«Eine rezensentin zweier literarischer Nationen» : Mme de Staël, August Karl Böttiger and Henry Crabb Robinson in Weimar

Cet article explore la visite de Mme de Staël à Weimar en 1803-1804 consignée dans Literarische Zustände und Zeitgenossen in Schilderungen aus Karl Aug. Böttiger’s handschriftlichem Nachlasse. Dans les conversations de Staël à la cour de Weimar et les assemblées avec Goethe, Schiller, Weiland et bien d’autres lettrés contemporains, l’Angleterre, la France et l’Allemagne ont été les plates-formes de juxtapositions et de contrastes ludiques dont l’un des médiateurs importants fut l’Anglais Henry Crabb Robinson (1775-1867). Ces échanges éclairent le parcours intellectuel de Mme de Staël pendant les quelques mois passés à Weimar, avant qu’elle n’entreprenne l’écriture de De l’Allemagne. Ils montrent aussi à quel point elle s’est imposée comme médiatrice culturelle non seulement entre la France et l’Allemagne mais aussi entre l’Angleterre et l’Allemagne. Mais le journal de Böttiger confirme également que la médiation culturelle de Mme de Staël était personnelle et subjective, restreinte par des préjugés et trop dépendante de conversations et de connaissances apprises indirectement et utilisées comme ressources primaires

„Gute Wirthschaft“ als „wahre Vaterlandsliebe“: Ökonomische Reformen als Landespatriotismus am Beispiel von Dorothea von Kurland und den Frauen von Friedland = 'Good economy' as 'true patriotism' : economic reforms as national patriotism using the example of Dorothea of Kurland and the women of Friedland

Diese Arbeit zeigt, dass die ökonomischen Reformdiskurse im 18. Jahrhundert einen bedeutenden Zusatz zum Kultur- und Sprachpatriotismus der Aufklärung darstellten. Anhand zweier Fallstudien aus Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg und der Mark Brandenburg werde ich darlegen, dass der ökonomische Patriotismus als Teil des zeitgenössischen Landes- und Reichsreformpatriotismus dem Gemeinwohl der Region, des Landstriches und des Staates effektiv diente. Ich erörtere, wie Dorothea von Kurland in Löbichau und die ‚Frauen von Friedland‘, Helene Charlotte von Friedland und ihre Tochter Henriette Charlotte von Itzenplitz in Kunersdorf sich aktiv als Patriotinnen für das ökonomische Wohl der Region einsetzten, ohne allerdings ihre kosmopolitische Grundhaltung zu verlieren. = This essay argues that eighteenth-century economic reform discourses complemented cultural patriotism of the Enlightenment in significant ways. Using two case studies from Saxony-GothaAltenburg and Margraviate of Brandenburg, I will argue that economic patriotism, as part of provincial and dynastic patriotism, served the wellbeing of regions, provinces, and states effectively. I discuss how Dorothea of Kurland of Löbichau and the ‘Women of Friedland’, Helene Charlotte von Friedland and her daughter Henriette Charlotte von Itzenplitz, of Kunersdorf, actively worked towards the economic wellbeing of their regions in the spirit of provincial patriotism without though diminishing their cosmopolitan worldview

'Knitting needles, knotting shuttles, & Totums & Cards & Counters': The Bluestockings and the material culture of fibre arts

In this paper I want to tease out threads in the socio-economic narrative of fibre arts by using the case study of the Bluestocking Circle, in particular Elizabeth Montagu (1718–1800), Mary Delany (1700–1788) and Montagu’s sister, Sarah Scott (1721–1795). To contrast these lives through the lens of material culture, we can identify needlework and textiles as a subtle marker of social mobility and disparities in wealth within one social circle (the Bluestockings) and family. Whilst Mary Delany combined scientific interest with technical skills, Elizabeth Montagu commissioned decorative fibre arts, such as her famous feather work, for public display, and her sister Sarah Scott, forced by diminished social and economic circumstances, concentrated on practical dress-making and alteration and appliqué. Both sisters, though born into the same family, thus developed very different textile skill sets. The production of textiles carried class markers in terms of what kind of work was produced and what kind of materials and techniques were used. Thus, fibre arts, like fashion, were ‘an emblem of material self-advancement, [and] … a badge of moral worth’ (John Styles, The Dress of the People (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007), p. 60)

'The vast ocean of infinity & eternity' : creating the (in)finite archive of the Elizabeth Montagu’s Correspondence Online (EMCO)

This article explores the complexities of creating an archive – in our case, a digital archive of eighteenth-century manuscript letters, The Elizabeth Montagu Correspondence Online (EMCO). Elizabeth Montagu was one of the most prominent and well-connected women in eighteenth-century polite society. EMCO faces a variety of challenges. Firstly, the project aims to trace all extant letters in different libraries and public/private collections; secondly, it seeks to amalgamate the extant correspondence into one digital repository and a comprehensive inventory; thirdly, it mobilises a team of scholars to transcribe, annotate and develop a critical apparatus; fourthly, EMCO seeks to develop digital tools that foster novel methods of scholarly research and debate. Taking recent scholarship on board, this article concludes by reflecting on the complexities of marrying a data-rich digital edition with literary methodologies that allow both close reading and analysis of the scope and materiality of the archive and its objects

“The sense of an ending”: Utopia in the Anthropocene

Ulrich Beck, in his article, “Climate for Change” of 2010, suggested that in the face of “climate breakdown” (George Monbiot), “something historically new can emerge, namely a cosmopolitan vision in which people see themselves … as part of an endangered world …”. This paper will reflect on the possibility and impossibility of utopianism in the Anthropocene and ask the question if utopia is possible in the Anthropocene? It will take into consideration recent debates around utopia and the Anthropocene and look at four literary examples from Germany, Norway, England and the US