Kleist, Education and Violence. The Transformation of Ethics and Aesthetics

Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811) has long been regarded as a writer whose works constitute a radical break with the traditions of eighteenth-century thought. The extent to which his oeuvre reflects his engagement with the ethical and aesthetic traditions he is thought to be rejecting has frequently been underplayed. Rather than focusing on what separates Kleist from his time, this project proposes to examine (in a jointly authored monograph and an international conference) what forms his engagement with eighteenth-century ideas takes. This focus on the transformational processes in Kleist's work aims to produce a multifaceted picture of Kleistian ethics and aesthetics, and to produce a general proposal about the conceptualisation of cultural change.

We will explore the ethics and aesthetics of cultural transformation processes by analysing two themes: education and violence. Intuitively, the two would seem to be at opposite ends of a spectrum, with education stemming from ethical endeavours and violence marking the breakdown of ethical behaviour. However, we will demonstrate that one of the most important aspects of Kleist's work lies in the fact that he explores multiple interdependencies between education and violence, as well as complex and contradictory ethical implications in each. Whether violence is conceived of as innate, as the result of social oppression, or as the 'necessary' means to a higher moral end has vital consequences for our understanding of works of art, and, moreover, for ethical choices in our lives. Similarly, the question of what role different models of education can play in mitigating or exacerbating violence is of importance not only for our understanding of Kleist, but also for conceptualising our future.

Our project will address two main research questions:
1. How does Kleist transform educational models as embodied in eighteenth-century pedagogical discourses, literature and drama?
2. How are conceptualisations of violence in Kleist's work related to models of education?

In seeking answers to these, we will analyse:
a) pedagogical discourses which Kleist draws on, notably those of Rousseau, Basedow, Pestalozzi, Campe, Fichte, Kant, Wilhelm von Humboldt and Jean Paul
b) educational models in European prose (Richardson, Rousseau, Wieland), drama (popular bourgeois drama, Schiller's aesthetic education of man), and aesthetic education in music and painting
c) the diversity of Kleist's transformations of concepts of education aiming towards the production of gender, freedom, happiness, duty to the state, virtue
d) Kleist's exploration of violence as pre-requisite, consequence, or aim of education

In 2011, the bicentenary of Kleist's death, an international conference in Exeter will explore 'Constructive and Destructive Functions of Violence in the Work of Heinrich von Kleist'.

The German writer Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811) is a key figure for an understanding of both European and world literature in the Romantic period. In order to maximise the impact of our research, our project has been designed to coincide with the bicentenary of his death in 2011, an event that offers great potential to bring the work of this fascinating writer to the attention of a wider, non-academic audience in the UK. Almost all of his work is available in English translation.

Beyond our immediate professional circle, we anticipate that our research will have an impact on:

(a) international organisations promoting cultural relations between the UK and Germany
(b) government bodies concerned with policies on education
(c) educational theorists and practitioners
(d) cinema audiences
(e) the audience of arts programmes in mainstream cultural media (in particular that served by BBC radio)
(f) the wider public in general (in particular members of reading groups and users of iTunesU)

We have developed an impact agenda centered around four main clusters of activities:

(i) staging a series of public film screenings featuring adaptations of Kleist's work (plus post/pre-screening discussions)
(ii) the production of a series of six podcasts designed to bring Kleist's work to the attention of the general public
(iii) one additional podcast which is targeted specifically at educational theorists and government policy advisors and focuses on eighteenth-century ideas about the interplay between violence, ethics and education and their continuing relevance for contemporary society
(iv) the production of a radio documentary about Kleist's life and work to coincide with the bicentenary of his death in 2011

To that end we have already engaged in discussions with a number of partners:

1) The Goethe-Institut London and the Exeter Picturehouse (both of whom have expressed an interest in the idea of staging a short season of 'Kleist-films' targeted at the general public with a podium discussion led by members of the project).

2) The managers of Warwick University's iTunesU network are very enthusiastic about the idea of adding more content to what is already one of the most developed iTunesU sites in the UK. Podcasts distributed via this well-established network have the potential to reach a very large audience indeed (and one that extends beyond the UK). We also believe that this part of our impact strategy has the potential to provide a model of how other research projects in humanities might exploit new technologies to bring the impact of their research to the attention of a wider cross-section of the general public.

3) Finally, we have already been in discussion with Pier Productions about the possibility of producing a radio broadcast to mark the bicentenary of Kleist's death in 2011. Angela Hind (the producer of the recent Radio 3 documentary 'The Tragical Adventure of Heinrich von Kleist' has already responded positively to our suggestion and is keen to develop a proposal for submission to the controllers of Radio 3 and 4.

While the CI will have particular responsibility for overseeing the impact agenda, a proportion of the ARF's time has also been allocated to these activities (including the production of the podcasts), and it is envisaged that the PhD student attached to the project will be invited to play a role in the organisation of the film screenings/podium discussions and in the production of the podcasts as well. The impact agenda of the project will offer a unique opportunity for both the ARF and PhD student to acquire key skills in new media technologies, thereby enabling them to develop the potential to ensure that their own research impacts upon as wide an audience as possible in the future.