Announcements

Martin Kovacs: Vom Herrscher zum Heros. Die Bildnisse Alexanders des Großen und die Imitatio Alexandri

The book goes back to the author's habilitation, which he mainly developed in project B1

Further information on the publishing house's website...

Antiquity did not know only one image or only one idea of the figure of Alexander the Great. On the contrary, hardly any other historical figure of antiquity proved to be so divergent, controversial and literally multiform for contemporaries. The monograph seeks to grasp this diversity through a critical presentation of the representations of Alexander the Great, to reorganise the deleterious survivals and to make them useful for cultural-historical analysis. For this purpose, not only the round sculptures are taken into account, but also other media are consistently included: the coinage, large-scale monuments such as votives in greek sanctuaries, as well as the literary and epigraphic tradition. A decisive result is the finding that the figure of Alexander the Great could be restaged in different contexts either as a divinely or heroically impregnated being, as an energetic but potentially approachable general, or as a mythological figure with paradigmatic significance. These different conceptualisations will be elaborated on the basis of the highly divergent portrait designs between Hellenism, the Roman imperial period as well as Late Antiquity, recontextualised both historically and in terms of cultural history, and in particular asked about the role of the actors who commissioned the images in each case. This perspective counters a traditional conception of the image of Alexander, in which a rather selective perception has predominated up to now, with a preference for the lifetime portraits of Alexander. The study shows that divergent images of the Macedonian ruler were created at different times, in different places and in different political and cultural contexts, and that their specific iconography also reflects specific ideas of the figure of Alexander the Great. These figurations of Alexander in different cultural contexts illustrate the preferences of the actors who created them. For the imperial period in particular, it can be shown that Alexander was also visually staged as a mythological rather than a historiographical figure. The final analysis of the visual Imitatio Alexandri, the pictorial imitation of the Macedonian king in different historical and cultural contexts during the Hellenistic period, is based on the results obtained.

Isabell Oberle: Von der Handlung zur Haltung. Heroischer Attentismus im westeuropäischen Drama der Kriegs- und Zwischenkriegszeit (1914–1934).

The book is based on the author's dissertation, which she worked on in project D6.

Here's the directly link...

Under the impact of the First World War, waiting had replaced fighting in an emphatic sense, had become a generational experience both in the field and at home, and had been transformed into a form of heroism involving perseverance and endurance. The accent had shifted away from heroism as an external deed; instead, it was interiorised and enthroned as an attitude. This study is dedicated to this new heroism as a guiding motto during the war, its critical consideration in the post-war period and its re-functionalisation as a strategy for coping with the present in the 1920s. Using the example of Western European theatre during both the war and the interwar period, it examines how such heroism was aesthetically conveyed, reflected and evaluated.

Dr. Anne Hemkendreis (S4, art history) was admitted to Die Junge Akademie (Leopoldina). Congratulations!

Dennis Pulina: Kaiser Maximilian I. als Held im lateinischen Epos. Ein Beitrag zur Methodik epischer Heroisierungen und zur Aktualisierung antiker Heldennarrative

The book goes back to the author's dissertation, which he worked on in project D3.

Here's the directly link...

A number of poets took up the Latin epic in order to stage the rule of Maximilian I, aiming to portray a hero who did not just meet and exceed ancient and genre-specific ideals but also lived up to the values and challenges of his time. This study examines the strategies applied to this end and sheds light on the unique features of Maximilian heroic poetry, taking into consideration its epic predecessors.

From 20.5. until 20.9. Parviz Mullojanov (Islamic Studies) is part of the SFB948 as a visiting researcher. He researches the project "Heroes and Demons in post-Soviet Tajikistan" and cooperates in particular with sub-project S1.

Contact: parvizen777@gmail.com

From 16.5. until 10.6. Jörg Arnold (History, Nottingham) belongs to the SFB 948 as a guest researcher. At the SFB he is researching the project "The Unfinished" and is part of the sub-project S3.

Website & Contact: 
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/humanities/departments/history/people/joerg.arnold

by Eva Ferro (Hrsg.): Ein Fest für den Heiligen, Helden - Heroisierungen - Heroismen, Bd. 17

During the Middle Ages the cult of saints was an essential part of religious life. As a result, the study of saints’ lives and other narrative sources is a well-established research area for medievalists. But these studies often marginalize liturgical sources and rarely take the reality of medieval saints’ cults into account. This volume, however, focuses on liturgical worship or, as the author calls it, ‘Hagiopraxis’, and its sources and manuscripts. This approach rests on the methodological assumption that saints in the Middle Ages were constructed and propagated not only in Vitae and Passiones, but primarily in liturgical practice, in its texts and artefacts. It was mostly these liturgically constructed saints who were called upon for help and protection, and who could act as role models for the medieval audience. This innovative approach is exemplified in this volume through the study of the medieval cult of Saint Zeno, patron of the north Italian city of Verona.

The DFG Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 948 at the University of Freiburg has been dealing with historical and current manifestations of heroism since 2012. Prof. Dr. Ulrich Bröckling (sociology), Dr. Olmo Gölz (Islamic Studies), Prof. Dr. Dietmar Neutatz (Eastern European History) and Prof. Dr. Nicola Spakowski (Sinology). Prof. Dr. Ralf von den Hoff (classical archaeology, speaker SFB 948) moderated. Based on short impulse contributions, the participants will discuss current booms in the heroic in Ukraine and Russia as well as global reactions to them, classify them historically, develop the concepts of "war heroism" against the background of the research of the SFB 948 and also discuss them with the audience.

Further information can be found here

Nicola Spakowski and Ulrich Bröckling on personalization and politics using the example of Xi Jingping and on the conference "‚Starke Männer‘ – Figuren disruptiver Politik in transnationaler Perspektive" (Deutschlandfunk).

https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/xi-jinping-personalisierung-von-politik-in-einem-autoritaeren-system-dlf-dcdd2266-100.html

When: 24.03. - 25.03.
Where: Online 

Registration / Participation:
Please send an email by March 15, 2022 to:

starkemaenner@sfb948.uni-freiburg.de

Contact person: Simon Lieb

Get the access data for the online event you in time by email.

For more information see here