Prof. Dr. Heike Paul
Projekte & Publikationen
My research question focuses on representations of practices of Verzicht (renunciation) in the cultural imagination of the USA and, in a broader sense, the West. Renunciation has become a key concept in public debates about the future of the planet, with progress-optimistic calls for innovation and technological solutions often drowning out sceptical responses and critical calls for fundamental, systemic changes in consumption habits and resource use. This is particularly true in the US, where any form of renunciation is habitually stigmatized as “un-American” because it runs counter to the American mythology of expansionism and “unlimited” opportunities and resources. The project examines media representations of various scenarios of renunciation from the nineteenth century to the present in terms of their political implications and aesthetic programs in order to typify the changing cultural forms and functions of renunciation.