Programmatic texts of late Vienese Modernism 1918-38

The volumes Manifestos and Programmatic Texts of Austrian Culture and Literature, 1918- 1938 (based on two FWF projects and further research), preceded by an introductory essay, present in form of an annotated edition, some 620 programmatic texts on cultural, artistic, and literary aspects of the First Republic. In light of the results achieved in the projects, this final edition aims to be useful for documenting Austrian culture and literature of the interwar period in all their complexity according to contemporary discourses and reception, and above all for broadening the perspective that is, for more closely intertwining them with European-transnational debates. The latter corresponded far more closely to the creative and intellectual interests of the exponents of Late Viennese Modernism (e.g., in relation to American, French or Russian culture) than the frequently invoked reflections on the shock of 1918, to fantasies of annexation (Anschluss), to the configurations of an Austrian identity and suchlike ideas, without neglecting the intensive participation in debates of Weimar culture, nor the presence of German authors and their works in the Austrian cultural sphere. Based on a systematic collection of textual material (articles from 50 newspapers and magazines, including appeals, feuilletons, cultural and theater reviews, editorials, and speeches), the project aimed to reassess the proportion of Austrian voices within German- and international discourses. In the process, constellations emerged or came to the fore that sometimes yielded surprising discoveries, such as a critical reckoning with World War I dating back to 1917, interest in avant-garde visual, theatrical, and textual concepts, participation in debates on (New) Objectivity, in intermedia projects at the intersection of film-theater-montage or radio-stage, as well as aspects of everyday culture, a surprising affinity for technology, and more. This significantly explains the considerable number of jazz novels, genre-bending works (radio-film, jazz operettas, Sprechchor and dance poetry) and mostly authentically documented texts on America and Russia. In addition to the texts from the 30 thematic areas included in the volumes, numerous others have been made available digitally in footnotes. The definitive selection was guided by their status as manifestos or programs: by their representativeness within the discourse context, their degree of resonance, and the authors real cultural capital. In this context, greater attention was paid to feuilletons and literary and cultural criticism, as these, due to their permeability and presence within the Vienna-Berlin-Prague network and in some cases beyond exerted a significant influence both typologically and aesthetically. In its open access version, this project is linked to a digital research and documentation platform that enables in-depth exploration through an encyclopedia, thematic and portrait modules, and a text archive.