˜Theœ Origins of German Self-Cultivation ‹em›Bildung‹/em› and the Future of the Humanities

Recent devaluations of a liberal arts education call the formative concept of __Bildung__, a defining model of self-cultivation rooted in 18th and 19th century German philosophy and culture, into question and force us to reconsider what it once meant and now means to be an “educated” individual. This volume uses an arc of interdisciplinary scholarship to map both the epistemological origins and cultural expressions of the pivotal notion of __Bildung__ at the heart of pursuit in the humanities. From its intriguing original historical manifestations to its continuing resonance in current ongoing debates surrounding the humanities, the editors urge us to ask and discover how the classical concept of __Bildung__, so central to humanistic inquiry, was historically imagined and applied in its original German context. "Recent devaluations of a liberal arts education call the formative concept of Bildung, a defining model of self-cultivation rooted in 18th and 19th century German philosophy and culture, into question and force us to reconsider what it once meant and now means to be an "educated" individual. This volume uses an arc of interdisciplinary scholarship to map both the epistemological origins and cultural expressions of the pivotal notion of Bildung at the heart of pursuit in the humanities. From its intriguing original historical manifestations to its continuing resonance in current ongoing debates surrounding the humanities, the editors urge us to ask and discover how the classical concept of Bildung, so central to humanistic inquiry, was historically imagined and applied in its original German context"-- Provided by publisher CONTENTS List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1. Self-Cultivation and the Police State: Th e Political Context of Wilhelm von Humboldt’s Concept of Bildung Chapter 2. Fichte’s Conception of Bildung and German National Identity Chapter 3. Becoming Solid: Bildung and Storage Media in Moritz’s and Goethe’s Travelogues Chapter 4. Schinkel’s Altes Museum as Bildungsmuseum: Th e Aesthetic Education of a National Community and the Makings of the Modern Museum Chapter 5. From Bildungsmaschine to Willenserziehung: Nietzsche’s Project of Heroic Minds Chapter Chapter 6. The Self-Formation of Poetic Expression: Wilhelm Dilthey’s Geistesgeschichte Chapter 7. Bildung as Dialectical and Th eological Hermeneutics in the Service of the Humanities Conclusion Index