Department of Germanic Studies

How can literary studies address the topic of sexual violence that is highly relevant for today’s social and cultural debates? How can literary studies discuss such a topic without forgetting (a) the historical dimension of our discipline and (b) the aesthetic dimension of our research objects. In other words, how can literary studies discuss such a serious and difficult topic like sexual violence without simply recounting a history of motifs? In my talk I am looking for answers to these questions by analyzing one of the most brutal stories of 19th century German literature.