Goals and Methods
The here pursued linkage of questions after canonicity and canon formation with theoretical notions towards the so-called ‘social imaginary’ from political theory aims at several contextual, theoretical, methodological and structural purposes. The most important aim is the localisation of questions after canonicity and canon formation within a broader cultural, respectively cultural-political context than so far discussed in ChL research within a framework of aesthetical discussions of values or reception- and market-oriented studies. It needs to be tested in how far the chosen approach is suitable for describing and justifying historical canon developments. Moreover, synchronous profiles should support to position the exemplarily chosen British ChL within European ChL. Within the framework of European cultural identity formation, a first step towards a comparable appreciation of the cultural work especially of British ChL is furthermore accomplished via the comparative approaches advertised through co-operations for the project.
Specifically, these aims will be developed by means of three exemplary concepts, which Charles Taylor states to be essential for the social imaginary of modern Western societies: democracy, secularism, and Europe. Hence the internal structure of the proposed project with three sub-projects. Each at first discusses the question, which social or moral orders are negotiated in the texts and in how far ChL is attributed to participate in the social imaginary. Whereas the analysis regarding historical perception is particularly focusing on the relation of canon development and historical change within the social imaginary, the analyses of contemporary literature will mainly concentrate on Great Britain’s localisation within a European context, or on the question of how the according social practices are negotiated in British ChL.