Lieselotte E. Kurth-Voigt papers

Collection

Identifier: MS-0214

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The majority of the collection is materials collected by Kurth for her studies of C.M. Wieland, L. Muhlbach, and Friedrich von Bodenstedt. These files include photostatic copies of their published works and some manuscripts, printed material about them, and Kurth's notes.

There are also Kurth's lecture notes and background material for courses she taught at Hopkins on the eighteenth-century novel. Kurth's teaching materials represent a stage in the teaching of German at Hopkins. In the early years the Hopkins German Department concentrated on philological studies. Philology gave way to the study of literary history and comparative literature as exemplified by the work of Dr. Kurth and Dr. William H. McClain. The study of critical theory has since replaced comparative literature in the Department of German.

Dates

Creation: 1960-1989

Creator

Kurth-Voigt, Lieselotte E., 1923- (Person)

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions. It is not necessary to seek our permission as the owner of the physical work to publish or otherwise use public domain materials that we have made available for use, unless Johns Hopkins University holds the copyright.

Biographical Note

Lieselotte E. Kurth was born in Germany in 1923. She came to the United States in 1951 as a war widow. She took all three degrees from The Johns Hopkins University and received her Ph.D. with distinction from the Department of German in 1963. Dr. Kurth joined the Department of German in 1963 as an instructor, was an Assistant Professor from 1964-68, Associate Professor from 1968-1973, and Professor from 1973 until her retirement in 1989. Dr. Kurth was Chairman of the Department from 1980 until 1987.

Dr. Kurth's field of expertise was the novel, especially the German novel. Her first monograph was Die zweite Wirklichkeit: Studien zum Roman des achtzehnten Jahrhunderts (1969) which dealt with seven well-known eighteenth-century German novels. In her subsequent studies Dr. Kurth concentrated on the works of Christoph Martin Wieland, the subject of her second monograph Perspective and Points of View: The Early Works of Wieland and Their Background (1974).

Extent

12.32 Cubic Feet (6 record center cartons, 10 letter size document boxes, 2 letter half-size document boxes, 1 legal size document boxes, 1 pamphlet box (7.25 x 4 x 10 inches))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Provenance

The materials in this collection were donated by Dr. Lieselotte E. Kurth in two accessions 88-89.47,48 and 88-89.52. The materials came from her University office as she was vacating it upon her retirement. The first donation (88-89.47,48) included research materials collected by Dr. Kurth for her editions of the letters of Louise Muhlbach and Friedrich von Bodenstedt to Hermann Costenoble and the letters of Theodor Fontane to Ludwig Pietsch. The original letters are owned by Special Collections. This accession (88-89.47) also included a photostatic copy of C.M. Wieland's personal narrative "Acten-massige Erzahlung." In May 1989 Dr. Kurth added to her papers (88-89.52) with additional research material on the same authors as well as lecture materials from several of the courses she taught at The Johns Hopkins University.

Related Materials

Dr. Kurth is also known for editing a long series of letters from Karl Gutzkow, Friedrich Gerstacker, Friedrich von Bodenstedt, and Louise Muhlbach to their publisher Hermann Costenoble of Jena. These letters are part of the Kurrelmeyer Collection MS.0002 in Special Collections. Dr. Kurth also edited 46 letters Theodor Fontane wrote to Ludwig Pietsch. These original letters are owned by Special Collections in MS.0077.

Bibliography

A more detailed analysis of Dr. Kurth's work can be found in Flaherty, Gloria and William H. McClain, "Lieselotte E. Kurth: An Appreciation on the Occasion of Her Retirement." MLN 104:3 (April 1989):515-18.