Die Suche nach dem Glück : Gottfried Keller's psychology of flourishing
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Is it possible to live a flourishing life in modern post-industrial society? Self-cultivation has a rich and enduring history in humanistic discourse since the Renaissance. In the last century, however, "flourishing" has increasingly become the domain of the social sciences—psychologists and educators. This dissertation seeks to articulate how the humanities contribute to this vital cultural discourse. The project aims to integrate literary and social scientific models of flourishing into a cohesive framework through an interdisciplinary case study. It outlines Gottfried Keller's nineteenth-century model of human flourishing and demonstrates its pertinence to twenty-first century educational psychology. It argues that Keller prefigures key frameworks of contemporary psychological complexity. A close analysis of the novella cycle, "Die Leute von Seldwyla, " demonstrates that Keller's educational psychology prefigures key frameworks of contemporary psychological complexity, including adolescent development (Chapter I), resilience (Chapter II), attachment (Chapter III), and post-traumatic stress (Chapter IV). The first two chapters highlight the ongoing dialogue between literary and empirical approaches to individual growth. Chapter I situates Keller in the historical trajectory from organic vitalism in the Age of Goethe to the emergence of empirical psychology in the late 19th century, with close readings of "Pankraz der Schmoller" and "Frau Regula Amrain und ihr Jüngster" and parenthetical readings of Bildungs-narratives by Goethe and the Jena Romantics. Chapter II focuses on Keller's depiction of resilience and self-directed learning, demonstrating his uniqueness among his contemporaries, through analysis of "Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe" and "Kleider machen Leute" in the context of a survey of German, French, English, and Russian realism. The third and fourth chapters reevaluate the last two novellas of the "Seldwyla" cycle in light of Keller's educational psychology. Chapter III, focusing on "Das verlorne Lachen, " considers the mingling of romantic love and religion as analogous frameworks for spiritual meaning-making in modernity. Chapter IV traces Keller's portrait of trauma and the violence of history in "Dietegen." This project argues that Keller's educational psychology posits story-telling as the core prerequisite skill that enables flourishing in modern society and makes self-actualization democratically accessible.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2017 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Strakovsky, Yevgenya |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of German Studies. |
| Primary advisor | Berman, Russell A, 1950- |
| Thesis advisor | Berman, Russell A, 1950- |
| Thesis advisor | Damon, William, 1944- |
| Thesis advisor | Daub, Adrian |
| Thesis advisor | Starkey, Kathryn |
| Advisor | Damon, William, 1944- |
| Advisor | Daub, Adrian |
| Advisor | Starkey, Kathryn |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Yevgenya Strakovsky. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of German Studies. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2017. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2017 by Yevgenya Strakovsky
Also listed in
Loading usage metrics...