Fellows

Dramatizing marriage. Marriage as a social practice in Viennese comedies at the turn of the 20^thcentury.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The project Dramatizing marriage will examine the social practice of marriage as presented in Viennese comedies at the turn of the 19^th-20^th centuries. Pierre Bourdieu´s concept of practice and his enlarged notion of capital will help to get an insight into the economic conditions of the bourgeois marriage practice. The marriage market characterized by offer and demand as well as the existence and duration of marriage are determined not only by exchange of financial means, but investment of cultural and social capital. An analysis of marriage as presented in Viennese comedies from the point of view of sociology of culture proves an interesting alternative to a sexually dominated view of marriage which ignores social and cultural aspects. Focusing processes of capital exchange and conversion in Bourdieu´s sense makes it possible to find a new approach of examining the culture of the turn of the century with its complex semiotic structure.

CV

Clemens Woldan studied German language and literature, philosophy and psychology at Salzburg university, he is actually enrolled as a Ph.D. student at this university. Besides he works in the scientific staff of Stefan Zweig Centre, Salzburg. His MA-paper Die Wiener Komödie um 1900 was given the award Förderpreis für die beste Diplomarbeit of the Department of German language and literature in 2019. After having graduated from university he worked as a teacher in Salzburg high schools. He finished the postgraduate program »Philosophical practice«  at Vienna university. In 2012 and 2022 he worked not only as a teacher in high school, but as Senior Scientist at the Department of German language and literature of Salzburg university. In his dissertation project he will research the social practice of marriage as presented in Viennese comedies about 1900 focusing on aspects of exchange, conversion and translation of capital from economic to social practice.

Publications

»Konzepte von Humanität im Diskurs über die Todesstrafe in der Zwischenkriegszeit. Stellungnahmen deutschsprachiger Autorinnen und Autoren zu staatlich sanktionierten Hinrichtungen in den Jahren 1918 bis 1939«, in: Claudia Öhlschläger , Isolde Schiffermüller, Lucia Perrone, Arturo Larcati (Hg.), Narrative des Humanismus in der Weimarer Republik und im Exil, Paderborn 2023 (im Druck); »Stefan Zweig und Calvins Genfer Gottesstaat. ›Castellio gegen Calvin‹  als Präfiguration einer Synthese von Disziplinar- und Bio-Macht«, in: Ronja Hannebohm, Anda-Lisa Harmening (Hg.), Biopolitik(en) in Literatur, Film und Serie. Aushandlungs- und Reflexionsräume vom 18. Jahrhundert bis heute, Paderborn 2022 (im Druck); »Die Hinrichtung der Marie Antoinette. Synthese von Bild und Text in Stefan Zweigs historisch-biografischem Roman«, in: zweigheft 25, Salzburg 2021, S. 15–22.