In the period between 1500 and 1800, hundreds of Latin and vernacular theatrum works (also known as Schauplatz or Schaubühne works in German) were published. They make use of the metaphor contained in the title (namely the performative space of the theatre) to construct, organise and communicate knowledge. The cooperation between the library and university establishes a model research space in which sources, in-depth cataloguing and research findings are integrated as hypertext. At the same time, new conditions are being created for accessing the hitherto disparate materials and findings.
The project envisages the in-depth cataloguing of theatrical text-based culture in the early modern era, coupled with an analysis of the processes and techniques for organising and arranging knowledge. The focus here is on the accumulation, systemisation, selection, communication and visualisation of knowledge, along with a study of how an as yet incomplete concept of knowledge was constituted historically.
The project involves an interdisciplinary group of researchers specialising in German studies and history in conjunction with the HAB and the Universität Kassel.
The main aim of the project is to construct a theatrum portal comprising the following elements:
- bibliographic documentation of all theatrum works for which there is evidence
- a corpus of sources as well as a finding aid for c.200 representative theatrum works that are relevant for the history of knowledge and scholarship
- a research portal (to include such things as the publication of contributions to colloquia)
- hypertext generated by linking digitised primary texts with research findings
Funding: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG)
Project participants: Prof. Nikola Roßbach (contact, Universität Kassel), Dr Thomas Stäcker (contact, HAB)