Project Details
Projekt
Literary comparisons: Social dynamics and the eighteenth-century British novel (B05+)
Subject Area
European and American Literary and Cultural Studies
General and Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies
General and Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies
Term
from 2017 to 2020
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 317664947
The British novel was an important factor in the public negotiation of cultural change during the eighteenth century. In particular, explicit and implicit literary comparisons between characters on the levels of both content and narrative form played an important role by evoking, commenting on, and evaluating contemporary social practices of comparison. Thus, the novel did not merely document social change, but creatively explored aspects and criteria of comparison within British society – an exploration that fed back into social discourse. The project is investigating this intersection of literary and social practices of comparison against the backdrop of historical processes of modernization in the 18th century.
DFG Programme
Collaborative Research Centres
Applicant Institution
Universität Bielefeld
Project Heads
Dr. Marcus Hartner; Professor Dr. Ralf Schneider
