Fenster – Korridor – Treppe
Architektonische Wahrnehmungsdispositive in der Literatur und in den Künsten
[Window – Corridor – Staircase. Architectural dispositifs of perception in literature and arts]

Entering, passing, leaving, ascending and descending, looking at and looking through: Architectural elements such as the window, the corridor, or the staircase are paradigmatic representations of setting the room in motion through looks and bodies. This volume is dedicated to literary and (architectural-)theoretical texts that exhibit a special sensibility for such room-based operations. Thus, the volume contributes to the spatial turn that saw rooms become a very own subject of cultural studies throughout the last two decades. By looking at authors such as Georges Perec, Virginia Woolf, or Heinrich Böll, at architects such as Le Corbusier and Bernard Tschumi, or at theoreticians such as Jurij Lotman and Jacques Derrida, it becomes obvious that the room is not an abstract category. It can only be understood through its use in aesthetic-historical contexts. This way, window, staircase, and corridor are understood as dispositifs of perception that comprehend cultural history spatially, make it conceivable and ultimately make history and tell stories themselves. Without making any claims to being complete or exhaustive, this volume gives insight into current scientific debates surrounding an expanded concept of architecture and the room in cultural and literary studies.

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