At times of crisis and revolution such as ours, diagnoses of crucial junctures and ruptures - 'turning points' - in the continuous flow of history are more prevalent than ever. Analysing literary, cinematic and other narratives, the volume seeks to understand the meanings conveyed by different concepts of turning points, the alternative concepts to which they are opposed when used to explain historical change, and those contexts in which they are unmasked as false and over-simplifying constructions. Literature and film in particular stress the importance of turning points as a sensemaking device (as part of a character's or a community's cultural memory), while at the same time unfolding the constructive and hence relative character of turning points. Offering complex reflections on the notion of turning points, literary and filmic narratives are thus of particular interest to the present volume.

Bringing together innovative and internationally renowned experts, this volume provides concise presentations of the main concepts and cutting-edge research fields in the study of culture (rather than the infinite multitude of possible themes). More specifically, the volume outlines different models for the study of culture, explores avenues for interdisciplinary exchange, assesses key concepts and traces their travels across various disciplinary, historical and national contexts. To trace the travelling of concepts means to map both their transfer from one discipline, approach or culture of research to another, and also to identify the transformations which emerge through these processes of transfer. The volume serves to show that working with (travelling) concepts provides a unique strategy for research and research design which can open up a wide range of promising perspectives for interdisciplinary exchange. It offers an exemplary overview of an interdisciplinary and international approach to the travelling concepts that organize, structure and shape the study of culture. In doing so, the volume serves to initiate a dialogue that exceeds disciplinary and national boundaries and introduces a self-reflexive dimension to the field, thus affording a recognition of how deeply disciplinary premises and nation-specific research traditions affect different approaches in the study of culture.

Alongside the recent cultural turn in the humanities, there has been a noticeable return to ethical considerations. With regard to literature as well as other media, this has rekindled awareness of a tension, antagonism, or even disparity between ethics and aesthetics. This volume of articles takes a more systematic and cross-disciplinary approach to the widely mooted ethical turn in literature and other media than has been pursued so far. It brings together a wide range of critical perspectives from literary studies, media and cultural memory studies, and philosophy, tracing the complex and sometimes conflicting relationship between ethics and aesthetics in theoretical contexts and individual case studies as diverse as colonial architecture, nineteenth-century literary histories, and postmodern writing and art.

Taking as its point of departure Nelson Goodman's theory of symbol systems as delineated in his seminal book "Ways of Worldmaking", this volume gauges the possibilities and perspectives offered by the worldmaking approach as a model for the study of culture. Its main objectives are to explore the usefulness and scope of the approach for the study of culture and to supplement Goodman's philosophy of worldmaking with a number of complementary disciplinary perspectives, literary and cultural approaches, and new questions and applications. It focuses on three key issues or concepts which illuminate ways of worldmaking and their interdisciplinary relevance and ramifications, viz. (1) theoretical approaches to ways of worldmaking, (2) the impact of media on ways of worldmaking, and (3) narratives as ways of worldmaking. The volume serves to demonstrate how specific media and narratives affect the worlds that are created, and shows how these worlds are established as socially relevant. It also illustrates the extent to which ways of worldmaking are imbued with cultural values, and thus inevitably implicated in power relations.

How can we approach possible but unknown futures of the study of culture? This volume explores this question in the context of a changing global world. The contributions in this volume discuss the necessity of significant shifts in our conceptual and epistemological frameworks. Taking into account changing institutional research settings, the authors develop pathways to future cultural research, addressing the crucial concerns of the cultural and social worlds themselves. The contributions thereby utilize contact zones within a wide range of disciplines such as cultural anthropology, sociology, cultural history, literary studies, the history of science and bioethics as well as the environmental and medical humanities. Examining emerging inter- and transdisciplinary points of reference, the volume invites scholars in the humanities and social sciences to take part in a conversation about theories, methods, and practices for the future study of culture.

Bringing together innovative and internationally renowned experts, this volume provides concise presentations of the main concepts and cutting-edge research fields in the study of culture (rather than the infinite multitude of possible themes). More specifically, the volume outlines different models for the study of culture, explores avenues for interdisciplinary exchange, assesses key concepts and traces their travels across various disciplinary, historical and national contexts. To trace the travelling of concepts means to map both their transfer from one discipline, approach or culture of research to another, and also to identify the transformations which emerge through these processes of transfer. The volume serves to show that working with (travelling) concepts provides a unique strategy for research and research design which can open up a wide range of promising perspectives for interdisciplinary exchange. It offers an exemplary overview of an interdisciplinary and international approach to the travelling concepts that organize, structure and shape the study of culture. In doing so, the volume serves to initiate a dialogue that exceeds disciplinary and national boundaries and introduces a self-reflexive dimension to the field, thus affording a recognition of how deeply disciplinary premises and nation-specific research traditions affect different approaches in the study of culture.

Taking as its point of departure Nelson Goodman's theory of symbol systems as delineated in his seminal book "Ways of Worldmaking", this volume gauges the possibilities and perspectives offered by the worldmaking approach as a model for the study of culture. Its main objectives are to explore the usefulness and scope of the approach for the study of culture and to supplement Goodman's philosophy of worldmaking with a number of complementary disciplinary perspectives, literary and cultural approaches, and new questions and applications. It focuses on three key issues or concepts which illuminate ways of worldmaking and their interdisciplinary relevance and ramifications, viz. (1) theoretical approaches to ways of worldmaking, (2) the impact of media on ways of worldmaking, and (3) narratives as ways of worldmaking. The volume serves to demonstrate how specific media and narratives affect the worlds that are created, and shows how these worlds are established as socially relevant. It also illustrates the extent to which ways of worldmaking are imbued with cultural values, and thus inevitably implicated in power relations.

Characters behaving out of the norm, poems about poets, films about film-making or the cinema a " metaizing methods of expression, that is, reflections on an art in that art, are diverse and can be found in all genres, media and epochs. This compendium is the first to provide a systematic overview of the theories, forms and functions of metaization. Numerous sample analyses introduce the historical perspectives and media-specific approaches a " from Homera (TM)s metanarrative The Odyssey to The Simpsons as a metacartoon.

This handbook represents the interdisciplinary and international field of "cultural memory studies" for the first time in one volume. Articles by renowned international scholars offer readers a unique overview of the key concepts of cultural memory studies. The handbook not only documents current research in an unprecedented way; it also serves as a forum for bringing together approaches from areas as varied as sociology, political sciences, history, theology, literary studies, media studies, philosophy, psychology, and neurosciences. "Cultural memory studies" - as defined in this handbook - came into being at the beginning of the 20th century, with the works of Maurice Halbwachs on memoire collective. In the course of the last two decades this area of research has witnessed a veritable boom in various countries and disciplines. As a consequence, the study of the relation of "culture" and "memory" has diversified into a wide range of approaches. This handbook is based on a broad understanding of "cultural memory" as the interplay of present and past in sociocultural contexts. It presents concepts for the study of individual remembering in a social context, group and family memory, national memory, the various media of memory, and finally the host of emerging transnational lieux de memoire such as 9/11.

The volume presents theoretical frameworks, conceptual explications and concrete research perspectives in the subject area of 'Media of collective memory.' Representatives of various disciplines examine the manifestations, social functions, cultural differences and the historical development of the media of memory from the 17th century to the present day.

Die zunehmende Skepsis in der 2. Halfte des 20. Jahrhunderts gegenuber ganzheitlichen Konzepten von Subjekt und Geschichte (z.B. als "Ende der Geschichte" und als "Tod des Subjekts") ist in den vergangenen Jahren im Zuge der Wenden zur Anthropologie und zur Geschichte - insbesondere in den Kulturwissenschaften - einer neuen Aktualitat beider Begriffe gewichen. Die internationalen Beitrage des Bandes skizzieren als erste ubergreifende systematische Auseinandersetzung das durch neuere Subjektkonzeptionen und Geschichtsmodelle eroeffnete theoretische Feld, in dem die Vielfaltigkeit des Handelns von Subjekten in und mit der Geschichte deutlich wird. Aus der Perspektive von Philosophie, Geschichts-, Kunst-, Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaft werden die Wechselverhaltnisse sowie Denk- und Darstellungsweisen von Subjekten und Geschichte(n) auf ihre epistemischen, asthetischen und handlungstheoretischen Konsequenzen hin untersucht. Der Band unterteilt sich in drei Sektionen "Subjekt und Geschichte im nachmetaphysischen Zeitalter", "Theorie und Geschichtsschreibung" sowie "Inszenierungen von Subjekt und Geschichte".

This interdisciplinary series addresses the relation between media and cultural memory. Its publications study how media construct, store, and disseminate memory. The series' focus is on different media and technologies, such as text and image, the cinema and the new digital media, on transmediality, intermediality, and remediation, as well as on the social (and increasingly transnational and transcultural) contexts of mediated memory. The aim of the series is to provide a vibrant international platform for research and scholarly exchange in the field of media and memory studies. Manuscripts submitted to the series are peer reviewed by expert referees. The editors, Astrid Erll (Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main) and Ansgar Nunning (Justus-Liebig-Universitat Giessen), are working with an international editorial board of renowned scholars: Aleida Assmann (Universitat Konstanz), Mieke Bal (University of Amsterdam), Vita Fortunati (University of Bologna), Richard Grusin (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Udo Hebel (Universitat Regensburg), Andrew Hoskins (University of Glasgow), Wulf Kansteiner (Binghamton University), Alison Landsberg (George Mason University), Claus Leggewie (Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut Essen), Jeffrey Olick (University of Virginia), Susannah Radstone (University of South Australia), Ann Rigney (Utrecht University), Michael Rothberg (University of Illinois), Werner Sollors (Harvard University), Frederic Tygstrup (University of Copenhagen), Harald Welzer (Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut Essen) To learn more about the series, also visit us at the MSA conference in Madrid, June 25 - 28, 2019.

Kultur- und literaturwissenschaftliche Theorien welche Konzepte sind relevant? Welche Begriffe spielen eine tragende Rolle? Wie haben sich die literaturgeschichtlichen Modelle entwickelt? Rund 750 Artikel vermitteln wichtiges Grundlagenwissen auf verstandliche Weise. Im Mittelpunkt stehen Theorien wie zum Beispiel Dekonstruktion, feministische Literaturtheorie, New Historicism, postkoloniale Literaturkritik und Poststrukturalismus. Das Lexikon erlautert die zentralen Grundbegriffe dieser Ansatze und stellt die Koepfe vor, die die Debatten gepragt haben, darunter: Aristoteles, Derrida, Foucault, Greenblatt, Iser, Jauss und Luhmann. Neue Artikel erganzen das beliebte Lexikon. Unter den Themen sind: Akteur-Netzwerk-Theorie, Intersektionalitat, Kognitive Literaturwissenschaft, Skandal, Translational Turn. Jacques Ranciere erweitert die Riege der wichtigen Denker.

Der Band "Konzepte der Kulturwissenschaften" bietet Orientierung in einem interdisziplinaren Diskussionsfeld, das inzwischen selbst fur Fachleute kaum noch uberschaubar ist. Er informiert uber die gegenwartigen kulturwissenschaftlichen Diskussionen - insbesondere in den Literaturwissenschaften - und gibt einen systematischen und umfassenden UEberblick uber die verschiedenen Ansatze wie Kultursemiotik, Kulturanthropologie und New Historicism. Weitere Kapitel widmen sich der Medienwissenschaft, kulturwissenschaftlicher Geschlechterforschung, Fragen des kulturellen Gedachtnisses oder interkultureller Kommunikation.

Literatur aus dem geschlechterspezifischen Blickwinkel interpretieren. Welchen Einfluss hat der Gender-Aspekt beim Verfassen eines Erzahltextes? Die wichtigsten Methoden und Begriffe der genderorientierten Erzahltheorie stehen im Mittepunkt des Bandes. Er leitet dazu an, Erzahltexte geschlechterspezifisch zu analysieren und stellt den Zusammenhang her zwischen narratologischen Gesichtspunkten und den soziokulturellen Kategorien sex, gender und sexuality.

Wie werden Texte wissenschaftlich interpretiert? Kompakt und ubersichtlich stellt das Lehrbuch die gangigen literaturtheoretischen Ansatze vor darunter z. B. Strukturalismus, Dekonstruktion, Diskursanalyse und Systemtheorie. Der Schwerpunkt des ubersichtlich gestalteten Bandes liegt auf der Anwendung: Ausfuhrliche Beispielanalysen zeigen, wie mit den verschiedenen Theorien und den daraus abzuleitenden Methoden Texte und auch Filme analysiert werden. Unerlassliches Handwerkszeug fur das literaturwissenschaftliche Studium.