Agonal communities. Collective formations in press texts and prompt books of Hamburg's theatre between 1765 and 1806

• Applicant: Privatdozent Dr. Martin Schneider
• Subject Area: German Literary and Cultural Studies (Modern German Literature) ; Theatre and Media Studies
• Term: from 2018 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 397694679

The project aims to analyze which specific forms of antagonistic social formations emerged in the late 18th century through the example of historic press texts and prompt books of Hamburg’s stage. Corresponding to those two types of sources, the project will be subdivided into two parts. The first will investigate the structures of conflict development in the public space of theatre by exploring central events between the years 1765 and 1806. The main focus of the analysis will be the diverse concepts of community in Hamburg’s theatre journalism as well as the resulting competitive relationship between different media and also the conflicts between press, audience, actors and direction. The communication strategies, which are used by theatre journalism to enforce its standpoints and thus contribute to the escalation and de-escalation of public disputes, will therefore become the focal points.By taking a closer look at theatre scripts from the 18th century, the second part will utilize a little explored source. The project situates them in the collective process of production and reception in theatre. It will attempt to examine how mediality and communicative structures in the scripts uncover the competition between fictional, medial and discursive forms of theatrical community building through a genre-crossing selection of representative works of Hamburg’s theatre collection To conclude the analysis, both subdivisions of the project will be evaluated jointly through a comprehensive perspective: which divergences and convergences exist between the public and aesthetic constitutions of antagonistic theatre communities? Through this approach, the project hopes to gain new insights about the political aesthetic of theatre.The project is to be based at the University of Hamburg’s Institute for German studies, with a requested duration of three years. To supplement a full-time research position for the project, additional funds will be made available for a student assistant. The scope of work will include the selection of relevant source materials in archives as well as their analysis. Leveraging the network of national and international collaborators plays a central role in the project. In a workshop, the phenomenon of antagonistic theatre communities will be examined from a transhistorical perspective. It will lay the foundation for the creation of an international call, which will facilitate the preparation of a research group for the topic. The results of the project will be published in two books: the applicant will write a monography, which will analyze the constitutions of antagonistic communities in theatre of the 18th century through the example of Hamburg. Furthermore, a volume collecting the contributions from the workshop and examining the phenomenon’s relationship with 19th century and current theatre will also be published.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants