The historical significance of religious heterodoxies in the early modern age - both the forgotten and the subsequently influential - for the development of European thinking can hardly be overrated. In the context of these minority positions the values, norms, and anthropological notions systematizing and permeating the Enlightenment and still displaying a noticeable influence on the present stand out all the more clearly. The present volume is the fruit of a colloquium at the University of Passau and discusses a number of aspects involved in this process in the early modern age.

Dem Werk Adalbert Stifters (1805-1868) gilt seit lAngerer Zeit verstArkte Aufmerksamkeit der Literaturwissenschaft; die alteingebA1/4rgerten Lese- und Zuordnungsmuster brechen auf. Dieses Buch enthAlt die BeitrAge eines Adalbert-Stifter-Symposions, welches ein breites Spektrum neuer literaturwissenschaftlicher ZugAnge mit Analysen der malerischen und zeichnerischen Bestrebungen Stifters sowie seiner konservatorischen und pAdagogischen Intentionen zusammenfA1/4hrte. Kunstpraxis und A"sthetik Stifters in den verschiedenen Bereichen seines Schaffens sollen neu vergleichbar und hinsichtlich ihrer epochalen Spezifik wahrnehmbar gemacht werden.

In the framework of their annual conference, the editors and experts working on the Historical-Critical Edition of the Works and Letters of Adalbert Stifter organized a symposium in Linz (St. Magdalena) from 22 to 25 October 2003 with the programmatic title AStifter and Stifter Research in the 21st CenturyA. The aim of the symposium was to make a significant contribution to the Stifter anniversary in 2005 (the 200th anniversary of his birth) concentrating on the topics 'biography - science - poetics' and reviewing and evaluating the research findings notably of the last 10 years with a view to formulating goals, tasks, and perspectives for future research on this author.