Thirty Years War, gained heightened prominence in the nineteenth century through Schiller's monumental drama Wallenstein (1798-99). This study tests Schiller's impact on historians as well as on later literary texts.


Book Synopsis The Wallenstein Figure in German Literature and Historiography 1790-1920 by : Steffan Davies

Download or read book The Wallenstein Figure in German Literature and Historiography 1790-1920 written by Steffan Davies and published by MHRA. This book was released on 2010 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Albrecht von Wallenstein (1583-1634), one of the most famous and controversial personalities of the Thirty Years War, gained heightened prominence in the nineteenth century through Schiller's monumental drama Wallenstein (1798-99). This study tests Schiller's impact on historians as well as on later literary texts.


Alfred Döblin

Alfred Döblin

Author: Steffan Davies

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2009-10-28

Total Pages: 431

ISBN-13: 3110217708

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Döblin’s texts, which range widely across contemporary discourses, are paradigms of the encounter between literary and scientific modernity. With their use of ‛Tatsachenphantasie’, they explode conventional language, seeking a new connection with the world of objects and things. This volume reassesses and reevaluates the uniquely interdisciplinary quality of Döblin’s interdiscursive, factually-inspired poetics by offering challenging new perspectives on key works. The volume analyses not only some of Döblin’s best-known novels and stories, but also neglected works including his early medical essays, political journalism and autobiographical texts. Other topics addressed are Döblin’s engagement with German history; his relation to medical discourse; his topography of Berlin; his aestheticisation of his own biography and his relation to other major writers such as Heine, Benn, Brecht and Sebald. With contributions in English and in German by scholars from Germany and the United Kingdom, the volume presents insights into Döblin that are of value to advanced researchers and to students alike.


Book Synopsis Alfred Döblin by : Steffan Davies

Download or read book Alfred Döblin written by Steffan Davies and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2009-10-28 with total page 431 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Döblin’s texts, which range widely across contemporary discourses, are paradigms of the encounter between literary and scientific modernity. With their use of ‛Tatsachenphantasie’, they explode conventional language, seeking a new connection with the world of objects and things. This volume reassesses and reevaluates the uniquely interdisciplinary quality of Döblin’s interdiscursive, factually-inspired poetics by offering challenging new perspectives on key works. The volume analyses not only some of Döblin’s best-known novels and stories, but also neglected works including his early medical essays, political journalism and autobiographical texts. Other topics addressed are Döblin’s engagement with German history; his relation to medical discourse; his topography of Berlin; his aestheticisation of his own biography and his relation to other major writers such as Heine, Benn, Brecht and Sebald. With contributions in English and in German by scholars from Germany and the United Kingdom, the volume presents insights into Döblin that are of value to advanced researchers and to students alike.


The German Historical Novel since the Eighteenth Century

The German Historical Novel since the Eighteenth Century

Author: Daniela Richter

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2016-12-14

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 1443857270

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The historical novel is a genre which has enjoyed widespread popularity in Germany from its beginnings in the eighteenth century. At that time, increased literacy among the middle and lower classes had resulted in a greater demand for reading material aimed at a general audience. Because of its educational and entertaining characteristics, the historical novel quickly became a dominant genre among other forms of popular literature. To this day, it constitutes a major sector on the German book market and is, together with popular TV series, documentaries, and museum exhibits, an important part of German Geschichtskultur. This collection of essays looks at aesthetic and thematic continuities, as well as changes in the development of the genre in Germany from the late eighteenth century to the present, and gives insights into the novels’ political and socio-cultural implications. The articles investigate historical novels from writers such as Benedikte Naubert, the ‘mother’ of German historical fiction, nineteenth-century popular writers Georg Ebers and Hermann Sudermann, modern writers such as Alfred Döblin, Hermann Hesse, and Hermann Broch, post-Wende works such as those by Thomas Brussig, Christa Wolf, and Ingo Schulze, and contemporary historical fiction by Sabine Weigand, Eveline Hasler and Petra Durst-Benning.


Book Synopsis The German Historical Novel since the Eighteenth Century by : Daniela Richter

Download or read book The German Historical Novel since the Eighteenth Century written by Daniela Richter and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2016-12-14 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The historical novel is a genre which has enjoyed widespread popularity in Germany from its beginnings in the eighteenth century. At that time, increased literacy among the middle and lower classes had resulted in a greater demand for reading material aimed at a general audience. Because of its educational and entertaining characteristics, the historical novel quickly became a dominant genre among other forms of popular literature. To this day, it constitutes a major sector on the German book market and is, together with popular TV series, documentaries, and museum exhibits, an important part of German Geschichtskultur. This collection of essays looks at aesthetic and thematic continuities, as well as changes in the development of the genre in Germany from the late eighteenth century to the present, and gives insights into the novels’ political and socio-cultural implications. The articles investigate historical novels from writers such as Benedikte Naubert, the ‘mother’ of German historical fiction, nineteenth-century popular writers Georg Ebers and Hermann Sudermann, modern writers such as Alfred Döblin, Hermann Hesse, and Hermann Broch, post-Wende works such as those by Thomas Brussig, Christa Wolf, and Ingo Schulze, and contemporary historical fiction by Sabine Weigand, Eveline Hasler and Petra Durst-Benning.


Redeeming Words

Redeeming Words

Author: David Michael Kleinberg-Levin

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2013-10-21

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 1438447825

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In this probing look at Alfred Döblin's 1929 novel Berlin Alexanderplatz and the stories of W. G. Sebald, Redeeming Words offers a philosophical meditation on the power of language in literature. David Kleinberg-Levin draws on the critical theory of Benjamin and Adorno; the idealism and romanticism of Kant, Hegel, Hölderlin, Novalis, and Schelling; and the nineteenth- and twentieth-century thought of Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Derrida. He shows how Döblin and Sebald—writers with radically different styles working in different historical moments—have in common a struggle against forces of negativity and an aim to bring about in response a certain redemption of language. Kleinberg-Levin considers the fast-paced, staccato, and hard-cut sentences of Döblin and the ghostly, languorous, and melancholy prose fiction of Sebald to articulate how both writers use language in an attempt to recover and convey this utopian promise of happiness for life in a time of mourning.


Book Synopsis Redeeming Words by : David Michael Kleinberg-Levin

Download or read book Redeeming Words written by David Michael Kleinberg-Levin and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2013-10-21 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this probing look at Alfred Döblin's 1929 novel Berlin Alexanderplatz and the stories of W. G. Sebald, Redeeming Words offers a philosophical meditation on the power of language in literature. David Kleinberg-Levin draws on the critical theory of Benjamin and Adorno; the idealism and romanticism of Kant, Hegel, Hölderlin, Novalis, and Schelling; and the nineteenth- and twentieth-century thought of Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Derrida. He shows how Döblin and Sebald—writers with radically different styles working in different historical moments—have in common a struggle against forces of negativity and an aim to bring about in response a certain redemption of language. Kleinberg-Levin considers the fast-paced, staccato, and hard-cut sentences of Döblin and the ghostly, languorous, and melancholy prose fiction of Sebald to articulate how both writers use language in an attempt to recover and convey this utopian promise of happiness for life in a time of mourning.


Modes of Faith

Modes of Faith

Author: Theodore Ziolkowski

Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com

Published: 2011-08-22

Total Pages: 554

ISBN-13: 1459627377

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In the decades surrounding World War I, religious belief receded in the face of radical new ideas such as Marxism, modern science, Nietzschean philosophy, and critical theology. Modes of Faith addresses both this decline of religious belief and the new modes of secular faith that took religion's place in the minds of many writers and poets. Theodore Ziolkowski here examines the motives for this embrace of the secular, locating new modes of faith in art, escapist travel, socialism, politicized myth, and utopian visions. James Joyce, he reveals, turned to art as an escape while Hermann Hesse made a pilgrimage to India in search of enlightenment. Other writers, such as Roger Martin du Gard and Thomas Mann, sought temporary solace in communism or myth. And H. G. Wells, Ziolkowski argues, took refuge in utopian dreams projected in another dimension altogether. Rooted in innovative and careful comparative reading of the work of writers from France, England, Germany, Italy, and Russia, Modes of Faith is a critical masterpiece by a distinguished literary scholar that offers an abundance of insight to anyone interested in the human compulsion to believe in forces that transcend the individual.


Book Synopsis Modes of Faith by : Theodore Ziolkowski

Download or read book Modes of Faith written by Theodore Ziolkowski and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2011-08-22 with total page 554 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the decades surrounding World War I, religious belief receded in the face of radical new ideas such as Marxism, modern science, Nietzschean philosophy, and critical theology. Modes of Faith addresses both this decline of religious belief and the new modes of secular faith that took religion's place in the minds of many writers and poets. Theodore Ziolkowski here examines the motives for this embrace of the secular, locating new modes of faith in art, escapist travel, socialism, politicized myth, and utopian visions. James Joyce, he reveals, turned to art as an escape while Hermann Hesse made a pilgrimage to India in search of enlightenment. Other writers, such as Roger Martin du Gard and Thomas Mann, sought temporary solace in communism or myth. And H. G. Wells, Ziolkowski argues, took refuge in utopian dreams projected in another dimension altogether. Rooted in innovative and careful comparative reading of the work of writers from France, England, Germany, Italy, and Russia, Modes of Faith is a critical masterpiece by a distinguished literary scholar that offers an abundance of insight to anyone interested in the human compulsion to believe in forces that transcend the individual.


Wadzek's Fight Against the Steam Turbine

Wadzek's Fight Against the Steam Turbine

Author: Alfred Döblin

Publisher:

Published: 2020-09-10

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13:

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Wadzek takes on the ruthless might of industrialist Rommel, the "moloch" of industry, and he is defeated and ruined. His business is destroyed and he is disorientated and driven to the edge of reason.But there is hope: Wadzek abandons Europe and sails away to America taking Gaby, Rommel's beautiful ex-mistress with him


Book Synopsis Wadzek's Fight Against the Steam Turbine by : Alfred Döblin

Download or read book Wadzek's Fight Against the Steam Turbine written by Alfred Döblin and published by . This book was released on 2020-09-10 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wadzek takes on the ruthless might of industrialist Rommel, the "moloch" of industry, and he is defeated and ruined. His business is destroyed and he is disorientated and driven to the edge of reason.But there is hope: Wadzek abandons Europe and sails away to America taking Gaby, Rommel's beautiful ex-mistress with him