This essay discusses the story of the critical edition of Nietzsche’s complete works by Giorgio C... more This essay discusses the story of the critical edition of Nietzsche’s complete works by Giorgio Colli and Mazzino Montinari as presented in Philipp Felsch’s book Wie Nietzsche aus der Kälte kam. The book, which is based on biographical material of the two editors, takes up an important episode in European intellectual history in its political, cultural historical context. However, it often presents a questionable use of these sources. A closer examination of that the same source material would situate the history of the edition and its editors in a different context. Likewise, Felsch’s account of the history of Nietzsche’s reception in France, and his reception in the neighboring countries, lacks nuance and reveals some remarkable examples of misreading. Like in other genres of history, scholars of discourse history and intellectual history need to read sources closely and critically. When we talk of dealing with primary sources, the work that editors have done in commentaries and e...
Erlebte und erzählte Biographie ist ein tradierter Gegenstand der Geschichts- und Sozialwissensch... more Erlebte und erzählte Biographie ist ein tradierter Gegenstand der Geschichts- und Sozialwissenschaften sowie der Wissenschafts- und Kunstgeschichte; sie ist Objekt der Begierde von ForscherInnen und steht im Fokus des kulturwissenschaftlichen Methodenstreits. Verhandelt werden dabei die folgenden zentralen Fragen: Was ist Leben? Was ist Identität? Was ist ein Subjekt? Was ist ein Autor/eine Autorin? Der Band sucht nach Antworten auf diese Fragen aus der Perspektive der neueren Gender Studies. Dabei wird in den Beiträgen das Bedürfnis nach biographischer Arbeit im Sinne von Empowerment und Veränderung kontrastiert mit der reflexiven, dekonstruierenden Differenzierung der Biographie von Künstlerinnen und Wissenschaftlerinnen.
This contribution explores the intertwining history of the obstetrician&a... more This contribution explores the intertwining history of the obstetrician's hand and of (measurable) time. In a long-term historical perspective both on the metaphorical and practical role of the hand in obstetrical discourse and on the changing relation between continuous and discontinuous time, I come to the conclusion that the introduction of certain instruments into obstetrical practice around 1750 went hand in hand with an epistemological change regarding the conception of the living body and its time modes. The obstetrical forceps, which started its career together with male obstetrics and the introduction of the lying-in hospital as a new institution of giving birth, was instrumental in implementing practical and theoretical changes in dealing with the mother's and the child's bodies, which were by no mean beneficial for them.
Gerhard Wahrig's private archive has recently been retrieved by the authors and their sibling... more Gerhard Wahrig's private archive has recently been retrieved by the authors and their siblings. We undertake a first survey of the unpublished material and concentrate on those aspects of Wahrig's bio-ergography which stand in relation to his life project "dictionary as database", realised shortly before his death. We argue that this project was conceived in the 1950s, while Wahrig was writing and editing dictionaries and encyclopedias for the Bibliographisches Institut in Leipzig. Wahrig, who had been a wireless operator in WWII, was well informed about the development of computers in West Germany. He was influenced both by Ferdinand de Saussure and by the discussion on language and structure in the Soviet Union. When he crossed the German/German border in 1959, he experienced mechanisms of exclusion before he could establish himself in the West as a lexicographer. We argue that the transfer of symbolic and human capital was problematic due to the cultural differe...
NTM International Journal of History and Ethics of Natural Sciences, Technology and Medicine, 2006
The articles collected in this number all originate from a section of the 2004 annual meeting of ... more The articles collected in this number all originate from a section of the 2004 annual meeting of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Medizin, Naturwissenschaft und Technik. The section was organized by the Berlin Feminist Science Studies Workgroup (BFSSW) at the Max ...
This contribution explores the intertwining history of the obstetrician's hand and of (measur... more This contribution explores the intertwining history of the obstetrician's hand and of (measurable) time. In a long-term historical perspective both on the metaphorical and practical role of the hand in obstetrical discourse and on the changing relation between continuous and discontinuous time, I come to the conclusion that the introduction of certain instruments into obstetrical practice around 1750 went hand in hand with an epistemological change regarding the conception of the living body and its time modes. The obstetrical forceps, which started its career together with male obstetrics and the introduction of the lying-in hospital as a new institution of giving birth, was instrumental in implementing practical and theoretical changes in dealing with the mother's and the child's bodies, which were by no mean beneficial for them.
This essay discusses the story of the critical edition of Nietzsche’s complete works by Giorgio C... more This essay discusses the story of the critical edition of Nietzsche’s complete works by Giorgio Colli and Mazzino Montinari as presented in Philipp Felsch’s book Wie Nietzsche aus der Kälte kam. The book, which is based on biographical material of the two editors, takes up an important episode in European intellectual history in its political, cultural historical context. However, it often presents a questionable use of these sources. A closer examination of that the same source material would situate the history of the edition and its editors in a different context. Likewise, Felsch’s account of the history of Nietzsche’s reception in France, and his reception in the neighboring countries, lacks nuance and reveals some remarkable examples of misreading. Like in other genres of history, scholars of discourse history and intellectual history need to read sources closely and critically. When we talk of dealing with primary sources, the work that editors have done in commentaries and e...
Erlebte und erzählte Biographie ist ein tradierter Gegenstand der Geschichts- und Sozialwissensch... more Erlebte und erzählte Biographie ist ein tradierter Gegenstand der Geschichts- und Sozialwissenschaften sowie der Wissenschafts- und Kunstgeschichte; sie ist Objekt der Begierde von ForscherInnen und steht im Fokus des kulturwissenschaftlichen Methodenstreits. Verhandelt werden dabei die folgenden zentralen Fragen: Was ist Leben? Was ist Identität? Was ist ein Subjekt? Was ist ein Autor/eine Autorin? Der Band sucht nach Antworten auf diese Fragen aus der Perspektive der neueren Gender Studies. Dabei wird in den Beiträgen das Bedürfnis nach biographischer Arbeit im Sinne von Empowerment und Veränderung kontrastiert mit der reflexiven, dekonstruierenden Differenzierung der Biographie von Künstlerinnen und Wissenschaftlerinnen.
This contribution explores the intertwining history of the obstetrician&a... more This contribution explores the intertwining history of the obstetrician's hand and of (measurable) time. In a long-term historical perspective both on the metaphorical and practical role of the hand in obstetrical discourse and on the changing relation between continuous and discontinuous time, I come to the conclusion that the introduction of certain instruments into obstetrical practice around 1750 went hand in hand with an epistemological change regarding the conception of the living body and its time modes. The obstetrical forceps, which started its career together with male obstetrics and the introduction of the lying-in hospital as a new institution of giving birth, was instrumental in implementing practical and theoretical changes in dealing with the mother's and the child's bodies, which were by no mean beneficial for them.
Gerhard Wahrig's private archive has recently been retrieved by the authors and their sibling... more Gerhard Wahrig's private archive has recently been retrieved by the authors and their siblings. We undertake a first survey of the unpublished material and concentrate on those aspects of Wahrig's bio-ergography which stand in relation to his life project "dictionary as database", realised shortly before his death. We argue that this project was conceived in the 1950s, while Wahrig was writing and editing dictionaries and encyclopedias for the Bibliographisches Institut in Leipzig. Wahrig, who had been a wireless operator in WWII, was well informed about the development of computers in West Germany. He was influenced both by Ferdinand de Saussure and by the discussion on language and structure in the Soviet Union. When he crossed the German/German border in 1959, he experienced mechanisms of exclusion before he could establish himself in the West as a lexicographer. We argue that the transfer of symbolic and human capital was problematic due to the cultural differe...
NTM International Journal of History and Ethics of Natural Sciences, Technology and Medicine, 2006
The articles collected in this number all originate from a section of the 2004 annual meeting of ... more The articles collected in this number all originate from a section of the 2004 annual meeting of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Medizin, Naturwissenschaft und Technik. The section was organized by the Berlin Feminist Science Studies Workgroup (BFSSW) at the Max ...
This contribution explores the intertwining history of the obstetrician's hand and of (measur... more This contribution explores the intertwining history of the obstetrician's hand and of (measurable) time. In a long-term historical perspective both on the metaphorical and practical role of the hand in obstetrical discourse and on the changing relation between continuous and discontinuous time, I come to the conclusion that the introduction of certain instruments into obstetrical practice around 1750 went hand in hand with an epistemological change regarding the conception of the living body and its time modes. The obstetrical forceps, which started its career together with male obstetrics and the introduction of the lying-in hospital as a new institution of giving birth, was instrumental in implementing practical and theoretical changes in dealing with the mother's and the child's bodies, which were by no mean beneficial for them.
This book is about poison and poisonings; it explores the facts, fears and fictions that surround... more This book is about poison and poisonings; it explores the facts, fears and fictions that surround this fascinating topic. Poisons attract attention because they are both dangerous and hard to discover. Secretive and invisible, they are a challenging object of representation. How do science studies, literature, and especially film—the medium of the visible—explain and show what is hidden? How can we deal with uncertainties emerging from the ambivalence of dangerous substances? These considerations lead the editors of this volume to the notion of “precarious identities” as a key discursive marker of poisons and related substances. This book is unique in facilitating a multi-faceted conversation between disciplines. It draws on examples from historical cases of poisoning; figurations of uncertainty and blurred boundaries in literature; and cinematic examples, from early cinema and arthouse to documentary and blockbuster. The contributions work with concepts from gender studies, new materialism, post-colonialism, deconstructivism, motif studies, and discourse analysis.
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Papers by Bettina Wahrig