(2) Reading traces: Reader psychology, text comprehension research, and literary politology

Reading traces have always been one of the key fields of interest at the DLA. They can be found in various places in the archive: in authors‘ libraries, correspondence, and in museums, where visitors read the exhibits as well as look at them. We aim to look more closely at the traces of reading in our holdings by applying approaches borrowed from reader psychology and text comprehension research, which we are developing further in cooperation with the Leibniz Institute für Wissensmedien Tübingen (IWM). 

In cooperation with the IWM, the University of Tübingen and the Institut für Maschinelle Sprachverarbeitung of the Univerity of Stuttgart the project ›»WR-AI-TING«: Kreatives Schreiben mit KI-Tools in Schul- und Museumskontexten‹ addresses the potential and risks of artificial intelligence (AI) in cultural education by examining creative writing among young people in the context of museums, schools and virtual worlds. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMBFSFJ).

The Germany-wide series of events entitled »Selbstverteidigung, literarisch« explores how literature could help us navigate times of crisis and understand and endure threatening situations. What mental skills are needed to understand conflict-ridden situations and act appropriately? Events will take place in Frankfurt am Main (DNB), at the Theodor Fontane Archive in Potsdam and in Marbach, among other locations.

The international conference »Thomas Manns Pariser Rechenschaft (1926). Deutsch-französischer Austausch – Europäische Gespräche – Essayistische Experimente« (22 -24 June 2026, Paris), held in cooperation with the Universiy of Heidelberg, the Sorbonne Université, Paris, and the German Embassy in Paris, focuses on Thomas Mann's 1926 Pariser Rechenschaft, highlighting German-French cultural transfer and European concepts of the interwar period.