Books in the German Studies in America series

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a dominant figure in European literature and intellectual life, was the creator of a new and influential visual culture. This volume investigates a new science of perception through an exploration of his autobiographical works, novels and writings on optics. The psychoanalytic approach taken in this study focuses on central acts of perception and the role of vision in Goethe as key to the formation of identity. By addressing the impact of visuality on the act of writing, new interpretations of his most important works emerge through analysis of subject formation in the autobiographies, The Italian Journey and Poetry and Truth. Further, the relationship between the self and the gaze plays a central role in the semi-autobiographical works, The Elective Affinities, Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, as well as Color Theory. In exploring the question of identity and identification within a Lacanian framework, The Eye and the Gaze offers an innovative approach to biography, autobiography, and narrative.

Goethe's play Stella caused so much turmoil in Germany that it was retracted from the stage. This new translation provides an introduction exploring the reception of the play in Germany and England and scholarly interpretations of the play as well as a detailed appendix. A useful resource for students, teachers, and scholars alike.

The work of Peter von Matt, Switzerland's finest living literary critic, offers a model of humanisticscholarship par excellence. This interdisciplinary collection of essays supplies a criticalbut appreciative engagement with von Matt's writing, the first volume devoted specifically to probing the legacy of his thought.

The humanities can contribute to an understanding of a fundamental aspect of human life: work. This cross-disciplinary volume explores how German literature has grappled with understanding work in times of disruptive change brought about by industrialization, rapid technological advances, and globalization.