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Lecturer(s)
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Voda Eschgfäller Sabine, Mgr. Dr.
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Course content
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The lecture examines the literature and culture of the Biedermeier and Vormärz periods in the German-speaking countries from the Congress of Vienna to the revolutions of 1848. Individual topics are placed within broader historical, political, social, and cultural contexts, particularly those of Restoration, censorship, liberalism, changes in the reading public, and the gradual politicisation of public life. Particular attention is paid to the fundamental characteristics of Biedermeier literature, the literary Vormärz, the Austrian Vormärz, and the Young Germany movement. The lecture introduces selected authors and works of the period, including works by Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, Eduard Mörike, Nikolaus Lenau, Georg Büchner, Franz Grillparzer, Johann Nestroy, Ferdinand Raimund, and Heinrich Heine. The course includes the interpretation of selected lyrical, prose, dramatic, and political-journalistic texts and examines the relationship between their thematic and poetic features and the social and political conditions of the period. The principal course materials consist of handouts and presentations prepared by the lecturer and made available in Moodle. These are supplemented by extracts from primary texts, scholarly articles, and chapters from recommended secondary literature.
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Lecture, Work with Text (with Book, Textbook)
- Homework for Teaching
- 12 hours per semester
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Learning outcomes
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The aim of the lecture is to introduce students to the literature and culture of the Biedermeier and Vormärz periods in the German-speaking countries. Particular attention is paid to the development of society, culture, and literature from the Congress of Vienna to the revolutions of 1848 and to the tensions between Restoration politics, bourgeois culture, censorship, and the gradual politicisation of public life. Students gain an overview of the main literary and cultural tendencies of the period, its major authors, genres, and texts, and the differences between Biedermeier literature, the literary Vormärz, the Austrian Vormärz, and the Young Germany movement. The course develops their ability to place literary works within broader historical, social, and political contexts, identify their characteristic thematic and poetic features, and interpret selected texts.
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to characterise the principal literary and cultural tendencies of the Biedermeier and Vormärz periods and explain their historical, social, and political contexts. They will be familiar with the fundamental features of Biedermeier literature, the literary Vormärz, the Austrian Vormärz, and the **Young Germany** movement and will be able to distinguish their thematic, poetic, and ideological characteristics. Students will be able to place selected authors and works within the literary-historical context of the first half of the nineteenth century, identify the characteristic features of the individual literary tendencies, and interpret selected texts in relation to Restoration, censorship, bourgeois culture, liberalism, and the politicisation of public life.
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Prerequisites
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The course is intended for students enrolled in German Studies programmes as well as for other interested students at Palacký University. A basic knowledge of European history and culture in the first half of the nineteenth century is advantageous but is not a prerequisite for completing the course. German language proficiency at approximately B2 level is expected for work with selected primary and secondary texts.
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Mark, Oral exam
Students prepare for the examination on the basis of the lecture content, the handouts and other materials available in Moodle, and the assigned primary and secondary texts. The course is completed with an individual oral examination lasting approximately 20 minutes. During the examination, students demonstrate their knowledge of the main topics covered in the course, their ability to distinguish between the literary and cultural tendencies of the Biedermeier and Vormärz periods, to place the authors and works discussed within the historical, social, and political contexts of the first half of the nineteenth century, and to interpret selected literary texts. Attendance at lectures is not compulsory.
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Recommended literature
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Bark, Joachim. Biedermeier und Vormärz/Bürgerlicher Realismus. Stuttgart. 2001.
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Eke, Norbert O. Einführung in die Literatur des Vormärz. Darmstadt. 2005.
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Sengle, Friedrich. Biedermeierzeit. Deutsche Literatur im Spannungsfeld zwischen Restauration und Revolution 1815-1848. Band II: Die Formenwelt. Stuttgart. 1971.
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