DFG-Centre for Advanced Studies Imaginaria of Force
Announcement: 31.05.2019 Workshop »Naturkraft«, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
29 April 2019
Force of nature, in the sense of a presumably inherent ability of individual bodies, organisms and elements to (re-)shaping on the one hand, and a force attributed to nature unfolding independently of any influence on the other hand, is simply not accessible to the senses of humans.
Regardless of whether one attempts to explain natural forces physically or metaphysically, mechanistically or teleologically, merely the impacts, the transformational effects of such forces can be perceived by human senses; the force itself remains indeterminable and can only be accessed reflexively. Furthermore, the 'dark workings' of a force of nature, which seemingly realizes itself haphazardly and disorderly, can only be submitted to human control to a limited extent.
Mainly for this reason, force of nature has been discussed in a highly ambivalent manner in European intellectual and cultural history, also beyond the realm of natural sciences. While on the one hand forces of nature were talked about with great pathos as both incomprehensible and indescribably beautiful object of fascination and sublime spectacle of Nature, at the same time the might and violence of this ominous force were repeatedly pointed out with horror. The effects of such a force of nature thus not only reveal themselves in causing changes in and of bodies, but also in producing extremely heterogeneous affects.
Natural forces can thus have a transformative effect on (1) the matter from which they presumably emerge, (2) the objects which they act upon, but also (3) on those instances turning sensorially and/or reflexively towards these forces.
Equally ambivalent seems the fact that in the sciences – no later than with the empirically oriented examination of natural forces in the late sixteenth century – on the one hand, it was frankly admitted that due to their sensorial inaccessibility no reliable statements could be made about the origins and causes of these forces. Yet, on the other hand (or precisely because of this), at no point in time was there any refraining from both dealing with the term 'force of nature' aesthetically in scientific, literary, and artistic representations and from charging it semantically as well as emotionally.
But how were the complex effects and ambivalent affects associated with forces of nature dealt with in the Early Modern era and the 'saddle period' around 1800, in which not only new fields of scholarship but also new epistemological and methodological paradigms were established? Which theoretical approaches were crucial to enable considerations about the term 'force of nature' (Naturkraft), related concepts such as 'nature magic' (Naturmagie), and their respective phenomenal manifestations?
Also, which contribution did literature offer with regard to the conception and representation of the causes, forms, and effects of the force of nature? How did fiction determine this factually indeterminable? Can language be understood as a force of nature and how can it then be processed through language?
What does it mean to render the force of nature visible by literary and rhetorical means and thus to intend to stage it in a way that can be grasped sensorially? For instance, how can it look like to "expose the hidden sidereal forces of nature by means of intellectual forces" („intellektuelle[r] Kräfte [...] die verborgenen siderischen Kräfte der Natur “)? These and further questions will be addressed in the lecture by Prof. Dr. Maximilian Bergengruen and the subsequent workshop on May 31, 2019 at the JMU Würzburg.
Based on readings (compiled in a reader provided in advance) and the keynote lecture by Prof. Dr. Bergengruen, the participants will explore the topic from a literary and cultural studies perspective together with Maximilian Bergengruen and the event organizers Conrad Fischer (JMU Würzburg) and Frederike Middelhoff (University of Hamburg). Focus will be on texts from the Early Modern period and the era around 1800.
In various publications, Maximilian Bergengruen, who is a professor at the Department of German Studies at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), has investigated the semantic spectrum of the term 'force' and linked the corresponding concepts of force with literary texts from the Early Modern and Goethe Era from a historical-epistemological perspective. In his lecture, he will once again unfold these findings regarding the concept of 'force of nature' (Naturkraft) and give further prospects for this thematic field concerning the 'long 18th century'.
This systematic approach provides a basis for the joint discussion of selected German-language texts from the natural sciences, philosophy, and literature in the subsequent workshop. The aim is to explore a historical-epistomological approach to the multifaceted nature of the term "force of nature" in the Early Modern period up to the early 19th century.
The lecture and workshop on ‘force of nature’, entitled “Naturkraft: Wissensgeschichtliche Annäherung an ein Begriffsfeld”, are open to all interested students, doctoral candidates, postdocs, professors and staff of JMU Würzburg, as well as external early career researchers. Registration for the workshop is requested. There is no additional registration required for the lecture, all interested parties are cordially invited to attend.
Naturkraft: Wissensgeschichtliche Annäherung an ein Begriffsfeld. Lecture & Workshop
Event Management: Conrad Fischer (Lehrstuhl für neuere deutsche Literatur- und Ideengeschichte, JMU Würzburg) / Frederike Middelhoff (DFG-Kolleg-Forschungsgruppe „Imaginarien der Kraft“, Universität Hamburg)
Time: May 31, 2019, 9:30am-6:30pm
Venue: Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Central Lecture Hall Building, Room 2.006
Registration until May 6, 2019 to: naturkraft.uniwue"AT"gmail.com
