Since it debuted, Bucknell University Press’s book series New Studies in the “Age of Goethe” has been receiving critics’ attention and readers’ praises. The series, sponsored by the Goethe Society of North America, aims to encourage and publish innovative research that adopts interdisciplinary approaches or provides new insights on the “Age of Goethe.” Current books in the series include Romanticism, Origins, and the History of Heredity (2014) by Christine Lehleiter, Aesthetics as Secular Millenialism: Its Trail from Baumgarten and Kant to Walt Disney and Hitler (2013) by Benjamin Bennett, The Mask and the Quill: Actress-Writers in Germany from Enlightenment to Romanticism (2011) by Mary Helen Dupree, After Jena: Goethe’s Elective Affinities and the End of the Old Regime (2010) by Peter J. Schwartz and Reading Riddles: Rhetorics of Obscurity from Romanticism to Freud (2010) by Brian Tucker. Professor Joycelyn Holland of University of California-Santa Barbara highly praised Lehleiter’s Romanticism, Origins, and the History of Heredity, saying that “(Lehleiter’s) work has the potential to change the landscape of Romantic literary studies.” Dupree’s book The Mask and the Quill is also recognized by critics. “The Mask and the Quill is an important contribution to German studies, gender studies, and performance studies”, said Professor Lena Heilmann, who is currently teaching at Knox College.

Great books cannot be published without great editors. Speaking about her experience with New Studies in the “Age of Goethe,” Professor Karin Schutjer, the current series editor, acknowledges the collective wisdom and experience of the editorial group. “It’s gratifying to be part of it,” she says.

In fact, the birth and success of New Studies in the “Age of Goethe” are inseparable from the Goethe Society of North America. The books series was founded in 2006 by Professor Astrida Tantillo, who was the Executive Secretary of the organization at that time. It is an active society that has a group of scholars who are enthusiastic about new research and are willing to foster innovative projects. Professor Schutjer describes that “the society mentors young scholars from the dissertation stage, provides conference opportunities, a scholarly yearbook, and article prizes. The monograph series is able to draw on this fabulous network of established and emerging scholars.”

Professor Schutjer is interested in German history and her recent book concerns Goethe’s relationship to Judaism. As she recalls, her first touch with German studies in college was to “try to understand the catastrophic course of German history in the 20^th century (how, for example, we got from Goethe to the Holocaust) and then to explore the remarkable processes through which Germany has redefined itself since then.” Historical events and significant figures are always correlated, and in order to understand Germany in the 20^th century and Germany today, it is important to understand those influential German intellectuals such as Goethe. When asked about her understanding of “the Age of Goethe,” professor Schutjer shows great passion in her profession and depicts a grand picture of German culture at that time. “It was the age of Kant, Hegel, Mozart, Beethoven, and so many other pathbreaking artists, writers, and intellectuals. And in the midst of it all was Goethe, who not only became the defining German poet, but also had his hands in so many other fields of inquiry and endeavor, including science (botany, anatomy, optics, geology), art and architecture, dramaturgy, philology, public administration and statecraft.” Thanks to the richness of this era, it is not surprising that, after so many years of scholarly research, there are still numerous innovative projects such as the books in this series and we look forward to forthcoming research to unveil the “Age of Goethe” from an angle we haven’t examined before.

Below is the full interview with Professor Karin Schutjer.

What’s the inspiration for this book series?

The book series was founded in 2006 by Professor Astrida Tantillo, who served at the time the Executive Secretary of the Goethe Society of North America. North American scholarship in the Age of Goethe is a remarkably vibrant and innovative field. Her vision was simply to establish a leading publishing venue for the best new work in the field.

What do you enjoy most about your involvement with this series?

That’s an easy one! Our two previous editors, Astrida Tantillo and Jane Brown, developed a very collaborative editorial process. All proposals are carefully read and discussed by our small board, which fortunately still includes both Astrida and Jane. I feel there is a great deal of collective wisdom and experience in this group, and that we are very directed towards finding and developing the potential in projects. It’s gratifying to be part of it.

As we all know, Goethe is the most renowned figure in German culture both within and beyond his time. How do you understand the Age of Goethe?

The Age of Goethe is loosely defined as 1770-1830, the six decades of Goethe’s greatest productivity. But in a more important sense this period really represents Germany’s passage into modernity.  This era spans huge transformations, from the rule of Frederick the Great through the Revolutionary Wars and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, to the reactionary post-Napoleonic order. It saw the flourishing of Enlightenment thought and the emergence of Romanticism and German nationalism. It was the age of Kant, Hegel, Mozart, Beethoven, and so many other pathbreaking artists, writers, and intellectuals. And in the midst of it all was Goethe, who not only became the defining German poet, but also had his hands in so many other fields of inquiry and endeavor, including science (botany, anatomy, optics, geology), art and architecture, dramaturgy, philology, public administration and statecraft. You can imagine what a rich field this is for interdisciplinary explorations.

What are the notable features of this book series that differentiate it from other scholarly publications on Goethe and German culture in a broad context?

What sets this series apart is its clear epochal focus backed up by the expertise and resources of an extremely active and innovative scholarly society, the Goethe Society of North America. The society mentors young scholars from the dissertation stage, provides conference opportunities, a scholarly yearbook, and article prizes. The monograph series is able to draw on this fabulous network of established and emerging scholars.

What is your expectation for future publications in this book series?

We have several interesting proposals in the works and we’ll see where the field takes us next! I think we’ll continue to see a broad range of topics and approaches because that really reflects the diversity of contemporary scholarship in the Age of Goethe.

What motivates to be a scholar in German studies? What are your academic interests?

I can’t speak for all North American German studies scholars, but I think many people in my generation were probably moved, maybe first as undergraduates, to try to understand the catastrophic course of German history in the 20^th century (how, for example, we got from Goethe to the Holocaust) and then to explore the remarkable processes through which Germany has redefined itself since then. My own work is still somewhat shaped by those big questions about German history: my recent book concerned Goethe’s relationship to Judaism.

 

Bucknell University Press’s eighteenth-century publications were recently recognized and recommended in the current issue of Studies in English Literature. In the review by Jenny Davidson, professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, she thanks Bucknell University Press for “continuing to do a deep service to our field by publishing monographs and reissuing them in paperback wherever possible.”

Here are the publications mentioned in Professor Davidson’s review:

Essential Scots and the Idea of Unionism in Anglo-Scottish literature, 1603-1832 by Rivka Swenson.

“(This book) fills a significant gap in the critical literature and touches on moments both familiar and relatively obscure in the history of Anglo-Scottish literary interactions over the long eighteenth century.”

Romanticism, Origins, and the History of Heredity by Christine Lehleiter.

“A fascinating and illuminating book.”

Sovereign Power and the Enlightenment: Eighteenth-Century Literature and the Problem of the Political by Peter DeGabriele

“I found DeGabriele’s readings of novels stimulating and often persuasive.”

The Secret Life of Things: Animals, Objects, and It-Narratives in Eighteenth-Century England, edited by Mark Blackwell.

“I think (this volume) represents essentially the best-case scenario for the edited collection of literary criticism that is organized not for a series or as primarily a teaching tool but as the best way of compiling a field’s state of knowledge on an emerging topic… (it) remains an indispensable resource for scholars working on a host of topics related to the it-narrative and the animated objects of eighteenth-century literature.”

Developments in the Histories of Sexualities: In Search of the Normal, 1600-1800 by Chris Mounsey

“An important and thought-provoking collection.”

Impassioned Jurisprudence: Law, Literature and Emotion, 1760-1848, edited by Nancy E. Johnson

“(The editor) has assembled an intriguing volume of essays whose authors consider the role of emotion in eighteenth-century English legal theory.”

Citizens of the World: Adapting in the Eighteenth Century, edited by Kevin L. Cope and Samara Anne Cahill.

“A number of brilliant essays here.”

Excitable Imaginations: Eroticism and Reading in Britain, 1660-1760 by Katheleen Lubey

“(Its) stated goal of bringing ‘the history of sexuality into contact with the history of reading’(p12) has already proved generative for other scholars.”

 

Other BU Press publications that are mentioned by Professor Davidson include:

Textual Vision: Augustan Design and the Invention of Eighteenth-Century British Culture by Timothy Erwin.

Making Love: Sentiment and Sexuality in Eighteenth-Century British Literature by Paul Kelleher.

The Matrimonial Trap: Eighteenth-Century Women Writers Redefine Marriage by Laura E. Thomason

Editing Lives: Essays in Contemporary Textual and Biographical Studies in Honor of O M Brack Jr., edited by Jesse G. Swan

Reading 1759: Literary Culture in Mid-Eighteenth-Century Britain and France, edited by Shaun Regan.

Revealing Bodies: Anatomy, Allegory and the Grounds of Knowledge in the Long Eighteenth Century, edited by Erin M. Goss.

The French Revolution Debate and the British Novel, 1790-1814: The Struggle for History’ Authority by Morgan Rooney

The Language of Robert Burns: Style, Ideology and Identity by Alex Broadhead.

Charlotte Lennox: Correspondence and miscellaneous Documents, edited by Nobert Schürer

 

by Tong Tong, 2016-2017 Cynthia Fell Intern

June is here and with it brought National Pen Pal Day on the 1^st. While with the rise of technology having a pen-pal might seem to be a thing of the past, it is something I still partake in with a few close friends and family members. In the age of texting and emailing, receiving a letter feels that much more special and personal. There is just something about seeing someone’s handwriting and knowing that they took to the time out of their day to write to you that is irreplaceable.

Letters have always been significant, not just to the people sending and receiving them, but to historians as well. They are valuable records that act as time capsules. Throughout the centuries they have been used to analyze and discover the personality of some of history’s most notable figures and improve our comprehension of what it was like to be alive during various eras. Through letters we have been able to form the face behind some of the greatest writers and give context to their writing. This can be seen in some of the books in our collection. From the Forbidden Garden: Letters from Alejandra Pizarnik to Antonio Beneyto edited by Carlota Caulfield (2003) is an assemblage of letters written by the Latin poet that paint a portrait of Pizarnik’s self-discovery and her artistic nature. They consist of detailed drawings and doodles she sent to her correspondent. Collected Writings of Charles Brockden Brown: Letters and Early Epistolary Writings, Volume 1 edited by Philip Barnard, Elizabeth Hewitt and Mark L. Kamrath (2013) include 179 letters written by Brown that showcase his personal life and the revolutionary era he lived in. His pen-pals included Thomas Jefferson and Albert Gallatin.  Gender, Authenticity, and the Missive Letter in Eighteenth-Century France: Marie-Anne de La Tour, Rousseau’s Real-Life Julie by Mary McAlpin (2006) examines the relationship between pen-pals Marie-Anne de La Tour and the famous Jean-Jacques Rousseau. McAlpin studies what these letters reveal about the character of the philosopher and de La Tour. If it weren’t for their letters, we wouldn’t have as deep an understanding of these writers outside of their writings.

So in honor of National Pen Pal Day, try sending a letter to a friend or family member. Or use one of the many sites you can find online to set you up with a pen pal from around the world.  I guarantee it will brighten their day. And who knows, maybe years from now your letter will end up crossing the path of someone hoping to understand more about living in the 21^st century.

For the past year at the Bucknell Press, three days a week I would enter the hobbit hole in the basement of Taylor Hall and be welcomed by rooms of books. Truly, the perfect place to work for any book lover. Not only to work among these shelves filled with texts, but to see a section of the history of the Press through its published works, ranging back to the early 1970s.

When I first arrived at the Press, a yearlong project I was given was to scan all the books missing from the MLA bibliography from the past decade so they could be added to it. Exciting, I know. But as I looked through the shelves, it quickly became fascinating. I loved discovering the works reviewed, edited, discussed, and published here. From Monkey Farm by Donald Dewsbury to Editing Lives by Jesse G. Swan, each day at work brought new finds.

Another project started through the Press was the creation of The Humanities Review, an academic journal for students. Part of the Bucknell Press internship is to create a project, and, as it was still early in the first semester I hadn’t considered what I would do. But one day, the director of the Press came to me with the idea to start a journal. To offer students a place to send in critical essays which would be reviewed by a board of their peers and hopefully published in an issue. As one aspect I’ve quite enjoyed at the Press is the board meetings where members decide which works to publish, to be able to help lead that process and to evaluate essays and publish them, is exciting.  The process of evaluation, understanding what works and doesn’t, how this or that should be changed or added or taken out in the context of writing and words themselves, has always been a fascination of mine. It’s why I choose to work in publishing and wish to be an editor.

Part of my Press duties, as well, has been to write for the blog. Each month I got to choose a topic and look through the Press’s published books to find what fits within the theme. One of my favorites was definitely Monkey Day, both because who isn’t a fan of monkeys and it stood out as an oddity in the Press collection, but each month allowed another exploration into a topic where I, more often than not, didn’t know much of the history. And, again, I got to explore the past of the Bucknell Press while learning something new.

With a mother as a writer, I’ve grown up with an interest in publishing, although more the editorial rather than actual writing-a-book side. The past two summers I’ve interned for large companies in New York, working in genre fiction, and while I love those opportunities and will continue to go after them, neither had the intimacy of the smaller press that I’ve come to prefer. Walking into the office and personally knowing each of your colleagues is a treat hard to come by at a massive publisher.

Plus, throughout this year, my interest in academic publishing has grown tenfold. My first love will always be fiction because I love a good story, but I never looked at works of scholarship beyond using sources for my class essays. But now, understanding the process behind them, from both the authors and the publisher, I have a high appreciation for the texts as a whole, rather than a quote, and it definitely puts me in mind to read through a few on my own.

After my own lovely experience here at the Bucknell University Press, I wish next year’s student the same luck and happy internship.