The dissection of the state: 'Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre' and the politics of aesthetics

Article Abstract:

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's 'Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre' addresses the connection between art, technology and politics. Aesthetics is portrayed as an unstable political force and one which is prone to violence, because the illusion of unity of the aesthetic state represses the words which make aesthetics possible. The aestheticization of politics is identified with the pragmatism of technology. The force of figurative language contributes to technical effectivity.

18th century AD, German literature, Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre (Book)

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Exhibiting Ottilie: collecting as a disciplinary regime in Goethe's 'Wahlverwandtschaften.'

Article Abstract:

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's novel 'Die Walhverwandschaften' portrayed the death and subsequent display of Ottilie, the book's central character, as a way to explore the 19th-century view of museums. The collections of tableaux vivants created a discipline where art replaced reality, encouraging the tableaux performers to adopt the aesthetic values of art as a social construction.

Portrayals, Museums, Collectors and collecting, Collectors (Persons)

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Faustian pursuits: the political-cultural dimension of Goethe's 'Weltliteratur' and the tragedy of translation

Article Abstract:

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe proposed a project he called "Weltliteratur" to counter post-Napoleonic nationalism and promote world peace. He felt translation was a primary means to achieve international understanding and he devoted much of the last decade of his life to translating his and others' works.

Germany, Critical Essay, 19th century AD, World politics, Translations

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