Latencies of individual morality and scenes of collective vigilance between humans and spirits in pre-modern Europe (A02)

• Subject Area: German Medieval Studies (Medieval German Literature) ; German Literary and Cultural Studies (Modern German Literature)
• Term: since 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 394775490

Both transcendental salvation and vigilance against the dangers of evil demand equal degrees of attention simultaneously. However, this is often neither practically nor narratively easily accomplishable. If the former is forced, characteristic latencies of unresolved moral ambivalence emerge, which the project aims to analyse based on legendary narratives. If the moral conflict is dramatised as a struggle between good and evil spirit beings, the moral imputability of the subject is eroded. We will examine these effects looking at various designs of the collective organisation of angels and devils.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1369: Cultures of Vigilance. Transformations - Spaces - Practices
• Applicant Institution: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
• Project Heads: Dr. Carolin Struwe-Rohr; Professor Dr. Michael Waltenberger