Middelhoff, Frederike
Congratulations on passing the viva voce on 7 February 2019.
Dissertation topic:
"Literary Autozoographies - Figurations of the Autobiographical Animal (1789-1922)."
Title of doctoral thesis:
"Literary Autozoographies - Figurations of the Autobiographical Animal (1789-1922)."
Doctoral scholarship
of the German National Academic Foundation
(1 March 2015 - 28 February 2018).
Contact address at the University of Würzburg:
Institute of German Philology/
Neuere deutsche Literaturgeschichte
Am Hubland
D-97074 Würzburg
First supervisor: Prof. Dr Roland Borgards
Second supervisor:
Prof. Dr Isabel Karremann
Class in the Graduate School: "Philosophy, Languages, Arts"
Doctorate in the Graduate School from WS 2014/2015.
Abstract (German):
The dissertation project provides a systematic reappraisal and contextualisation of a previously unexplored genre in German literary history from the perspective of cultural history and the history of knowledge. Literary auto-zoographies are quasi-autobiographical first-person novels in which an animal tells its life story. However, the figure of the autobiographical animal was not an exclusively literary phenomenon in the 'long 19th century'. As part of a reconstruction of the genre's origins and development in the history of knowledge, the dissertation project is able to show that, against the background of the question of animals' ability to have a soul, the autobiographical capacity of animals was considered in animal psychology, the animal protection movement and natural history throughout the entire period under investigation and was repeatedly spoken about in a representative, prosopopoietic way for animals. In the first part, the dissertation examines the theoretical and aesthetic formations in which the figure of the autobiographical animal appears around and after 1800, both in literature and, above all, beyond literature. In this way, literary auto-zoographies can be identified as part of specific discursive formations. In the second part, the study analyses and interprets exemplary preliminary forms and prototypes of literary autozoographies. It not only shows that the quasi-autobiographical first-person novels of horses, cats and dogs participate in the respective assimilationist species knowledge of their time, but also reflect this knowledge as an ascriptive knowledge. In addition, this part of the study is dedicated to the constitutive and functional connections between literary auto-zoographies, picaresque novels and the genre of autobiography.
Abstract (English):
The dissertation project systematically reconstructs the cultural and epistemological contexts of a yet unexplored genre in German literary history. Literary autozoographies are quasi-autobiographical first-person novels in which an animal narrates his*her life. Yet in 'the long nineteenth century', the figure of the autobiographical animal was not a mere literary phenomenon. Exploring the historical, epistemological backgrounds of the genre, the project shows that the genesis and development of literary autozoographies was accompanied by a discourse on 'animal souls' which saw animal psychologists, animal-rights activists and natural historians not only thinking about animals' autobiographical capacities but also speaking for animals prosopopoetically. In the first part, the project investigates the theoretical and aesthetical formations in which the figure of the autobiographical animal manifested itself, showing that literary autozoographies contributed to specific discursive formations. In the second part, the study analyses and interprets pre- and prototypical literary autozoographies of horses, cats, and dogs, showing that the texts not only re-write assimilationist knowledge on animal species but also reflect that this knowledge relies on attributions, projections and aesthetic forms of production. Furthermore, this part elaborates on the constituitive and functional relations between literary autozoographies, picaresque novels and factual autobiographies.
