The Meaning of Literature and Literature as Meaning—A Productive Challenge of Modern Times from the Middle Ages

Abstract

Abstract:The marriage of literature and science might not be possible strictly speaking, but a marriage of humanities with philosophy, psychology, religion, ethics, ecology, and social studies, for instance, might well work, as a close analysis of some medieval narratives will illustrate. This paper intends to demonstrate once again what the humanities could truly mean, insofar as the discussion will not only lay bare textual elements or philological concerns, but it will also indicate how much relevant literature helps us to address crucial questions of religious, ethical, social, moral, and philosophical kinds, building powerful bridges between the past and the present. In order to test this premise even in extreme situations, here a number of medieval texts will be introduced and analyzed as to their timeless message and hence their extremely important function of creating meaning for readers/listeners both from the Middle Ages and today.

STEM and Teaching German Language and Literature with an Interdisciplinary Approach: 18th‐Century Reports by German Jesuit Missionaries in the German Classroom

“…In light of all those debates and rapid developments in a fast‐changing world today, the critical question continues to be what role the humanities do play, indeed, and how important they might be today and in the future. This has been discussed before several times, even in light of a variety of literary examples from the Middle Ages (Classen, , ), and also by numerous scholars both from the field of sciences and the humanities. This article aims at outlining a maybe unusual perspective drawing from 18 th ‐century German literature, history, religion, and related fields within a German Studies setting, which could bridge the gulf between STEM and the humanities.…”

Reflections on Key Issues in Human Life: Gottfried von Strassburg’s Tristan, Dante’s Divina Commedia, Boccaccio’s Decameron, Michael Ende’s Momo, and Fatih Akın’s Soul Kitchen—Manifesto in Support of the Humanities—What Truly Matters in the End?

“…Next, I would like to present a variety of literary and also cinematographic examples from our own time and from the Middle Ages in order to illustrate how we can pragmatically handle the confrontation with a disgruntled public and an overly cost-sensitive bureaucracy and re-situate the humanities into the center of the academic universe, where they truly belong. I have addressed these questions already before in various other studies (e.g., Classen 2012aClassen , 2012bClassen , 2014aClassen , 2015Classen , 2016Classen , 2018aClassen , 2018bClassen , 2019a, and numerous colleagues have contributed to this ongoing discourse (Murdoch 2020;Münster 2020;Beal 2020), whereas here my intentions are to operate both with medieval and modern examples, including a courtly romance, a Renaissance collection of short tales, a twentieth-century novel for young readers, and a twenty-first-century movie. My critical keywords will be spirituality, transcendence, the essence of human life, purpose, dignity, and meaning.…”

Smart Marie De France Knew the Ways of this World – Medieval Advice Literature (Fables) and Social Criticism in its Relevance for us Today

“…Both the social and the religious, both the political and the economic frameworks have changed fundamentally, so in a way medieval literature might enjoy only a museal interest for some of us today. 11 Nevertheless, although Marie composed a large collection of fables that seem to be far removed from our present world, at closer analysis, they prove to be stunningly relevant in their core reflections for people throughout time, just as proverbs or aphorisms. 12 By studying those short verse narratives and what they addressed, we can not only gain deeper insights into Marie's intellectual, ethical, social, and moral thinking, but also recognize some universal statements that highlight the relevance of medieval literature also today.…”