Changing Social Representations of Political Order c. 1800

The edition and analysis of a part of the correspondence of Maria Carolina, queen of Naples-Sicily (17521814) is at the centre of the planned research project. She was a daughter of Maria Theresia and Emperor Franz I Stephan and grew up at the court of Vienna. In 1768, she was married to Ferdi- nand IV, ruler of the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily. Subsequently, she participated actively in the political consideration and decision-making processes. With her dense correspondence with family members, rulers and diplomats Maria Carolina included herself in a broad communication network, with which she commented on the political develop- ments in Naples-Sicily, Austria and all of Europe with her apprehensions, advice, and wishes and which she tried to navigate. Thereby, coping strategies, values and beliefs of ideal governing become visible. The long duration of her correspondence with over more than 30 years enables to compre- hend and grasp the continuities as well as the changes of these values and ideas in their particular context. To what did she adhere to maybe exactly in view of the political upheavals? In which areas can changed approaches be discerned? What happened to the enthusiastic ideas of the Enlighten- ment under the effect of the current affairs of the wars? In this project, Maria Carolina will therefore be analysed through her correspondence as pars pro toto for the rulers in this transitional period. From the wealth of Maria Carolina`s correspondence, the letter exchange with her brother Emperor Leopold II (17781792), her daughter Marie Therese (17901807), and Emperor Franz II/I (1790 1814) are chosen for this project. The sample comprises by and large 967 letters (651 by Maria Caro- lina, 157 by Leopold, 35 by Franz and 124 by Marie Therese). In a first step, the principal investigator and the two designated associates will create a critical online edition of the letters with open ac- cess; and afterwards in a second step the sample will be analysed in view of changing or permanent ideas of political order. Concerning the content, the approach is based on the concept of social rep- resentations by Serge Moscovici. He defines such representations as the shared ideas of a social group, which experience changes over time and which can be investigated by analysing the use of language. With this focus on language and terminology the project is situated within the context of the research on political communication. Central for the analysis are above all four areas: the evalua- tion of the networks of people, the governmental structures of the territories, and at a higher level the overarching relationships in Europe as well as the manifestation of changed ideas of political performance in ceremony and in the composition of portraits.

The starting and central point of the project was the extensive correspondence of the Habsburg Maria Carolina of Naples and Sicily (1752-1814). The project had two aims. The first was to create a web edition of part of this correspondence, and the second to perform an analysis of those letters - especially with regard to changing social representations of political order as well as the question of the interplay between regional and global research approaches, the construction of spaces through the senses, and the study of temporal structures. The project broke new ground by using the MAXQDA software to process the edition. This made it possible to tag the content in line with current research approaches such as dynastic concepts, rulership and administration practises, foreign affairs, mentions of relationships, family, education, activities, corporeality and emotions, individuals, natural phenomenon, animals, places, references to time, religious practices, religion and church, societal groups, spatial locations and letter communication with lots of subcodes. The letters thus offer an excellent starting point for research in various different directions. The significance of the scientific processing of the selected letters lies in the fact that their authors - Maria Carolina and her brother Leopold, the Grand Duke of Tuscany - were two eminent monarchs willing to implement the ideas of the Enlightenment in the governance of their respective countries, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and Naples-Sicily. Because Leopold acted as Maria Carolina's elder brother and advisor, various areas of political action are discussed in the letters. They range from communication with diplomats and the reorganisation of the navy and other authorities to care for the poor, educational issues, and marriage networks. The correspondents stand pars pro toto for the numerous monarchs who, confronted with the events of the French Revolution, were forced to rethink and discuss their reform efforts. In this case, the situation was further complicated by the fact that their own sister was directly affected by the events of the Revolution as Queen of France. The letters therefore also reveal the siblings' attitude towards the actions of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, as well as their reflections on what the events meant for their own countries and people. The fact that Leopold and Maria Carolina came from Vienna and the House of Habsburg means that their correspondence also offers profound insights into the interrelationships between the countries of the Italian peninsula, the Habsburg lands, and the Holy Roman Empire. Both were also in close contact with their brother Joseph II, the ruler of the Austrian lands and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, which they likewise discussed in their letters.