First Advisor
Steven Fuller
Date of Award
6-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in World Languages & Literatures: German and University Honors
Department
World Languages and Literatures
Language
English
Abstract
Compared to other products of German Romanticism, scholarship has almost entirely overlooked the magazine Wünschelruthe (1818). No in-depth, original research has been made on the magazine since 1929. Investigations into the Wünschelruthe have only been within the frame of its connection to more influential works and authors within the German canon or as digression in biographies on its main contributors, and these writings usually neglect the actual content in the magazine. From a catalogue of dozens of literary magazines produced in Germany during the late Enlightenment and Romantic eras, the Wünschelruthe is also one of a select few (if not the only one) of these magazines to have had an editorial base consisting purely of university students. Students as a demographic were politically active in the new nationalist movements and societies that were emerging in Germany at the beginning of the 19th century, and their motivations would influence German politics for decades. For these reasons and more, a new look at the Wünschelruthe is far overdue. This thesis will argue that, due to its content and the specific national environment in which it was created, the Wünschelruthe represents a microcosm of the forces of Romantic nationalism and can help us understand the cultural origins of early German nationalism.
Recommended Citation
Bayer, Charlotte, "The Magic Wand: The Transformation of Literary Journals and the Middle Class in Early Nineteenth-Century Germany" (2026). University Honors Theses. Paper 1891.