R-3 Repository :: Browsing by Author "Winkler, Michael"

Browsing by Author "Winkler, Michael"

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A structural analysis of Gellert's novel Leben der Schwedischen Graefin von G
(1970) Klofstad, Lucille A; Winkler, Michael
Structural elements of Gellert's novel, such as the choice of a narrator, the use of letters and dialog, contribute to a system of abstractions which pervades the work. As a predominantly didactic writer Gellert was interested in structural aspects of literature and their influence on the reader. He believed that the reader was most influenced by a work of art, if a sentimental identification by the reader with characters in the work was encouraged by the author. The sections of Gellert's novel which are least abstract, that is, which allow an identification with the characters rather than an abstract philosophical approach, become generally more frequent as the novel progresses. His style becomes freer. The solution of the problem of evil in Part One of the novel is abstract generalizing by the narrator; in Part Two the characters are allowed to work out their individual solutions, thus allowing Gellert to use structural elements which decrease abstraction. For this reason he is also able in the second part to approach more closely his ideal of didactic purpose in literature.
Camostat mesylate inhibits SARS-CoV-2 activation by TMPRSS2-related proteases and its metabolite GBPA exerts antiviral activity
(Elsevier, 2021) Hoffmann, Markus; Hofmann-Winkler, Heike; Smith, Joan C.; Krüger, Nadine; Arora, Prerna; Sørensen, Lambert K.; Søgaard, Ole S.; Hasselstrøm, Jørgen Bo; Winkler, Michael; Hempel, Tim; Raich, Lluís; Olsson, Simon; Danov, Olga; Jonigk, Danny; Yamazoe, Takashi; Yamatsuta, Katsura; Mizuno, Hirotaka; Ludwig, Stephan; Noé, Frank; Kjolby, Mads; Braun, Armin; Sheltzer, Jason M.; Pöhlmann, Stefan
Background: Antivirals are needed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, which is caused by SARS-CoV-2. The clinically-proven protease inhibitor Camostat mesylate inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection by blocking the virus-activating host cell protease TMPRSS2. However, antiviral activity of Camostat mesylate metabolites and potential viral resistance have not been analyzed. Moreover, antiviral activity of Camostat mesylate in human lung tissue remains to be demonstrated. Methods: We used recombinant TMPRSS2, reporter particles bearing the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 or authentic SARS-CoV-2 to assess inhibition of TMPRSS2 and viral entry, respectively, by Camostat mesylate and its metabolite GBPA. Findings: We show that several TMPRSS2-related proteases activate SARS-CoV-2 and that two, TMPRSS11D and TMPRSS13, are robustly expressed in the upper respiratory tract. However, entry mediated by these proteases was blocked by Camostat mesylate. The Camostat metabolite GBPA inhibited recombinant TMPRSS2 with reduced efficiency as compared to Camostat mesylate. In contrast, both inhibitors exhibited similar antiviral activity and this correlated with the rapid conversion of Camostat mesylate into GBPA in the presence of serum. Finally, Camostat mesylate and GBPA blocked SARS-CoV-2 spread in human lung tissue ex vivo and the related protease inhibitor Nafamostat mesylate exerted augmented antiviral activity. Interpretation: Our results suggest that SARS-CoV-2 can use TMPRSS2 and closely related proteases for spread in the upper respiratory tract and that spread in the human lung can be blocked by Camostat mesylate and its metabolite GBPA. Funding: NIH, Damon Runyon Foundation, ACS, NYCT, DFG, EU, Berlin Mathematics center MATH+, BMBF, Lower Saxony, Lundbeck Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation.
Das Verhaeltnis der Utopie zur Realitaet: three plays by Peter Hacks
(1975) Lewis, William S.; Winkler, Michael
In this thesis I attempt, by means of a close analysis of three plays which Hacks wrote over a ten year period, to define his quasi-programmatio statement, "Gegenstand der juengsten Kunst . . . ist das Verhaeltnis der Utopie zur Realitaet," in terms of his dramatic praxis. Hacks's plays are constructed around the contrast between an ahistorical protagonist who embodies the utopian ideal of the Restored Man, a concept derived from the philosophical communism of the early writings of Marx, and Historical Man who, limited and self-estranged as an inescapable consequence of his historicity, must always fall short of the ideal. Yet Hacks is neither a dreamy utopian nor an advocate of conservative political realism. What he advocates, rather, is "zukunftsgerichtetes Tun," historical action which is given impulse and direction by the conflict between historical reality and the utopian design. Thus, the central idea in Hacks's later plays is the principle of perpetual revolution, of the continual transformation of historical reality according to a utopian design. The second contrast, then, which underlies his plays and which assumes primary importance in Amphitryon and Omphale is the dialectic of stasis and change, the contradiction between the revolutionary spirit,which seeks to negate and transcend existing reality, and complacency and false consciousness, which idealize and preserve an inauthentic status quo. Having established that there is a continuity of motifs and characters which unites the three plays (in spite of a change of subject-matter from Tassow. in which Hacks deals explicitly and critically with the socialist present, to his later mythological plays, the subject-matter of which has no immediate connection with the social reality of East Germany), I explore the social critical implications of Hacks's treatment of the "Verhaeltnis der Utopie zur Realitaet." The "dialectical method of negation and going beyond," the principle of perpetual revolution which his protagonists embody, is inherently critical of the conservatism of political power. Thus Hacks attacks, explicitly in Tassow and by implication and allusion in Amphitryon and Omphale. the conplacency and false consciousness of the Party which impede the development of socialism and the evolution towards communism. One can view his mythological plays as examples of Hacks's use of "Sklavensprache" to make a critical statement in an indirect way in order to protect himself against the disfavor of the Party and possible repressive administrative measures.
Der Perfidie hoher Preis zur Casanovafigur in der Literatur der Jahrhundertwende
(1985) Howells, Christa; Winkler, Michael; Wilson, Joseph B.; Weissenbenger, Klaus H. M.
The historic Casanova embodied the opposing aspects of vitality and decadence. Thus, he reflected the feeling of "gay apocalypse" which prevailed during the fin-de-siecle. In the case of Schnitzler and Hofmannsthal, their literary treatment of the erotic adventurer "par excellence” revealed their attitude towards the world around them as well as their personal dilemma of trying to reconcile the demands of life and art. In three plays about Ninon de Lenclos, the legendary beauty of the seventeenth Century, the ruthless egoism of an adventurous existence is exposed. The knowledge of the ephemerality of life and happiness enhanced the enjoyment of the moment. Yet, the pursuit of life as adventure -- without any consideration of consequences -- exacted a high price. The price of perfidy was usually paid by others.
"Die Willkuer der Ichsucht": Jean Paul's "Clavis Fichtiana" and the critique of German idealism
(1999) Nelson, John William; Winkler, Michael
It was no coincidence that the dawning of the Romantic movement in Germany occurred simultaneously with the emergence of the philosophical idealists. The attempt to expand upon Kant's Critical Philosophy resulted in the development of a number of ambitious philosophical systems, all of which claimed to be the completion and ultimate culmination of Kant's ideas. For the early German Romantics the most influential among Kant's successors was Johann Gottlieb Fichte. Much has been made of Fichte's speculative philosophy and its subjective foundations as being the major. factor that contributed to the unbridled subjectivity of the Romantics as well as their own penchant for speculation. While the literature of the time abounds with examples of Fichte's influence, the following study analyzes a direct confrontation with Fichteanism by a popular author of the period, Jean Paul Friedrich Richter. Although he may have shared the Romantic fascination with Fichte's philosophy, Jean Paul was anything but a devotee---nor was he inclined for that matter to number himself among the Romantics. Deeply influenced by the Gefuhlsphilosoph Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, he remained critical of Kantianism and post-Kantian idealism throughout his life. And for Jean Paul, it was Fichteanism that best exemplified the inherent danger in any philosophy that granted reason sovereignty over all other human faculties and elevated the intellectual powers of the subject to such an extent that it threatened to displace the Deity. In 1800 he published a satirical tract, the Clavis Fichtiana seu Leibegeberiana , with which he hoped to counteract Fichte's growing influence. Through the fictitious character of Leibgeber, an enthusiastic Fichtean eventually driven mad by his own philosophy, Jean Paul tried to demonstrate the absurdity that resulted from following Fichte's principles through to their logical conclusion. The ultimate effectiveness of his parody, however, is mitigated by his own selective understanding of Fichte's philosophical system. Nonetheless, Jean Paul's satire remains a powerful testament to the intensity of the philosophical debates of the time, and it is with an eye towards its historical significance that I have also provided the first complete, annotated English translation of the Clavis.
Funktion der Grossstadtallegorie und des "Mythos" in der "Zehnten Duineser Elegie" von Rainer Maria Rilke. (German text);
(1989) Schellhammer, Ulrike Beate; Winkler, Michael
The views of Quintilian, Benjamin and Blumenberg on allegory and metaphor, together with a critical appraisal of Vico's and Frye's theories on myth provide the theoretical framework for the investigations undertaken in this thesis. An analysis of the depiction of city life in Rilke's early works helps establish the function of the city-allegory in the Tenth Duino Elegy. This function is further developed, in detail, in the central third chapter of the thesis, which offers a text-immanent examination of the early stages of the elegy. The mythology manifested in the second half of the poem serves to illustrate the crucial significance of the contrast between city and landscape in Rilke's poetology. Finally, the paradigm of Meister Eckhart's "unio mystica" is used in an attempt to present a new interpretation of the final eight lines of the elegy.
Heimat und Exil: Ihre Dynamik im Werk von Hilde Spiel (German text)
(1994) Howells, Christa Victoria; Winkler, Michael
Hilde Spiel (1911-1990) had gained a respectable literary reputation when she emigrated to England in 1936. At that time she was working on her fourth novel. It reflected her own experiences, as did most of her prose. She later turned to journalism to earn a living. Following the war she frequently returned to Austria. But even after her "final return" in 1963, she maintained strong personal and professional ties to Britain. She could never resolve the resulting dilemma of divided loyalties which she expressed in her autobiography by asking, "Which World is my World?" In exile Spiel decided to switch languages, usually producing both a German and an English version of her works. Detailed comparisons show the difficulty of making the transition to a foreign tongue and the considerable obstacles involved in eventually reversing the process. These changes also entailed significant textual revisions. In her own distinctive way Spiel confronted many of the problems germane to a woman of her generation. Her life and work were shaped by conflicting influences--literature and journalism, family and profession, her husbands Peter de Mendelssohn and Hans Flesch-Brunningen, past and present, her attachment to England and her passionate devotion to Vienna. Ultimately, she could not reconcile her image of the city's "Golden Autumn" that had produced such a wealth of cultural achievement with her impressions of present day Austria where she found provincialism and malice prevailing. Spiel's critical intelligence and sense of ambiguity define her style as a writer whose elegant and expressive language is evident even in her smallest pieces. The quality of her novels, to be sure, is not always consistent and her opinions are often controversial, even contestable, but Hilde Spiel's voice continues to deserve our attention.
Humor and parody in E. T. A. Hoffman's novel Die Lebens-Ansichten des Katers Murr
(1979) Curzon, Pamela R.; Winkler, Michael
E. T. A. Hoffmann's novel Lie Lebens-Ansichten des Katers Murr consists of two stories. One represents the biography of Johannes Kreisler, a serious and genuinely Inspired musician, whose sometimes quixotic behavior puts him at odds with society. The other is the autobiography of the tomcat Murr,who thinks of himself as a genius and artist, but is only a philistine. Since the cat used Kreisler's biography as blotting paper, which, as the editor claims, mistakenly remained in the manuscript, the two parts are seemingly juxtaposed at random in the form of fragments. Despite this curious connection Kater Murr unfolds as a comical novel. The comedy comprises both humorous and parodlstlc elements. Humor exists in five degrees of complexity. The simplest level involves using a word incorrectly. From here the comic element grows to include quotes, metaphors, and idioms. On the third level E. T. A. Hoffmann explores a character's ideas, and then, on the fourth, he uses the situation in which the novel figures find themselves. And finally, the syntactical habits of a character, language, becomes the fifth level of humor. Some of the different levels of hmor Interrelate. Hoffmann also uses several different types of parody. One is the parody of tone, where a character imitates the language nuances of other contemporary authors. Another, more complex level, comprises the parody of romantic novel themes and characters. And thirdly, the whole structure of the novel becomes the all-encompassing parody in Kater Murr. In some cases humor and parody overlap. The purpose of this thesis is to show how E. T. A. Hoffmann employs humor and parody. In three chapters I have discussed a) the way in which humor and parody progress in the course of the novel, b) how they contrast and c) how they complement each other. The final chapter then depicts how these elements of humor and parody transcend the fragmentation and unite both parts of Kater Murr into a cohesive whole.
Infanticide, illegitimacy, and abortion in modern German literature
(1999) Shouse-Luxem, Leslie; Winkler, Michael
This dissertation examines the evolution and interaction of the public policy debate on reproductive issues in Germany and literary portrayals of crisis pregnancies in German literature and concentrates mainly on literature produced in the 20th century. Clusters of works thematicizing infanticide and abortion appear when public attention is focused on issues of morality and population concerns. The discussion about the rising number of infanticide cases during the late 18th century was accompanied by a cluster of works aligned with the Storm and Stress movement. These works explored injustices committed by the upper classes against the lower classes and evoked sympathy for the woman by depicting the woman's circumstances and motivations. During the Weimar Republic left-wing and left-leaning political parties called for a liberalization of the complete ban on abortions in place since 1871. The plays and novels that appeared in the 1920s and early 1930s explored the class-discriminatory effects of the law. Many depicted young, single, working women, an image that called up both positive and negative cultural connotations including a rational, efficient outlook on life as well as decadence and consumerism. The postwar works fall into three phases. The early works of the 1950s and 1960s explore the issue within the context of war atrocities and question society's view of death and killing. In the mid-1970s, abortion was legalized in the East and liberalized somewhat in the West. A cluster of works appeared in the early 1980s that explores the longer-term effects of abortion on both men and women. Two novels by women written after reunification return to a more direct political message and explore how choice affects women's lives. These last two works represent the opposite viewpoint of the works from the 1920s and 1930s, but like their historical precursors, they are opposed to the prevailing legal status of abortion.
Love, friendship and family in Lessing's Damon, oder die wahre Freundschaft, Minna von Barnhelm, oder des Soldatenglueck and Emilia Galotti
(1971) Canow, Kurt Alois; Winkler, Michael
The social relationships of love, friendship and family are important themes in all of Lessing's dramas. Such abstract concepts as emotion, forgiveness, empathy, honor, harmony and virtue have a particular meaning in the later eighteenth century and do not necessarily correspond to twentieth- century social and moral outlooks. The object of this paper is to examine an early and late comedy and a late tragedy by Lessing, to show similarities and differences, and to point out some of the outlooks toward love, friendship and family -- variations of the same associative principle in the literature, of Sentimentality -- found in these dramas.
Music and simultaneity in Hermann Broch's "Bergroman" Der Versucher
(1977) Stevens, Suzanne; Winkler, Michael
References to the various aspects of the symbolical correspondence between simultaneity and music are omnipresent in Hermann Broch's literary and theoretical endeavors. This analysis will investigate their implications in detail. The first chapter reviews the characteristics of simultaneity, the interaction of its component parts, time and space, both of which are determined by the presence of death. Death in a temporal context is perceived as threatening and produces anxiety; in a spatial frame of reference, death is a part of life. Simultaneity or totality is achieved through Gleichgewicht, a balance of rational and irrational forces. It can be activated upon a communal, cultural, individual, intellectual, or artistic level. Indeed, all phases of human existence are subject to this form of awareness. Furthermore, music perfectly corresponds to simultaneity upon a symbolical level. Broch does not elucidate the simultaneity-mjsic complex in one specific text. Rather, this pattern must be assembled like a mosaic to yield the entire equation: music is symbolical of simultaneity. The second chapter considers the "Zerfall der Werte" essays from the trilogy Die Schlafwandler. Music is to simultaneity as silence (Stummheit) is to the disintegration of values and its symbolical counterpart. A blueprint emerges depicting the results of what did happen when societal awareness es contoured according to temporal rather spatial requirements. The third and final chapter will examine the opposite states of simultaneity and anxiety which culminate in mass hysteria in Broch's "Bergroman" Der Versucher. Rather than delineating a cultural collapse as did Die Schlafwandler, this novel balances the forces of time and anxiety against those of space and simultaneity. Thus, the perfect vision of timelessness represented by the Orgelspsiel excerpt and embodied in Mutter Gisson is countered by Marius Ratti who exploits the fear and anxiety of the Kuppron villagers and their inability to create an atmosphere leading to simultaneity. As a result, atavistic rituals are pointlessly revived through an outbreak of mass hysteria.
The Sarmatian Review, Vol. 18, No. 2
(The Polish Institute of Houston, Inc., 1998-04) Peck, Abraham; Thompson, Ewa M.; Wyschogrod, Michael; Gajda, Patrycja A.; Winkler, Michael; Peck, Abraham; Thompson, Ewa M.; Wyschogrod, Michael; Gajda, Patrycja A.; Winkler, Michael; Thompson, Ewa
Contents: "SR INDEX"; "SR interviews Jan Komski"; Abraham Peck, "Poles and Jews"; Ewa M. Thompson, "Reflections on Richard Lukas' 'The Forgotten Holocaust'"; Michael Wyschogrod, "Reflections on Eva Hoffman's 'Shtetl'"; "BOOKS"; Patrycja A. Gajda, "Polish Americans and Their History (review)"; Michael Winkler, "The Polish Coal Miners' Union and the German Labor Movement in the Ruhr, 1902-1934 (review)"; "SR Translations of Documents: A Letter from Folks-Sztyme and Deportations from Lithuania"; "LETTERS"; "About the Authors"
Spatial dynamics in poetry: A topographical approach to poems by Rilke, Hoelderlin and Bachmann (Germany, Austria, Rainer Maria Rilke, Friedrich Hoelderlin, Ingeborg Bachmann)
(1993) Schellhammer, Ulrike Beate; Winkler, Michael
For all they contribute to an understanding of modern lyric poetry, traditional tropological interpretations betray a number of limitations. In particular, the restrictive manner in which they impinge upon the dynamics of a poem and its potential for making meaning is the principal occasion for this dissertation, which postulates an alternative understanding of poetic space in modern German lyric poetry. The "scientific-topographical" method involved, like its terminology, is derived in Chapters I and II from the areas of geography and physics and would reveal a vibrant and expansive spatial dynamics in poetry hitherto subjected--with varying degrees of success--to an exhaustive yet more statically limiting and often exclusively allegorical analysis. This project is pursued with reference to poems by Rilke, Holderlin and Bachmann. The application of the method to Rilke's "Ausgesetzt auf den Bergen des Herzens" in the third chapter constitutes an exemplary "spatial reading" of the poem, "mapping" as it does a network of dynamically charged landmarks. This example is then followed in Chapter IV with a detailed presentation of the spatial dynamics in Holderlin's "Andenken." As the poetic space unfolds here, the lyrical I is discovered in an unexpected location, one in fact that has until now been completely neglected in criticism of the poem. With the analysis of Bachmann's "Bohmen liegt am Meer" in Chapter V the "scientific-topographical" method is most fully vindicated; for it is here that the dynamic process of "spatialization" practised by the critic finds thematic representation in the creative process practised by the poet. In a concluding chapter a brief consideration of the spatial dynamics in Goethe's "Machtiges Uberraschen"--a poem unlike the earlier three insofar as it has repeatedly permitted an altogether fruitful allegorical treatment--is intended to suggest the method's potential for further and broader application.
The motif of coldness in Oedoen von Horvath
(1974) Richardson, Sandra Bryant; Winkler, Michael
The concept of coldness is evident on some level in all the works of Odfin von Horvath. In the earliest works its primary manifestation is on a psychical level: a pervading coldness in the world because the individual is not able to relate to others since he cannot even relate to himself. Coldness on a psychical level is emphasized by its manifestation on a physical and symbolical level. The physical level, involving the use of meteorological phenomenon appears throughout Horvath’s works, but it is used with consistency only in his later works* The introduction of the symbolical level in the late works, concretized in the picture of the fish and the snowman, is the culmination and the total meshing of the concept of coldness. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the development of the coldness motif as it evolves from the philosophy of psychical-coldness to a complete artistic phenomenon.
Wilhelm Raabe's novella, "Der Student von Wittenberg": An annotated translation
(1993) Clifford, Regina S.; Winkler, Michael
In Der Student von Wittenberg Wilhelm Raabe juxtaposes nature and society to show the harmony existing in nature and the lack of harmony in society. Society can be divided into a mental order and an order of force. Within the mental order, education is the element which separates the two orders. When united, the order of force goes astray, leading to conflict or war. The historical dimension of the story spans several centuries, making it as relevant to modern readers as to Raabe's readership. The story's relevance justifies the careful translation of each word and the quest for words that have similar meanings and connotations within their historical framework. Raabe makes us aware of the two orders in society and urges us to educate ourselves to prevent the joining of the two forces.

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