Davies Myth, Matriarchy and Modernity

Johann Jakob Bachofen in German Culture. 1860–1945
1. Auflage 2010
ISBN: 978-3-11-022709-3
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, Band 7, 472 Seiten

Reihe: Interdisciplinary German Cultural StudiesISSN

This study explores the prevalence in German culture of myths about ancient matriarchal societies, discussing their presence in left and right wing politics, feminist and antifeminist writing, sociology, psychoanalysis and literary production. By tracing the influence of the works of the Swiss jurist and theorist of matriarchy, Johann Jakob Bachofen (1815–1887), and the controversies about the reception and interpretation of his work, this study shows how debate about the matriarchal origins of culture was inextricably linked with anxieties about modernity and gender identities at the turn of the twentieth century. By moving beyond the discussion of canonical authors and taking seriously the scope of the discussion, it becomes clear that it is not possible to reduce matriarchal theories to any particular political ideology; instead, they function as a mythic counterdiscourse to a modernity conceived as oppressive, rational and masculine. Writers considered include Ludwig Klages, Hofmannsthal, Kafka, Hauptmann, Lou Andreas-Salomé, Sir Galahad, Clara Viebig, Mathilde Vaerting, Thomas Mann, Elisabeth Langgässer, Ilse Langner, Otto Gross, Franz Werfel, and many others.

Zielgruppe

Academics, Institutes, Libraries

Autoren/Hrsg.

Davies, Peter

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Deutsche Geschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Gender Studies, Geschlechtersoziologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Deutsche Literatur

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Acknowledgements;5
2;Note on translation;7
3;Contents;9
4;Preface;13
5;Chapter 1;19
6;Chapter 2;61
7;Chapter 3;119
8;Chapter 4;175
9;Chapter 5;229
10;Chapter 6;255
11;Chapter 7;297
12;Chapter 8;323
13;Chapter 9;363
14;Chapter 10;401
15;Bibliography;433
16;Index;469

Über Autor(innen)

Peter Davies, University of Edinburgh, UK.