Klaus Vondung (born 16 July 1941) is a German scholar on the fields of
cultural
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...
and
German studies
German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German hi ...
. The focus of his academic work lies on the interplay of literature, politics and religion during the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
,
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and beyond.
Early life and education
Klaus Vondung was born in
Ulm
Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...
. He studied German, history, philosophy and politics at
University of Tübingen
The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...
and
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...
(LMU), where he passed the ''
Staatsexamen
The ("state examination" or "exam by state"; pl.: ''Staatsexamina'') is a German government licensing examination that future physicians, dentists, teachers, pharmacists, food chemists, psychotherapists and jurists (i.e., lawyers, judges, public ...
'' during the winter semester of 1965/66. Three years later he received a
Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...
(Dr. phil.) of LMU and spent the next two years as a lecturer. Having been granted a scholarship of the
German Research Foundation
The German Research Foundation (german: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ; DFG ) is a German research funding organization, which functions as a self-governing institution for the promotion of science and research in the Federal Republic of Germ ...
, he spent two years of post-graduate research at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
.
Academic work as a professor
Following a
habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
about the more recent history of
German literature
German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy a ...
, Klaus Vondung was appointed a professor of German studies and literature at
University of Siegen
The University of Siegen (german: Universität Siegen) is a public research university located in Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia and is part of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, a society of Germany's leading research universities. The Univers ...
in 1976, a post which he held until becoming an
emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
in 2006.
During intervals of his time in Siegen, he also served as
dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
and
prorector
Academic rank (also scientific rank) is the rank of a scientist or teacher in a college, high school, university or research establishment. The academic ranks indicate relative importance and power of individuals in academia.
The academic rank ...
(Vice President).
Vondung's academic research interests are expressed by the premise of the
graduate school
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have earned an Undergraduate education, un ...
"Forms of Communication as Forms of Life", of which he was the speaker. Other scientific projects headed by him include "Turn of the millennium: Fears and Visions" (1998–2000, funded by the
Volkswagen Foundation
The Volkswagen Foundation (German: ''VolkswagenStiftung'') is the largest German private nonprofit organization involved in the promotion and support of academic research. It is not affiliated to the present company, the Volkswagen Group.
It wa ...
) and "
Mysticism
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...
and
Modernity
Modernity, a topic in the humanities and social sciences, is both a historical period (the modern era) and the ensemble of particular socio-cultural norm (social), norms, attitudes and practices that arose in the wake of the Renaissancein the " ...
" (as part of the larger "Key Issues of the ''
Geisteswissenschaft
''Geisteswissenschaften'' (, "sciences of mind", "spirit science") is a set of human sciences such as philosophy, history, philology, musicology, linguistics, theater studies, literary studies, media studies, and sometimes even theology and ju ...
en''").
During his academic career, Vondung was
guest professor at the universities
of Florida,
of Houston, and
of Osaka, as well as
Kwansei Gakuin University
, colloquially known as , is a private, non-denominational Christian coeducational university in Japan. The university offers Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees to around 25,000 students in almost 40 different disciplines across 11 ...
and
Zhejiang University
Zhejiang University, abbreviated as ZJU or Zheda and formerly romanized as Chekiang University, is a national public research university based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is a member of the prestigious C9 League and is selected into the n ...
, the last one on unlimited terms.
Publications
Klaus Vondung is the author or editor of the following books:
*Magie und Manipulation. Ideologischer Kult und politische Religion des Nationalsozialismus (1971)
·Japanese translation: Nachizumu to Shukusai. Kokka shakai shugi no ideorogi teki saigi to seiji teki shukyo (1988)
*Völkisch-nationale und nationalsozialistsche Literaturtheorie (1973)
*Das wilhelminische Bildungsbürgertum. Zur Sozialgeschichte seiner Idden (Ed.) (1976)
*Kriegserlebnis. Der Erste Weltkrieg in der literarischen Gestaltung und symbolischen Deutung der Nationen (Ed.) (1980)
*Deutsche Literaturgeschichte: Neunzehntes Jahrhundert (1980)
*Die Apokalypse in Deutschland (1988)
·English translation: The Apocalypse in Germany (2000)
·Race and State. The Collected Works of Eric Voegelin. Vol. 2 (Ed.) (1997)
·The History of the Race Idea from Ray to Carus. The Collected Works of Eric Voegelin. Vol. 3 (Ed.) (1998)
*Anfang offen. Literarische Übergänge ins 21. Jahrhundert (2002)
*Jenseits der entzauberten Welt. Naturwissenschaft und Mystik in der Moderne (Ed.) (2006)
*Deutsche Wege zur Erlösung. Formen des Religiösen im Nationalsozialismus (2013)
·English translation: Paths to Salvation. The National Socialist Religion (2019)
[
·Apokalypse ohne Ende (2018)
·The Pursuit of Unity and Perfection in History. Essays of Four Decades (2020)
·Vom Verlangen nach Einheit und Vollkommenheit (2021)
Vondung also published numerous articles in English, in volumes of essays as well as in journals: ''Modern Age, Independent Journal of Philosophy, Cauda Pavonis, Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions, Review of Religions, International Journal of the Classical Tradition, The European''.
]
References
External links
Information about Klaus Vondung, including a CV and publication list, by University of Siegen
Im Gespräch mit...Klaus Vondung, On ''Ex nihilo - Martin Burckhardt''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vondung, Klaus
Living people
1941 births
Academic staff of the University of Siegen
People from Ulm