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TitleSchleswig-Holstein meerumschlungen and the call for nationalism
NameJacobsen, Juljana Gjata Hjorth (author), Helfer, Martha B. (chair), Naqvi, Fatima (internal member), Levine, Michael (internal member), Tatlock, Lynne (outside member), Rutgers University, Graduate School - New Brunswick,
Degree Date2012-05
Date Created2012
SubjectGerman,
German literature--19th century--History and criticism,
Danish literature--19th century--History and criticism,
Nationalism and literature--Germany--19th century,
Nationalism and literature--Denmark--19th century,
Storm, Theodor,--1817-1888--Criticism and interpretation,
Fontane, Theodor,--1819-1898--Criticism and interpretation,
Bang, Herman,--1857-1912--Criticism and interpretation
DescriptionMy dissertation examines selected German and Danish literary texts of the late
nineteenth century that employ ideological notions of nationalism for the purpose of
constructing and stabilizing national identity. The groundwork for the research centers on
specific times in nationalist movements in Europe and a specific setting on the border
region of Schleswig-Holstein. The urgency of this project lies especially in the effort to
understand the shifting qualities and perceptions of nationalism as both a destructive and
productive force in current discourses of globalization. In my analysis of four literary narratives, Theodor Storm’s novellas Ein grünes Blatt (1850) and Abseits (1863), Theodor Fontane’s Unwiederbringlich (1891), and Herman Bang’s Tine (1889), I demonstrate how national identity is constructed on the basis of a firm nationalism and constantly destabilized when confronted with the presence of an Other by the border. In the chosen literary works, national identity, at all stages of its formation and in all classifications and depictions as German, Prussian, Danish, or Frisian, is fundamentally about attaining the subject’s recognition as sovereign and universal. And because the subject functions as a representation of the nation with which it identifies, the construction of the subject’s national identity is ultimately about achieving international recognition. In the selected narratives, national identity—whether German or Danish—is constructed by the authors in a very similar fashion. While nationalism is criticized and condemned to different degrees, it also serves as the necessary ground for shaping effectively one’s national identity. The three authors under discussion operate with a nationalist project in which they set out to construct a national self: in the texts under consideration, nationalism functions as a temporary but necessary formative stage in the construction of the subject’s national identity. The selected authors also experience and triumph over nationalism in their personal lives. Ultimately, this dissertation will point to the crucial significance of the regional particularity—given by the margins of a border area—for the representation of the national totality.
nineteenth century that employ ideological notions of nationalism for the purpose of
constructing and stabilizing national identity. The groundwork for the research centers on
specific times in nationalist movements in Europe and a specific setting on the border
region of Schleswig-Holstein. The urgency of this project lies especially in the effort to
understand the shifting qualities and perceptions of nationalism as both a destructive and
productive force in current discourses of globalization. In my analysis of four literary narratives, Theodor Storm’s novellas Ein grünes Blatt (1850) and Abseits (1863), Theodor Fontane’s Unwiederbringlich (1891), and Herman Bang’s Tine (1889), I demonstrate how national identity is constructed on the basis of a firm nationalism and constantly destabilized when confronted with the presence of an Other by the border. In the chosen literary works, national identity, at all stages of its formation and in all classifications and depictions as German, Prussian, Danish, or Frisian, is fundamentally about attaining the subject’s recognition as sovereign and universal. And because the subject functions as a representation of the nation with which it identifies, the construction of the subject’s national identity is ultimately about achieving international recognition. In the selected narratives, national identity—whether German or Danish—is constructed by the authors in a very similar fashion. While nationalism is criticized and condemned to different degrees, it also serves as the necessary ground for shaping effectively one’s national identity. The three authors under discussion operate with a nationalist project in which they set out to construct a national self: in the texts under consideration, nationalism functions as a temporary but necessary formative stage in the construction of the subject’s national identity. The selected authors also experience and triumph over nationalism in their personal lives. Ultimately, this dissertation will point to the crucial significance of the regional particularity—given by the margins of a border area—for the representation of the national totality.
NotePh. D.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
NoteIncludes vita
Noteby Juljana Gjata Hjorth Jacobsen
Genretheses
Persistent URLhttp://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.1/rucore10001600001.ETD.000065162
Languageeng
CollectionGraduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.