The study concerns itself with the KA1/4nstlerdrama [Drama of the artist], a genre with which research in literary and drama studies has so far scarcely concerned itself, despite its popularity. The study first examines as exemplars theatrical texts by Gerhart Hauptmann, Bertolt Brecht, Wolfgang Bauer, Thomas Bernhard, Falk Richter and others both with reference to the texts and from the perspective of field theory. The study then presents an historical overview of the genesis of the genre and the central motifs of the 20th century KA1/4nstlerdrama.

The debate on the use and drawbacks of the sociology of literature unleashed by Bourdieua (TM)s seminal work a oeThe Rules of Arta was mainly conducted here on an abstract level. The present volume contains a collection of papers sounding out the applicability of field theory to literary studies. The authors, from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, present theory-led textually based analyses of the present-day literature and culture business.