Claudia Schmölders, also Claudia Henn-Schmölders (born 25 October 1944 in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

cultural scholar,

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

, and

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

Life

Schmölders completed a study of music, German studies, and philosophy at the Universities of Cologne, Zürich, Berlin and New York. She attained a Doctorate of Philosophy from the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

in 1973. From 1975 to 1999, she was a freelance

publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for work or a project such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists wh ...

literary editor A literary editor is a editor responsible for refining and overseeing the quality of written content in a newspaper, magazine or other publication. Literary editor deals with aspects concerning literature and books, especially reviews. A literary ...

, and

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

for different publishing firms in addition to teaching at the Universities of Cologne, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, and Berlin. She was named a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

at the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme in Paris in 1991 and at the

Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin The Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin () is an interdisciplinary institute founded in 1981 in Grunewald (locality), Grunewald, Berlin, Germany, dedicated to research projects in the natural and social sciences. It is modeled after the orig ...

in 1991/92. She did her

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

Humboldt University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

with work on

physiognomy Physiognomy () or face reading is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term can also refer to the general appearance of a person, object, or terrain without referenc ...

and from 1998 until 2008 she served as a private docent at the Institute of Cultural Science of Humboldt University. As a cultural scholar, Schmölders is concerned with the histories of physiognomy, book culture, politeness, and conversation in Europe. In addition, she has edited literary anthologies and translated literature and

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

. Since 2000, Schmölders has been a member of P.E.N.-Zentrum Deutschland. She received the 2004

Heinrich Mann Prize The Heinrich Mann Prize () is an essay prize that has been awarded since 1953, first by the East German Academy of Arts, then by the Academy of Arts, Berlin. The prize, which comes with a €10,000 purse, is given annually on 27 March, Heinrich ...

Family background

Her parents, Elisabeth Schmölders, (née Büchle) was a journalist, her father, Günter Schmölders, professor for economics in Breslau and after 1947 in Cologne. He was among the early pioneers of behavioral studies in economics, including works on the failure of prohibition and alcohol regulation laws. Her grand-grandfather Franz August Schmölders was professor for

orientalism In art history, literature, and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle ...

in Breslau. Claudia Schmölders heads the Schmölders foundation in memory of her father together with Christian Opelt. The foundation has some connection with the

Verein für Socialpolitik The (; literally: Association for Social Policy), or the German Economic Association, is a society of economists in the German language, German-speaking area. History The was founded in Eisenach in 1872 as a response to the "social question ...

, an important association for economics in Germany.

Works

* * * * ,

Editorial work

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

: ''Die großen Seefahrer und Entdecker'' (The Great Seafarer and Discoverer), Zürich 1974 *''Über Balzac'' (About Balzac), Zürich 1977; 1993; 3rd Enlarged Edition Zürich 2007 *''Über Simenon'' (About Simenon), Zürich 1978 *''Die Kunst des Gesprächs. Texte zur Geschichte der europäischen Konversationstheorie'' (The Art of Conversation. Texts about the History of the European Conversation Theory), München 1979; 1986 (availabl
online
) *''Vom Paradies und anderen Gärten'' (From Paradise and Other Gardens), Cologne 1983 *''Die wilde Frau'' (The Wild Woman), Cologne 1983; 6th Edition 2009 *''Die Märchen-Arche'' (The Fairytale Ark), Cologne 1984 *''Deutsche Briefe'' (German Letters), Frankfurt am Main 1987 et al. *''Das Märchenbuch'' (The Fairytale Book), Frankfurt am Main 1987 *''Einladung zum Essen'' (Invitation to Dinner), Frankfurt am Main 1989 et al. *''Japan, Insel-Almanach'' (Japan, Island Almanac), Frankfurt am Main 1989 (together with Irmela Hijiya-Kirschnereit) *

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

: ''Mit Goethe durch den Garten'' (With Goethe through the Garden), Frankfurt am Main 1989 *''Liebes-Erklärungen'' (Love's Explanations), Berlin 1993 *''Die Erfindung der Liebe. Berühmte Zeugnisse aus drei Jahrtausenden'' (The Invention of Love. Famous Texts from the 3rd Century BC until 20th Century), München 1996 et al. *''Der exzentrische Blick. Gepräch über Physiognomik'' (The Eccentric Look. A Talk about Physiognomy at the Library of Wolfenbüttel), Berlin 1996 *''Deutsche Kinder. 17 Biographische Porträts'' (German Children. 17 Biographical Portraits), Berlin 1997 *''Gesichter der Weimarer Republik. Eine physiognomische Kulturgeschichte'' (Faces of the Weimar Republic. A Physiognomical Cultural History), Cologne 2000, together with Sander L. Gilman

Translations

Valmiki Valmiki (; , ) was a legendary poet who is celebrated as the traditional author of the epic ''Ramayana'', based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as ''Ādi Kavi'', the first poet, author of ''Ramayana'', the first epic poe ...

: ''Das Ramayana'', Cologne 1984; 5th Edition 2004 *

Jean de Brunhoff Jean de Brunhoff (; 9 December 1899 – 16 October 1937) was a French writer and illustrator remembered best for creating the Babar series of children's books concerning a fictional elephant, the first of which was published in 1931. Early life ...

: ''Die Geschichte von

Babar Babar (), also variously spelled as Baber, Babur, and Babor is a male given name of Persian language, Persian origin, and a popular male given name in Pakistan. It is generally taken in reference to the Persian language, Persian ''babr'' (Persian ...

, dem kleinen Elefanten'' (The History of Babar the Little Elephant), Zürich 1976 * Ernest W. Hornung: ''Raffles, der Dieb in der Nacht'' (Raffles, the Thief in the Night), Zürich 1976 * William Somerset Maugham: ''Rosie und die Künstler'' (Rosie and the Artist), Zürich 1973 (translated together with Hans Kauders) *

Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Heelis (; 28 July 186622 December 1943), usually known as Beatrix Potter ( ), was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as '' ...

: ''Die gesammelten Abenteuer von Peter Hase'' (The Collected Adventures of Peter Hase), Zürich 1986 * Ennis Rees: ''Katz und Fuchs und Hund und Hummer'' (Cat and Fox and Dog and Lobster), Zürich 1976 *

Maurice Sendak Maurice Bernard Sendak (; June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012) was an American author and illustrator of children's books. Born to Polish-Jewish parents, his childhood was impacted by the death of many of his family members during the Holocaust. Send ...

: ''Was tust du dann?'' (What do you do then?), Zürich 1973 *Maurice Sendak: ''

Where the Wild Things Are ''Where the Wild Things Are'' is a 1963 children's picture book written and illustrated by American author and illustrator, Maurice Sendak, originally published in hardcover by Harper & Row. The book has been adapted into other media several ti ...

'', Zürich 1967 *

Tomi Ungerer Jean-Thomas "Tomi" Ungerer (; 28 November 1931 – 9 February 2019) was a French artist and writer from Alsace (a French region on the French/German border). He published over 140 books ranging from children's books to adult works and from the f ...

: Der Hut (The Hat), Zürich 1972 *

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

: ''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It was written between 1895 and 1897, and serialised in '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US in 1897. The full novel was ...

'' Zürich 1974 (translated together with G. A. Crüwell) *H. G. Wells: ''

The Invisible Man ''The Invisible Man'' is an 1897 science fiction novel by British writer H. G. Wells. Originally serialised in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a s ...

'' Zürich 1974 (translated together with Alfred Winternitz)

References

External links

Literature by and on Claudia Schmölders
in the Catalog of the

German National Library The German National Library (DNB; ) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to collect, permanently archive, comprehens ...

Homepage

Simplizität, Naivetät, Einfalt – Studien zur ästhetischen Terminologie in Frankreich und in Deutschland, 1674 - 1771
(thesis, 1974)
Das Gesicht verfällt - Zur Ideengeschichte der Physiognomik, neuerdings gelesen bei Hans Belting, Judith Elisabeth Weiss und anderen

Wissenschaftskolleg Berlin - Fellows
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmolders, Claudia 1944 births Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin German women writers Living people Heinrich Mann Prize winners