This section is built on the premise that European
expansionism forced German intellectuals to re-think virtually all aspects
of intellectual and cultural life in the 18th century. The result was
a radically new way of thinking about humanity’s place in the
world, and it gave rise to the modern awareness that the world is best
viewed as a unity of diverse cultures, a planetary whole in which all
peoples co-exist. German writers found themselves attempting to re-imagine
the planet in terms of the geographical interconnectedness and shared
fate of humanity. They found themselves experimenting with alternative
models of thought to those that promote rampant globalization, dehumanization,
and uneven development for the sake of profit. After the discovery of
the world as a global field for the expansion of capital in the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries, this has been the single most important geo-political
discovery in the west. This realization brings with it an entirely new
set of responsibilities and obligations, which are readily identifiable
as the most pressing challenges facing the modern world right up to
the present day. They include issues such as the need to respect and
foster ecological and cultural diversity, the harmful effects of imperialism
and uneven development, the ethical challenges of global commerce, and
others. In an intellectual arc from Blumenbach and Herder to Goethe
and the Romantics, writers continually found themselves negotiating
these issues, while at the same time re-thinking the most fundamental
aspects of their own culture in relationship to imperialism and colonialism.
Contributions to this section will examine the contradictions and tensions
that resulted from an awareness of planetary culture. Papers will discuss
not only the thematic sedimentation of European expansionism in German
letters, but also the aesthetic strategies which writers developed in
order to resolve the contradictions and tensions they saw arising from
European activity overseas. Questions to be addressed might include,
for example: how was the concept of Bildung affected by knowledge of
other cultures? In what ways did the perception of uneven development
in other parts of the world impact on the representation of Europe’s
underdeveloped regions? How did writers move from the concept of humanist
Bildung to global Bildung (Guthke)? What aesthetic strategies did writers
develop to come to terms with contradictions in their concepts of culture,
humanity and social responsibility? Etc.
