From art to politics: the urban experience in Alfred Döblin's theater reviews (1921-1924)

Abstract

This research project aims to translate, disseminate, and analyze texts by Alfred Döblin (1878-1957) published in the newspaper Prager Tagblatt during the years from 1921 to 1924. Hired as a correspondent for the newspaper published in Prague to write reviews on the Berlin theater scene, Döblin took the opportunity to also report on the political events of the early 1920s. Such political remarks constantly appear linked to a description of the city, which for the first time - this is our hypothesis - gains centrality in Döblin's work. In these texts, Döblin begins to reflect on how the structure of the metropolis determines the conditions of the social experience - and these considerations, in turn, influence the analyses the critic makes on the theatrical productions he saw in Berlin. Since not all of Alfred Döblin's texts are available through online bookstores or in our libraries, a short-term stay in Germany would be essential not only to gather texts published around the same time but also to have access to the secondary literature about Döblin's productions during these years. (AU)