Meanings of Modern Work in Nineteenth- and Twenty-First-Century German Literature and Film: (76 German Studies in America)

The essays in this volume explore how the humanities can contribute to an understanding of a fundamental aspect of human life: work. This volume explores how German literature has grappled with understanding work in times of disruptive change brought about by industrialization, rapid technological advances, and globalization. It adds a cross-disciplinary perspective by including contributions from the field of film studies, on the cinematic treatment of work, and from philosophy, on the normative questions posed by changing work environments.

About the Author :
Peter C. Pfeiffer is Professor and Chair of the German Department at Georgetown University. His research focuses on German-language literary and cultural studies from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries, most recently with a focus on literary negotiations of economic concepts. Nathan T. Tschepik received his degree in History from Georgetown University. He is currently completing his law degree at the University of Chicago.

Review :
«At a time when the humanities face a profound crisis of relevance, this volume gathers a series of interdisciplinary essays that exemplify the pertinence of German Studies scholarship to urgent problems related to work in contemporary life. Focusing on two historical paradigm shifts, the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century and the technological revolution of the late twentieth and twenty-first, the editors and contributors present insightful literary, cinematic, and philosophical examinations that highlight fulcrum moments in the history of labor and political economy. By illuminating the past through the analyses of cultural artifacts, they probe possibilities for confronting current fluctuations in work environments and transformations of our economic way of life.» (Richard T. Gray, Lockwood Professor in the Humanities, Emeritus, University of Washington) «This innovative volume of essays brings a set of interlocking interdisciplinary approaches (economic, philosophical, sociological) to bear on the problem of modern work. It is readable and highly informative, and it succeeds in making solid connections between the nineteenth-century industrial revolution and the ‹second machine age› of the twenty-first century.» (Ernest Schonfield, University of Glasgow)