Nationalizing Meltzl: Thomas Frühm’s Concept of Weltliteratur
Rezumat
Abstract: Thomas Frühm, a Transylvanian Saxon scholar and student of Hugo Meltzl, inherited Meltzl’s library and archives, which significantly influenced his work. Despite Meltzl’s anti-nationalist vision for comparative literature, Frühm’s work reflects a Germanocentric perspective, aligning Weltliteratur with German national identity and cultural superiority. This article examines Frühm’s work, his methodological nationalism, and the broader context of Transylvanian Saxon scholarship, which gravitated towards German National Socialism in the 1930s. It also frames the complex legacy of Meltzl, whose ideals were overshadowed by the nationalist tendencies of his immediate followers. The study highlights the tension between cosmopolitanism and nationalism in the development of comparative literature in Eastern Europe, emphasizing the need for a critical evaluation of Meltzl’s contributions and their local reception. The article sheds light on the instrumentalization of Weltliteratur for nationalist purposes and the enduring impact of early twentieth-century intellectual currents on contemporary literary studies.
Key words: Weltliteratur, World Literature, Hugo Metlzl, Thomas Frühm, nationalism.
escort konya
sex hikayeleri
marmaris eskort
Acknowledgement: This work was funded by the EU’s NextGenerationEU instrument through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan of Romania—Pillar III-C9–18, through the project A Global History of Romanian Comparatism: A Case Study in Inter-Imperial Comparative Literature (1877–1944), PNRR-III-C9–2023-I8-CF 22/27.07.2023, contract no. 760276/26.03.2024.
Bibliografie
