The Peasant War 1524/25
Method
In this part of the blog series, we will look for the pattern of loss of connection and violence described in Part 1 in the context of German history. The aim is to explore events that caused social crisis and had the potential to trigger experiences of alienation and to find out to what extent an increase in violence and violent tendencies can be traces to those experiences of loss of social and societal connection. It is necessary to make it clear that researching the historical past of a society can only provide a very limited insight into another time and that it is therefore very important to strive for as much objectivity as possible in this context and to be aware that a truly objective view is limited by the fact that information from another time is always evaluated from the perspective of the respective observer. For this reason, I will not only rely on historical interpretations, but also on contemporary quotations and will analyse cultural productions that reflect the experience of social and societal loss of connection that occurred as part of a social crisis. In this context, I will examine the extent to which these productions were able to express experiences of fear and loss and thereby contributed to their processing. It will be important to explore if a loss of social and societal connection can be identified that has increased over time. For the analyses of cultural productions, as long as they contain a narrative element in the broadest sense, I will use the following forms of text analysis:
- The concept of the basic narrative model developed by the semiotician Algirdas Julius Greimas (1983) for the analysis of traditional fairy tales.
- An examination of the identity and intentionality of the narrator, using a method developed by linguist Michael C. Toolan (1988).
- A method that distinguishes between the three aspects of narrative time – order, duration, frequency – developed by literary critic Gerard Genette (1980).
- An analysis of the use of time in narrative fiction, with reference to the literary theorist Shlomith Rimon-Kenan (1983).
- An examination of character traits through the use of adjectives according to a method developed by the philosopher and literary theorist Tzvetan Todorov (1981).
As in the neurobiological area, the political and social processes in history are very complex and multi-layered. I will have to present these in a simplified manner and here too concentrate on patterns and basic structures that show the causal connection between loss of social and societal connection and violence.
Bibliography
Genette, G. (1980). Narrative Discourse: an Essay in Method. New York: Cornell UP.
Greimas, A. J. (1983). Structural Semiotics: An attempt at a method (Translated by D. Mc Dowell et al. ed.). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Rimon-Kenan, S. (1983). Narrative Fiction: Contemporary Poetics. London: Methuen& Co Ltd.
Todorov, T. (1981). Introduction to Poetics . Brighton: The Harvester Press Ltd.
Toolan, M. J. (1988). Narrative: A critical Linguistic Introduction. London : Routledge.
Images
https://www.welt.de/geschichte/article207185325/Bauernkrieg-Der-Anfuehrer-wurde-langsam-auf-dem-Scheiterhaufen-geroestet.html
Source: picture alliance / Bildagentur-online/Celeste