Project Details
Projekt
Dynamics in the Polysystem: A Study of Hebrew Narrative Prose and its Changing Status within the Jewish Literary Canon of the Middle Ages
Applicant
Annabelle Fuchs
Subject Area
Religious Studies and Jewish Studies
Term
since 2024
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 549910410
This research project, titled "Dynamics in the Polysystem: A Study of Hebrew Narrative Prose and its Changing Status within the Jewish Literary Canon of the Middle Ages", aims to chart the transformative journey of Hebrew narrative literature over half a millennium. It seeks to understand its evolving status from a peripheral to a more central element of the Jewish literary canon. To address the research question, a comprehensive analysis of changes in genre, style, themes, and motifs of Hebrew narrative prose from the 12th to the 16th century will be conducted. By examining a wide array of textual witnesses from the Ashkenaz, while also considering comparative materials from other geo-cultural regions, this study will uncover the mechanisms behind the literature's evolution and its increased prominence within the Jewish "polysystem". This exploration is pivotal for shedding light on broader cultural, social, and religious dynamics that shaped medieval Jewish society and its literary outputs. Using an interdisciplinary approach that combines Digital Humanities tools with traditional textual analysis, the project will employ both "Close Reading" and "Distant Reading" techniques to dissect the corpus. This methodological synergy aims to provide a nuanced understanding of the complex interplay between texts and their historical contexts, offering unprecedented insights into the development of the "Jewish Library" of the Middle Ages. The study promises to not only advance our understanding of Jewish literary history but also to contribute significantly to the fields of Digital Humanities and cultural studies.
DFG Programme
WBP Fellowship
International Connection
Israel
