Delving into the intricacies of human cognition, the book examines the workings of the mind and how thoughts shape our experiences. It highlights the connection between mental processes and behavior, offering insights into psychological theories and their applications. By analyzing various case studies and research findings, the author provides a comprehensive understanding of how our mental frameworks influence decision-making and interpersonal relationships. This exploration invites readers to reflect on their own mental landscapes and the impact of their thoughts on daily life.
Waiting Hierarchies in the Twentieth-Century German Novel
257 Seiten
9 Lesestunden
Focusing on the motif of waiting, this monograph analyzes how seven influential German and Austrian novelists depict their characters' experiences in the context of the tumultuous twentieth century. By examining their works, it reveals how these authors critique societal hierarchies and injustices through the lens of waiting. The study integrates philosophical insights on metaphor and time, highlighting the cultural significance of liminality and the perpetual state of waiting faced by the marginalized within social structures.
Waiting is a ubiquitous, mundane experience and is thus uneasy on the radar screen literary criticism. Yet, as William (Purdue Univ.) reveals in this analysis of novels by seven prominent 20th-century German and Austrian authors, waiting is fundamental to social hierarchies and integral to the power dynamics structuring modern life. In a lengthy introduction, the author explains different philosophical and sociological concepts of waiting and time and outlines the reasons why waiting and corresponding metaphors of time attracted the attention of Franz Kafka, Thomas Mann, Anna Segher, Uwe Johnson, Ingeborg Bachmann, Wolfgang Hilbig, and Marlene Streeruwitz. Her main thesis, carefully articulated through close reading, is that rituals of waiting function to keep disenfranchised groups or individual characters subjugated and that the texts linguistic structures also reflect perceptions of time. For each of the works she selects - Kafka's Der Vershollene, Mann's Der Zauberberg, Segher's Transit, Johnson's Mutmassungen uber Jakob, Machmann's Malinam Hilbig's Ich, Streeruwitz's Nachwelts - William documents in great detail how characters cope with (self) imposed regimens of waiting and what this waiting exposes about sociopolitical and personal imbalance of power.
