Selective Edition of the Sauer-Seuffert-Correspondence

The proposed project requires a transnational effort because the unpublished letters of Sauer and Seuffert are archived in Austria (Vienna) and Germany (Würzburg) and their edition requires profound contextual knowledge of the scholarly traditions of both countries. The outcome of our research project will be an annotated edition of selected letters as well as electronically accessible transcriptions of the entire correspondence between August Sauer and Bernhard Seuffert, two of the most influential scholars of German Studies in their time. Our research goal in editing the correspondence of these scholars is however not merely philological, but it is of general interest in the history of the humanities. 1. In historical accounts of German Studies it has generally been assumed that the dominating school of thought in the German Reich, whose main representative was Wilhelm Scherer, shaped the development of the field, which emerged and expanded rapidly in the last third of the 19th century, and that German Studies in Austria just followed suit in adopting this school of thought. Our selective edition is a contribution to correcting this view. 2. The correspondence between Sauer and Seuffert provides an invaluable source of continuous information about their lives and careers, goals and plans of scholarly production, assessments of their own accomplishments and that of colleagues, and, last but not least, about matters of professorial appointments. 3. We would like to show that August Sauer was not only an eminent scholar and politician in scholarly and cultural affairs, but, at the same time, an academic leader capable of strategic thinking, for whom journals, bibliographies, handbooks, academic institutions, philological associations and conferences constituted elements of an encompassing system of communication that was in need of perfection. 4. On the one hand, the study of Sauer`s and Seuffert`s correspondence yields insights into the differing reactions to the "bifurcation" of the humanities into a "positivist" branch and one focusing on the "history of ideas" ("Geistesgeschichte"). On the other hand, the work of both scholars documents the rapid differentiation of German Studies, which, in turn, necessitated a specialization in research. Seuffert focused on editorial and compositional aspects of literary works whereas Sauer concentrated on editing and researching mostly Austrian literature. Our selective edition will constitute a useful long-term reference work for research in the history of the humanities and, furthermore, will allow insights into the transitional period when an Austrian as well as a "great" German and a "little" German cultural identity emerged, the nature of which has remained at issue up to the present time.

This binational research cooperation on the correspondence between August Sauer (18551926) and Bernhard Seuffert (18531938) focuses on an important source both for history of science and cultural history. With more than 1200 letters this convolute is one of the most comprehensive scholarly correspondences of the late 19th and the early 20th century. Sauer and Seuffert rank among the most influential specialists in German studies and among the most profound editors of their time. Their work had a huge impact on the development of the subject Neuere deutsche Literaturgeschichte. The letters inform about the scientific and professional careers of Sauer and Seuffert as well as about their academic surroundings, especially about the universities in Würzburg, Lemberg, Graz and Prague. They can be considered documents of the scholars research interests, editorial projects and publications, of their collaborations and mutual assistance and they are a yielding source for the development of academic approaches and methods in the field of Neuere deutsche Literaturgeschichte.With regard to cultural history, the correspondence gives insight into the private circumstances in the academic field, friendships and hostility among scholars, the social circumstances in different parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, family matters and descendants, and into illnesses and journeys.The main goal of the project is the presentation of a selection of 300 letters, combined with rich annotations as well as registers for persons and works. This book will be published in 2017. Additionally a website was created (http://sauer-seuffert.onb.ac.at/), which gathers facsimiles and transcriptions of 1248 letters, postcards and telegrams. A timeline provides an overview of the careers of Sauer and Seuffert and links important passages of the correspondence.