humanities and cultural studies

Since its beginnings, the history of opera has been shaped by adaptations of popular subjects and literary material. But according to what rules do such opera adaptations work? Which dramaturgical means are used in the transformative process of adaptation and what are the consequences for the original template? ​Based on the Danish opera Lulu by Friedrich Daniel Rudolph Kuhlau, first performed in Copenhagen in 1824, the adaptation of a narrative text is examined on a textual and musical level. In...

"Together we are changing the rules of pornography." This is what the burgeoning (queer) feminist porn scene promises. But according to what rules does pornography work? And to what extent are new porn makers trying to break with the usual norms and forms of representation? On the one hand, pornography stands for female objectification, male-dominated pleasure images and gender stigmatization. On the other hand, it stands for sexual self-empowerment, sex positivism and the expression of one's own sexuality independent of...

Cities in the Global South grow fast. Infrastructure struggles to keep up with the growth. At a certain point it fails. The population of a fast growing city needs food. Therefore a close look at urban and peri-urban agriculture is necessary to provide it even if infrastructure might collapse. This book investigates the livestock production and marketing, its chances and obstacles in a fast growing city in Northern Ghana. Details Title: THE COW EATS THE CHAMELEON Subtitle: Urban and peri-urban...

The present studies should serve to make thoughtful people tempted to study Schopenhauer's work and his pessimism on the basis of the unillusioned and unembellished presented human condition as a thoroughly altruistic alternative to the naive and pernicious positivism of modern consumer society. Details Title: Thus Passed the Glory of the World Subtitle: 3 studies on Arthur Schopenhauer - philosopher with uncomfortable truths Author: Dr. Bruno Schmitz Edition: 1st edition Published: 1st edition 26.11.2015 Department: Philosophy Product Type: Book (Hardcover)...

The fate of an individual is often not given enough attention in the historical context, often due to a lack of sources. How did Transylvanian Saxons who had decided to become teachers and pastors perceive their personal development? What impression did the happy and sad events of both their own lives and of world history make on them? A family book that was found in October 2005 in almost unedited condition provides answers to these questions in biographies from the...

Argula von Grumbach, née von Stauff, dared to enter public space as a woman. By defending the young Magister Arsacius Seehofer, who was influenced by Lutheran ideas, she challenged not only the scholars of the University of Ingolstadt, but the entire Catholic establishment. The conference volume brings together essays that deal with the first Reformation writer as well as with her family and other female "border crossers". But it also opens numerous windows into an extremely exciting, energetic time, into...

May 2014 - Political crisis and armed conflict in Ukraine. While the rebels in eastern Ukraine are portrayed in the European media as "pro-Russian" separatists, they simply describe themselves as Russians. Russia urges Ukraine to dialogue with all "Ukrainians". NATO wants to arm and sends protection troops to the Baltic States. What collective identity is being fought for? When the multinational empire - the Soviet Union - collapsed in the course of the democracy movement in 1991, the identification processes...

In Wilde's works, especially the art-theoretical essays, aptly summarized under the title Intentions, his desire for tolerance and artistic freedom runs through. This claim to autonomy for the art sphere is based on philosophical studies written a century earlier by Immanuel Kant in his Critique of Judgment. Kant analyzes the specificity of aesthetic experience and distinguishes it from theoretical knowledge and morality, emphasizing its freedom from purpose and thus paving the way for the autonomy of the beautiful. This final...

"There is no end to the making of many books!" This quote from Ecclesiastes 12 could be used to comment on the appearance of new literature on Cologne during World War II. However, it does not apply to the time of the First World War. A detailed description of this part of Cologne's history has so far been missing - although a book about Düsseldorf during the First World War was already available in 1927. This study aims to fill...

Rage, desire, inhibition, tension, representation, poetry, definition, screaming, whispering, fantasizing, specifying and telling. Twelve authors, twelve perspectives, twelve insights. This first volume of the writing competition Scribere brings together poems, short stories and articles on the question: What does writing mean? Details Title: Scriber Subtitle: What does writing mean? Author: Alexander Martin Sieber, Anne-Christin Schicketanz, Anton Gsell, Armin Scheben, Bernd Hoffmeister, Claudia Paal, Daniela Schmidt, Johannes Mueller, Josi Schlichting, Julia Lietzau, Luisa Volkhausen, Rune Baruschke Row: Scriber Edition: 1st edition...

Courtship is a central theme of medieval poetry. However, the women are mainly negotiated as objects of exchange. The Kudrun seal occupies a special position. Even with the title "Ditz puech ist von Chaudrun" she points out the special position of women. It is structured through the courtship of four successive generations. The Kudrun poetry shows an increase from harmless to dangerous courtship. For this reason it can be assumed that in the Hilde part one can speak of an...

The crudely funny clown, the quick-witted Kasper, the violent Punch or the melancholic Pierrot - as playwrights, H. C. Artmann, Konrad Bayer and Gerhard Rühm staged one 'funny' character after the other in their mini-plays from the 50s and 60s . What is it all about when 'hanswurst' is having sexual fun on stage, when 'kasper' causes unrest in the midst of the military or police, when 'punch' curses at the audience and throws his child out of the window,...