Louise Ottos Visions for Womens Emancipation. Studying the Genius Trilogy

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Susanne Schötz
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History ; Economic and Social History
• Term: from 2014 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 263911009

Louise Otto-Peters (1819-1895; LO) is one of the most eminent feminists in 19th century Germany, who shaped the first womens movement with her ideas and initiatives. Nevertheless, her visions for the emancipation of women have not yet been researched thoroughly. This is especially true for the Genius trilogy, comprising Der Genius des Hauses (1869), Der Genius der Menschheit im Dienste der Humanität (1870) and Der Genius der Natur. Harmonien der Natur zu dem Frauenleben der Gegenwart (1871). Although LO stressed that these books accurately reflect her views on the question of womens rights, the trilogy has so far been neglected by academia or caused bewilderment. Hence, the intended source studies investigate the Genius trilogy comprehensively for the first time, and seek to situate it in the context of LO work. They are meant to prepare a special study on LO visions for womens emancipation.The Genius trilogy is researched with regard to the following issues: the precise context in which the books were written, their intentions, their target audience, the depicted visions of womens emancipation, the discernable strategies of justifying these visions, and their specific medial representation. The scholarly assessment of the trilogy is based on a comparative analysis of its main propositions and intentions, and those formulated in LO other writings. Owing to my own extensive preliminary work in the field, I compare my findings with the results of my studies on Das Recht der Frauen auf Erwerb and Frauenleben im Deutschen Reich. Special attention will be paid to the topoi of education, work, independence, self-help, and the Ewig-Weibliche. Moreover, the interrelation between worldly, philosophical, religious, and other means of producing sense will be studied. On the basis of LO leading articles and reviews in Neue Bahnen, the publication of the Allgemeiner Deutscher Frauenverein (ADF), I research which contemporary views she contemplated and which socio-economic, political and other developments she observed whilst working on the Genius trilogy. Methodically, the studies are conducted in accordance with the notion of gender as a category of inequality that functions as marker, resource and tracer. Additionally, they are based upon reflections on the intersectionality of gender and the concept of popular history.The source studies contribute to the scholarly exploration of the history of feminist thought, of LO role in the global history of feminism and of bourgeois non-hierarchical conceptualisations of gender in the 19th century. They also have a socio-political agenda. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of ADF foundation in October 2015, the findings can enrich public debate by providing new insights into the association visions for the emancipation of women. The ADF, led by LO, marks the beginning of an organised womens movement in Germany.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants