Michael F. Zimmermann Knihy

Language is often seen as a means of communication between individuals, while imagination is frequently viewed as a product of the inner self. This volume shifts the focus from private introspection to the dialogical formations that imagination shares with language and the social processes involved in world-making. The term “Aisthesis,” meaning perception, is explored through the lens of dialogue, as illustrated by artist Giulio Paolini. It encompasses societies' abilities to understand their own conditions, including internal structures and external cultural and natural contexts. The essays showcase diverse cultural expressions of social perception, ranging from documentary to fictional forms. Contributors from various fields—philosophy, sociology, literary and art history, media, and film studies—examine figurations, topoi, and stereotypes shaped by communal interactions and media practices. While many discussions center on dialogical humanism, the aim is not to revert to restrictive normative models. Instead, the text engages with contemporary debates on post-humanism, biopolitics, and global interdependence, acknowledging past critiques of humanism by thinkers like Foucault and Judith Butler. The editors advocate for a reevaluation of humanism that emphasizes its dialogical nature, proposing that humanity should be viewed as an ongoing argument rather than a fixed set of norms.

Despite its origins in European models, the practice of art history in the United States has evolved into institutional protocols distinct from those of countries such as Germany, France, England, and the Netherlands. Fourteen international scholars examine how these varying disciplinary practices might be characterized, in theory and actuality, in the past and the present, comparing the function of higher education in different national contexts and the extent that professionalization encourages or limits critical innovation.

Die Kunst des 19. Jahrhunderts ist geprägt durch den Konflikt zwischen einer immer phantastischeren Historienmalerei und Tendenzen, die sich entschieden dem modernen Leben zuwandten. Im Realismus und im Naturalismus äußerte sich der wissenschaftliche, unternehmerische Geist des Industriezeitalters, aber auch die Sorge um die soziale Frage. Ihnen folgten Gegenströmungen wie der Dekadentismus und der Symbolismus, in denen die Innenwelt in den Vordergrund rückte. Michael F.Zimmermann erläutert, wie die verschiedenen «ismen» entstanden, was sie voneinander unterscheidet und wo die Grenzen zwischen ihnen fließend werden. Er stellt ihre Protagonisten wie auch die großen Einzelgestalten vor, die sich einer eindeutigen Zuordnung entzogen. Schließlich führt er in die neuen Medien dieser Zeit ein, allen voran die Fotografie, und erklärt,