L'espace allemand observé à travers la réception de Diderot au xvme siècle

Abstract

This article aims at demonstrating that the reception of Diderot in Germany did not take place in a uniform manner but, rather, adapted itself to the socio-cultural specificities of the Empire. His works were, in fact, received into two distinct spaces, here referred to as the learned space and the theatrical space. The first, which was concerned with Diderot's works considered as «philosophical», was sustained by scholars, and was introduced into the university towns of North and Central Protestant Germany. The second, which focused on the reception of his dramatic works, was impelled by actors and theater administrators, and was rooted in the princely capitals throughout the Empire. This article examines the distinctive features of these two spaces and analyzes how their functioning and the practices of their representatives affected the particular reception of Diderot's work.