The Sounds of Berlin: Polyphony in texts by E.T.A. Hoffmann, Heinrich Heine and Alfred Döblin
A Lecture by Prof. Dr. Anne Fleig
Urban poetics is often perceived as visual or cinematic. The lecture will show, however, that
it is the sounds of the city - people's voices, street noise or music - that contribute in a
particular way to the perception of Berlin as a metropolis. These sounds affect the making of
Berlin and its literature in early texts such as E.T.A. Hoffmann’s “Des Vetters Eckfenster”
(1822) or Heinrich Heine’s “Letters from Berlin” (1822) but also in Alfred Döblin’s great novel
“Berlin Alexanderplatz” (1929). In terms of affect and sound studies the lecture will argue
that the sounds of Berlin participate in the plurality of the city and the polyphonic structure
of its literature.
Professor Dr. Anne Fleig is the Spring 2024 Distinguished Visiting Max Kade Professor at the Department of Germanic Languaes, Columbia University.
Anne Fleig is Professor of Modern German Literature at Freie Universität Berlin. Since 2021
she is President of the international Heinrich-von-Kleist-Gesellschaft. Her research covers
German Literature around 1800, 1900 and Contemporary Literature with special interest in
multilingualism, migration and belonging, affect studies and gender studies. Her recent work
concerns the literary history of Berlin and urban poetics.
Please visit her personal website: https://www.geisteswissenschaften.fu-
berlin.de/we04/ndl/mitarbeiter_innen/prof/fleig/index.html
Please note, the lecture will be followed by a reception.
Registration is required. This event is free and open to the public.
