The announcement of an interdisciplinary symposium on the social history of German literature is presented. The event, organized by the Senate Commission for Germanistische Forschung of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, will take place from September 7 to 10, 1987, at the International Institute for Scientific Cooperation (Schloß Reisensburg, Günzburg, Bavaria). The symposium aims to explore new approaches and unpublished results in the field of social history of German literature, fostering interdisciplinary discussions among various disciplines such as literary studies, linguistics, folklore, communication science, history, law, religious studies, sociology, music and art sciences. The core question guiding the symposium is the social history of literary texts, encouraging a re-examination of well-known texts from a social perspective. The focus will be on structural, genre, linguistic change, and group history within literary texts, with specific examples to illustrate the contributions of different scientific models. The influence of social and political transformations, including institutions, censorship, and readership, will be discussed, along with the interdependence of the literary system with other societal systems like law and religion. The symposium will not prioritize specialized studies but rather exemplify how social history methods can address previously unseen problems in other disciplines. Contributions should reflect on commonalities and mutual significance, emphasizing the interests and research focuses of each discipline while always relating to the knowledge object of literature. The symposium will cover all periods of history and literary history (from the Middle Ages to the present), with most examples dating up to 1945. Four working areas are planned: 1) Literature in the tension of language, consciousness, and social history; 2) Literature in the tension of law, constitution, and justice; 3) Literature in the tension of literary and political institutions; 4) Literature in the tension of religion, piety, and confession. The preparation and execution of the symposium are led by curators Dieter Grimm, Klaus Grubmüller, and Dieter Langewiesche, who have provided thematic outlines and suggestions for further development.The announcement of an interdisciplinary symposium on the social history of German literature is presented. The event, organized by the Senate Commission for Germanistische Forschung of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, will take place from September 7 to 10, 1987, at the International Institute for Scientific Cooperation (Schloß Reisensburg, Günzburg, Bavaria). The symposium aims to explore new approaches and unpublished results in the field of social history of German literature, fostering interdisciplinary discussions among various disciplines such as literary studies, linguistics, folklore, communication science, history, law, religious studies, sociology, music and art sciences. The core question guiding the symposium is the social history of literary texts, encouraging a re-examination of well-known texts from a social perspective. The focus will be on structural, genre, linguistic change, and group history within literary texts, with specific examples to illustrate the contributions of different scientific models. The influence of social and political transformations, including institutions, censorship, and readership, will be discussed, along with the interdependence of the literary system with other societal systems like law and religion. The symposium will not prioritize specialized studies but rather exemplify how social history methods can address previously unseen problems in other disciplines. Contributions should reflect on commonalities and mutual significance, emphasizing the interests and research focuses of each discipline while always relating to the knowledge object of literature. The symposium will cover all periods of history and literary history (from the Middle Ages to the present), with most examples dating up to 1945. Four working areas are planned: 1) Literature in the tension of language, consciousness, and social history; 2) Literature in the tension of law, constitution, and justice; 3) Literature in the tension of literary and political institutions; 4) Literature in the tension of religion, piety, and confession. The preparation and execution of the symposium are led by curators Dieter Grimm, Klaus Grubmüller, and Dieter Langewiesche, who have provided thematic outlines and suggestions for further development.