Das Werk als Entgrenzung. : Werkkomplex und Dynamik des Gesamtwerks

Im Kontext des neu aufgekommenen theoretischen Interesses für die Werkkategorie wird überwiegend das ,Einzelwerk‘ fokussiert. Im vorliegenden Aufsatz wird das heuristische Potenzial des Konzepts ,Gesamtwerk‘ als ein anderer Teil der Werkkategorie herausgearbeitet. Neben dem üblichen Aspekt eines ,Lebenswerks‘ schließt das Gesamtwerk vielfältige Werkkomplexe und Werkgruppierungen ein, die auf Produktions- oder Rezeptionsseite entstehen. Analysiert werden feste und variable Anordnungen, Ab- und Entgrenzungen zwischen Einzelwerken eines Autors, die das Gesamtwerk zu einem dynamischen Gefüge machen. Ein Werkkomplex bildet eine Zwischenstufe und ein Bindeglied zwischen ,Einzelwerk‘ und ,Gesamtwerk‘. Daher besitzt er eine besondere Relevanz für die semantische Zusammensetzung der Werkkategorie als Trias, deren Teile sich aufeinander beziehen: Opus – Werkkomplex – Œuvre.The newly arisen theoretical research on the literary work category focuses mainly on the ,single work‘. This paper argues for the heuristic potential of the ,oeuvre‘ as another part of the work category. In addition to the usual aspect of a ,life’s work‘, the oeuvre includes diverse work complexes and work groupings that emerge on the production or reception side. The paper analyzes a dynamic structure of the oeuvre: fixed and variable arrangements, boundaries and dissolution of borders between single works by the same author. A work complex forms an intermediate stage and a link between ,single work‘ and ,oeuvre‘. It therefore has a special relevance for the semantic composition of the work category as a triad, the parts of which refer to each other: single work – work complex – oeuvre.

Navigating history: Aesthetics and appropriation and the interactive web documentary Freedom’s Ring (2013)

The article focuses on web documentaries as a form of interactive historiography by presenting a case study on Freedom’s Ring (2013), a multi-media-based animation of Martin Luther King’s speech ‘I have a Dream’ published in Vectors. Taking both the production and the reception side into account, the article addresses the constitution of knowledge ‐ or rather aesthetic experience ‐ through artistic research practices. In doing so, it reflects upon the concepts of authorship, copyright and participation. Due to its numerous sources, the navigation system, the artwork, its referentiality and variability, it is made the case that Freedom’s Ring challenges history as a ‘grand narrative’ by creating a subjective point of view and putting the user in the position of an activist. Web documentaries are regarded as part of an epistemic and sociopolitical development, in which artistic and academic methods merge.

Shan virtual insurgency and the spectatorship of the nation

The Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) is today one of Burma's largest remaining ethnic opposition armies. This paper investigates ethnic politics of the SSA-S and their strategic use of media. It argues that Shan insurgency today has moved into a new phase characterised by its intense involvement with mass media. The paper examines, on the production side, the Shan insurgency's media products and its networking with the Thai press. On the reception side, it explores how the images of ethnic insurgency are consumed by Shan audiences living in exile, analysing how long-distance Shan nationalism is generated through the spectatorship of these ‘militarised’ images.