Heroes and Heroism in German Culture: Essays in Honor of Jost Hermand April 2000. (AMPU 145) (Amsterdamer Publikationen Zur Sprache Und Literatur, 145) - Softcover

Steakley, James; Brockmann, Stephan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9042014563 ISBN 13: 9789042014565

Publisher: Brill Academic Pub, 2001

Synopsis

As Brecht’s Galileo observed, a country which needs heroes is unfortunate indeed – words which suggest that a society’s need for heroes is always a function of its shortcomings. By examining the role that heroes and heroism have played in German literature and culture over the past two centuries, the essays in this volume illuminate and contour both a flawed German society in need of heroes and the flawed but essential heroes brought forth by that society. Beginning in he era of the anti-Napoleontic Wars of Liberation, advancing to the challenging situation Germany faced at the end of World War II, and concluding with the current reemergence of a unified Germany after almost half a century of division, this volume broadens our understanding of the inadequacies and breakdowns of German society. In addition to analyses of heroism in German culture during the last two centuries, this volume contains the first major essays in English on cultural representations of disability in German culture and on AIDS in German literature, as well as two essays on the scholarly accomplishments of Jost Hermand, to whom all of the essays in the volume are dedicated.

About this title

Review:

"This collection of insightful articles and carefully crafted responses form a fitting tribute to a versatile and influential scholar." in: Gegenwartsliteratur, Vol. 4, Fall 2005 "The essays and thoughtful responses collected here represent both a fitting tribute to a scholar [...] as well as an insightful discussion of the hopes, aims, anxieties, flaws, and fantasies of modern German society." in: Colloquia Germanica, 35, 2002, pp.342-344

About this edition

• Publisher: Brill Academic Pub
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 9042014563
• ISBN 13: 9789042014565
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 259