Complicity, censorship and criticism : negotiating space in the GDR literary sphere / Sara Jones.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jones, Sara, 1980-

Series:

Interdisciplinary German cultural studies ; v. 10.

Interdisciplinary German cultural studies, 1861-8030 ; v. 10

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

German literature--20th century--History and criticism.

German literature.

Literature and society--Germany--History--20th century.

Literature and society.

Censorship in literature.

Kant, Hermann--Criticism and interpretation.

Kant, Hermann.

Heym, Stefan, 1913-2001--Criticism and interpretation.

Heym, Stefan.

Brüning, Elfriede--Criticism and interpretation.

Brüning, Elfriede.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (236 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berlin ; New York : De Gruyter, c2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This study develops an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of the cultural history of the German Democratic Republic, examining the interaction between intellectuals and Party functionaries from a literary and historical perspective. Divided into three case studies, the work focuses on writers positioned along a spectrum of conformity and dissent and who had quite different relationships to political power: Hermann Kant, Stefan Heym and Elfriede Brüning.Drawing on and comparing unpublished archive material, autobiography and the literary output of the three named writers, this study brings to the fore the ambiguities and contradictions of intellectual life in the GDR. Tensions between the different sources point towards tensions inherent in the subject positions of writers, publishers, reviewers and cultural authorities. This granular approach to the study of GDR cultural history challenges top-down interpretations and builds into a theoretical understanding of GDR cultural life based on the concepts of ambiguity and ambivalence and the increasing fragmentation of ideology. Comparison with other spheres of GDR life points towards the significance of these concepts for the study of East German society as a whole.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Foreword

Contents

Introduction

Complicit Critic: Hermann Kant and the Writer as Functionary

Hostile Partisan: Stefan Heym and the Search for Clarity

Uncertain Comrade: Elfriede Brüning, Loyalty, Criticism and Power

Conclusion: Ambiguity, Fragmentation and the End of the GDR

Bibliography

Index of Names

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786613399458

9781283399456

1283399458

9783110237962

3110237962

OCLC:

743693621