Cultural Controversies in the West German Public Sphere

This book develops a theory of aesthetic fiction's impact on social identities. Throughout five case studies, the author develops the argument that social identities are nurtured by and may even emerge through the conflict between different aesthetic expressions. As it creates affective structures, narrative fiction enables the development and formation of political and cultural identities.

This work is part of a field of research that deals with the aesthetics of the everyday and the idea of social aesthetics. It argues for a central role for the arts in the creation and formation of modern society. Social identities emerge in response to aesthetic-sensual patterns of perception.

Focusing on five West German public debates in the years 1950 to 1990, this work sheds light upon the transformation of social reality through the discursive adaption of art.

Analyzes the relationship of the cultural imaginary and the social order of things with a sociological approach, offering an unique empirical analysis of aesthetic phenomena in culture Bridges the discursive fields of the humanities and the social sciences Grapples with the issues of perception and subjectification and how they relate to the question of social and group identities

Autorentext

Marcela Knapp is a lecturer at Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany. Her work has been published in Osterreichische Zeitschrift für Soziologie (Austrian Journal for Sociology) and Revista de Estudios Globales y Arte Contemporáneo (Journal of Global Studies and Contemporary Art). Knapp received her PhD in Sociology from Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany.

Klappentext

This book develops a theory of aesthetic fiction s impact on social identities. Throughout five case studies, the author develops the argument that social identities are nurtured by and may even emerge through the conflict between different aesthetic expressions. As it creates affective structures, narrative fiction enables the development and formation of political and cultural identities. This work is part of a field of research that deals with the aesthetics of the everyday and the idea of social aesthetics. It argues for a central role for the arts in the creation and formation of modern society. Social identities emerge in response to aesthetic-sensual patterns of perception. Focusing on five West German public debates in the years 1950 to 1990, this work sheds light upon the transformation of social reality through the discursive adaption of art.

Inhalt

1. Introduction.- 2. Theoretical Considerations.- 3. Confirming a Secular World Order: Ingmar Bergman's The Silence.- 4. A Moving World: George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.- 5. The Creation Of the Social: Rolf Hochhuth's The Deputy.- 6. The Social Visibility of Corporeality: The Rebel Youth Films in the Fifties.- 7. Fiction Between Representation and Quotation: Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Garbage, the City and Death.- 8. Conclusions