Research platform „Literary field GDR“: authors, works, networks Pilot study: The students of the Institute of Literature „Johannes R. Becher“ Leipzig
General and Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies
Data Management, Data-Intensive Systems, Computer Science Methods in Business Informatics
Modern and Contemporary History
Communication Sciences
Theatre and Media Studies
Final Report Abstract
The project draws upon existing research on the literary field of the GDR and aims to provide a prosopographical overview of authors in the SBZ/GDR (1945–1990). We have 1) collected data from various sources as an empirical basis for quantitative analyses, 2) developed tools for low-threshold access to the data and 3) tested digital methods for the investigation of literary fields and networks. The project thus combines basic research on bio-bibliographical approaches to literary research with the use of digital research methods. The pilot project funded by DFG is focused on those 344 students of the Leipzig Institute for Literature „Johannes R. Becher“ (IfL) who were enrolled as on-campus students („Direktstudierende“). They are an exemplary group of authors for the literature of the GDR that provides insights into the structure and relationships of its literary field: Founded in 1955, the IfL was a key institution in the literary field of the GDR as a university for literary writing. It prepared its graduates for various career paths, particularly in literary and cultural areas, was the starting point for networks between students and contributed to the development of diverse aesthetic positions. The group of IfL on-campus students can be seen as structurally representative for the literary field of the GDR. As a digital research platform, which particularly allows for representing provenience information for all data, information on the biography, work and reception of the 344 IfL-directstudents was comprehensively and systematically gathered and prepared for quantitative analysis. The data was collected through 1) a synthesis of published sources, 2) archive research and 3) author surveys. In total, around 14.300 biographical events with around 74.000 elementary statements were recorded and documented with around 191.000 source references from a total of around 600 sources. For works and reception, metadata on around 45.000 publications and around 37.000 reviews were imported from the Bibliografische Annalen. Literatur in der SBZ/DDR and prepared for being used in the platform. As a part of the data preparation, a standardised GDR-specific classification system for institutions, professions and (literary) prices was created, which are useful for researching the history of the GDR as a whole. The technical basis of the research platform is a software system developed within the project, which provides functions for data input, retrieval, analysis and visualisation. Based on the data available in the platform, exemplary analyses on networks, on biographical and bibliographical group profiles and on positionings in the literary field of the GDR have been carried out.
Publications
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Evaluation of a text-based data entry interface for domain experts. In: Book of Abstracts zur EADH2021-Konferenz der European Association for Digital Humanities
Frenzel, Tabea; Philipp, Luisa & Kreutel, Jörn
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Sozialistische Kaderschmiede oder Exterritorium? Ein Blick auf das Leipziger Literaturinstitut „J. R. Becher“ und einige seiner Absolventinnen. In: Generationalität – Gesellschaft – Geschichte, hrsg. von Norman Ächtler u.a. Berlin, S. 301-322
Dahlke, Birgit
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Forschungsplattform Literarisches Feld DDR. Historische Biographik und kritische Prosopographie als Instrumente in den Geschichtswissenschaften, 141-166. De Gruyter.
Kreutel, Jörn; Möbius, Thomas; Dahlke, Birgit & Martus, Steffen
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Visualisierung und Sinnstiftung. Repräsentation biografischer Daten in der Forschungsplattform Literarisches Feld DDR. In: Digitale Hermeneutik: Maschinen, Verfahren, Sinn, hrsg. von Thomas Bedorf, Peter Risthaus. Hagen: Hagen University Press
Kreutel, Jörn; Möbius, Thomas; Dahlke, Birgit & Martus, Steffen
