CfP: Fascination with the Middle Ages in Modern German Literature and Other Media

Call for Papers - Special Issue of Studien zur deutschen Sprache und Literatur (E-ISSN: 2619-9890)

Fascination with the Middle Ages in Modern German Literature and Other Media

The Middle Ages hold a timeless allure, often serving as a repository for cultural nostalgia, a site of imagined heroism, and a mirror for contemporary societal concerns. In German literature, film, television, video games, and digital media, this fascination with medieval themes and aesthetics has taken diverse and creative forms. From historical novels that reconstruct medieval life to fantasy narratives inspired by medieval motifs, the Middle Ages are continually reimagined, reframed, and repurposed.

This issue seeks to explore the ways in which modern German literature and other media engage with the medieval past. Contributions may examine the aesthetic, political, and cultural dimensions of this engagement, analyzing how medieval themes are adapted, interpreted, or contested in contemporary narratives.

Possible topics include but are not limited to:

• Representations of medieval heroes and heroines in modern German literature and media.
• The role of medieval motifs in contemporary German cinema, television, and video games.
• Reinterpretations of medieval themes in digital culture, including social media and online storytelling.
• Adaptations and appropriations of medieval German literary texts (e.g., the Nibelungenlied, works by Wolfram von Eschenbach, Hartmann von Aue, etc.) in modern contexts.

This special issue will be guest-edited by Prof. Albrecht CLASSEN (University of Arizona)

Submission Guidelines:

Contributions can be in English or German. The manuscripts should be formatted according to the 7th edition of the APA. Articles for submission must be previously unpublished and should not be under evaluation or in the process of being published to another journal. 

For more information, please refer to our submission guidelines: https://iupress.istanbul.edu.tr/en/journal/sdsl/information/author-guidelines

The deadline for submitting articles is  April 17, 2025.

Please make sure to upload your manuscript via:  https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/iuaded

Studien zur deutschen Sprache und Literatur

Guest Editor: 

Prof. Albrecht CLASSEN, University of Arizona, Department of German Studies

E-Mail: aclassen@arizona.edu 

Editor in Chief: 

Assoc. Prof. Irem ATASOY, Istanbul University, Department of German Language and Literature 

E-Mail: irem.atasoy@istanbul.edu.tr

Studien zur deutschen Sprache und Literatur is indexed in Elsevier SCOPUS, Web of Science Clarivate Analytics Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Erih Plus, MIAR, MLA International Bibliography, EBSCO Communication Source, EBSCO Central & Eastern European Academic Source, Proquest, DOAJ, Gale Cengage, TR-INDEX (ULAKBIM) and SOBIAD. 

Contact Information

Prof. Albrecht CLASSEN, University of Arizona, Department of German Studies, aclassen@arizona.edu 

Assoc. Prof. Irem ATASOY, Istanbul University, Department of German Language and Literature, irem.atasoy@istanbul.edu.tr

Contact Email

sdsl@istanbul.edu.tr

URL

https://iupress.istanbul.edu.tr/tr/journal/sdsl/home