Nature and Environment in Modern German Literature

Methodology Outcomes Bibliography Links Project Members & Contact

Project

This research project aimed to review the ways in which nature is represented in German literature between the onset of industrialization and the present day, tracing the part played by creative writers in the emergence of ecological consciousness, and to produce the first comprehensive account of the interrelationship between literature in German and ecological thought and politics.

The project was led by Professor Colin Riordan and Dr Axel Goodbody, with Dr Simon Meacher (2002-2005) and Anke Kramer (2006-2008) as Research Associates. Dr Katharine Griffiths and Aniela Morris were postgraduate members of the research team. Their work covered related areas, thus contributing to the ecocritical reassessment of literature in German which was the aim of the project as a whole.

The project was funded by a Research Grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) from 2002-2006.

Research Questions

• How has nature been conceptualized in German literature in the period in question?
• How has the relationship between human society and the natural environment been envisaged and what broad developments may be detected?
• What continuities in the conceptualizing and valuing of nature are visible?
• How and when has "ecological consciousness" emerged in creative writing?
• How does German literature contribute to attempts to reconcile the conflicting demands of industrialization and the natural environment by reshaping conceptions and perceptions of nature?