Intermediality and the Circulation of Knowledge in the Eighteenth Century

Based on an international conference held in Saarbrücken in June 2017 that was attended by scholars from France, Germany, England and Ireland, the articles gathered in this volume constitute volume 6 of the LAPASEC series (Landau-Paris Studies on the Eighteenth Century). The essays represent the outstanding contributions to the symposium. Concerned with intermediality and the circulation of knowledge in the age of Enlightenment, the twelve pieces, divided into four sections, address aspects of theory, discursive intermediality, generic intermediality and the intermediality of objects. In doing so, they take cognizance of what is amiss in the field of intertextual/intermedial studies, i.e. the discussion of its relevance outside narratology as well as a true and interdisciplinary interest in the essentially rhizomatic nature of cultural representations (texts, images, musical pieces and material objects). The ensemble of articles also takes scholarly analysis beyond the dominating fields of literature and art by providing discussions of such neglected genres as travel literature, (para)medical writing and operatic performance. Instead of insisting on the generic separation of cultural representations, this collection demonstrates the advantages of interdisciplinary approaches while laying bare the fascinating if problematic construction of the aesthetics and ideologies shaping principles of cultural representation in the age of Enlightenment.