Book in the literary discourse of the German Enlightenment

Abstract

The books’ role in the German Enlightenment discourse explores the intersection of different but complementary disciplines: bibliology, philosophy of culture and «text linguistics», as well as the history of literature that expands the possibilities of studying cultural and public communication. A text (magazine, book) is interpreted as a mechanism that controls the process of learning and understanding. To illustrate the study theoretical foundations, the author considers the historical practice of the literary era in Germany in 1770-1790. The struggle of «cilturtregers» to renew German culture moved from the political sphere to journalism and literature. The author concludes that the book (both scientific and artistic) and reading became a factor of social communication. The struggle for the renewal of German culture, its national identity preservation due to a number of historical reasons hindering the development of the country moved from the political sphere to the journalism and literature field. It was closely connected with the whole complex of the European Enlightenment ideas. The book - both scientific (philosophical work, art treatise) and artistic one (literary and journalistic composition, dramatic creation, etc.) became an indispensable tool of the nation aesthetic education. In such circumstances, a book obtains the significance of not only the «source of knowledge» but a kind of «catechism» to struggle for national culture. Thus, considering a book text as a phenomenon of the German culture of the Enlightenment century with ideological and aesthetic significance, it should be especially notes that such a «text» (a book of scientific, philosophical, moralistic or artistic content) is addressed both to a specific reader, a representative of some class, and to a «collective reader». The German novel (it is the genre of «trivial» literature that is considered directly) is a product of the era. The dialogue «author - reader» (or a complicated triad «author - publisher - reader») was the basis of the nation estetic education. Reading became a fact (and a factor) of social communication. The German book has been transformed from an expensive and exclusive «source of knowledge» targeted for scientists, connoisseurs of «beauty» to a catechism (available for the ordinary reader) of the national struggle to preserve the German culture self-existence and to acquaint the nation to the treasures of the world classical «ancient» and modern literature.