The Afterlives of Feudal-Aristocratic Formations

The main goal of the project is to trace the afterlives of European feudal-aristocratic formations and attitudes that have remained influential for both symbolic-representational and imaginary- mythical fields within modern democratic societies. This includes a precise definition of the relationship between previous elitist or perceived elitist modes of governance and expres- sion, of artistic and philosophical ambitions towards emancipation and autonomy, and of social tendencies towards egalitarianism and exclusion. With particular focus on the decline and defragmentation of the Habsburg Empire and on the rich literary and cultural historical sources of Central Europe, Austria will serve as an exemplary case study for the investigation of postfeudal models and conceptions. To this end, state of the art theories and methods from cultural, sociological and literary studies are applied and brought together at a new level of interdisciplinary reflection. This will bring new impulses into the today particularly relevant research fields on postfeudality and postar- istocracy and will highlight their transdisciplinary connectivity within the Humanities. In the course of the fellowship, the researcher will systematize and analyze the hitherto largely dis- parate research along specific socio-historical strands and points of connection, and will demon- strate the concrete applicability of his hypotheses. In the first phase at the Department of Liter- ature, Art and Media Studies at the University of Constance, the project will be focused on its theoretical and methodological basis, concentrating on classical sociological theories of Norbert Elias (on courtly society) and Pierre Bourdieu/Monique de Saint Martin (on modern elites and nobility) as well as on cultural scientific concepts as those by Aby Warburg (iconology, afterlife) or Jurij Lotman (semiosphere, sujet). A selection of historical, literary and artistic sources will be examined against this theoretical background. The return phase at the Central European Uni- versity in Vienna will provide substantial inputs from historical and historiographical perspec- tives, provided by the interdisciplinary and international expertise of the History Department and its Central European orientation. The research topics will be significantly developed in two directions during the project period: First, collaboratively, the proposed hypotheses will be discussed in an international workshop, presented in a volume and further developed into an international project proposal. Second, an essential foundation will be laid for a monograph, in which the methodological tools will be applied to sources from Central Europe and Austria in particular.