Steffen Martus (born

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

, 1968) is a German

literary scholar Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. T ...

and Professor of Modern German Literature at

Humboldt University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Life

Between 1989 and 1994 Steffen Martus studied German Philology (language, linguistics and literature), Social studies,

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

Ratisbon Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

. In 1998 he obtained his doctorate from the

, where he stayed for post-doctoral studies. At the DFG

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 ...

he worked on a "Codification of violence in the changing media" (''"Codierung von Gewalt im medialen Wandel"''), and was an academic researcher at the Institute for German Literature (''"Institut für deutsche Literatur"''). In 2002 he became

's first Junior Professor for Modern German Literature, to be succeeded in 2006 by . In 2006 he was invited to accept a professorship for Modern German literature at the

University of Erlangen-Nuremberg A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. In 2007 he succeeded as professor for Modern German literature at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

. Since 2010 he has occupied a newly created professorship for Modern German literature (eighteenth century to contemporary) at the

. The focus of his academic scope embraces German literature from the seventeenth century till the present, the interactions between literature and science, questions of literary theory along with the

praxeology In philosophy, praxeology or praxiology (; ) is the theory of human action, based on the notion that humans engage in purposeful behavior, contrary to reflexive behavior and other unintentional behavior. French social philosopher Alfred Espinas g ...

of spiritual and cultural awarenesses. Since 1997 Martus has been writing as a

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

for

Die Zeit ''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The ...

, the

Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of SZ is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and social-democrat. History ...

and the

Berliner Zeitung The ''Berliner Zeitung'' (, ''Berlin Newspaper'') is a daily newspaper based in Berlin, Germany. Founded in East Germany in 1945, it is the only East German paper to achieve national prominence since reunification. It is published by Berliner ...

. His biography of the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

appeared in 2009 and was nominated for the 2010

Leipzig Book Fair Prize The Leipzig Book Fair Prize () is a literary award assigned annually during the Leipzig Book Fair to outstanding newly released literary works in the categories "Fiction", "Non-fiction" and "Translation". The Leipzig Book Fair Prize has been award ...

in the "Non-fiction/essay" category. Steffen Martus is a co-producer of Humboldt University's , a member of the editorial team on

Text+Kritik ''Text+Kritik'' (stylized ''text+kritik'') is a quarterly German journal for literature, music, film, and cultural studies in which German-language writers have their works analysed and presented by fellow writers and experts in literary researc ...

and an (advisor-)member of the Humanities Network for German Literature and Philology.

Recognition

* Humboldt Prize from Humboldt-University, Berlin 1999 for his doctoral thesis.

Publications

Monographs

* Die Brüder Grimm. Eine Biographie. Berlin 2009. 2. und 3. Auflage 2010. * Werkpolitik. Zur Literaturgeschichte kritischer Kommunikation vom 17. bis ins 20. Jahrhundert mit Studien zu Klopstock, Tieck, Goethe und George. de Gruyter, Berlin 2007, * Ernst Jünger, Metzler, Stuttgart 2001 * Friedrich von Hagedorn – Konstellationen der Aufklärung, de Gruyter, Berlin 1999

Co-productions/ as editor

* Killy Literatur Lexikon. (Hrsg., mit WIlhelm Kühlmann u.A.) Autoren und Werke des deutschsprachigen Kulturraums (13 Vols., published by Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008-11) * Das Buch der Bücher – gelesen, (produced with Andrea Polaschegg), Lang, Bern 2006 * Die Kunst der Aufrichtigkeit im 17. Jahrhundert (produced with Claudia Benthien), Niemeyer, Tübingen 2006 * Lyrik im 19. Jahrhundert, (Hrsg. mit Stefan Scherer und Claudia Stockinger), Lang, Bern 2005 * Schlachtfelder. Zur Codierung von Gewalt im medialen Wandel (produced with Marina Münkler und Werner Röcke), Akademien Berlin 2003

References

External links

*
Homepage an der HU Berlin

Humboldt-Preis 1998 der HU Berlin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martus, Steffen 1968 births Writers from Karlsruhe German literary critics 20th-century German non-fiction writers Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin German literary theorists Living people 20th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers