Boekpresentaties | Prussia at Crossroads
State, Society and Monarchy in Crisis

Op 14 oktober spreekt Christopher Clark (University of Cambridge) over zijn boek 'A Scandal in Königsberg' over een sociaal en religieus schandaal in Königsberg in de jaren 1830. Met reflecties van Beatrice de Graaf en Frederik Frank Sterkenburgh (beiden Universiteit Utrecht).

De volgende dag presenteren Susanne Bauer (Universität der Künste Berlin), Jan Markert (Universiteit Trier) en Frederik Frank Sterkenburgh (Universiteit Utrecht) hun boeken:

• Susanne Bauer, 'Die Briefkommunikation der Kaiserin Augusta (1811-1890).'
• Jan Markert, 'Wilhelm I: von Kartätschenprinz zum Reichsgründer'
• Frederik Frank Sterkenburgh, 'Wilhelm I as German Emperor: Staging the Kaiser.'

Data en locaties

• 14 oktober 2025, 19.00 - 21:00 - Senaatszaal, Academiegebouw 
• 15 oktober 2025, 9.00 - 11:30 - Kerkzaal, Zalen van Zeven, Boothstraat 7

Meer informatie

Prussia in the nineteenth century was a state and society perpetually on the verge of crisis. It was victorious in the Napoleonic Wars but could not undo the consequences of the upheaval of the preceding three decades. Instead, what followed was a state constantly concerned about the return of revolutionary fervour or renewed attempts at uprooting the social order and its institutions. Religious beliefs and new political ideologies were seen to challenge the authority of the state and its key actors. Conversely, as Prussian society transformed socially, economically, culturally, and technologically, more groups sought access to the political process and asserted themselves in an expanding political sphere. How, then, did Prussian authorities respond to anything they saw as a threat to their positions and powers?

During a two-day event, four books will be presented which provide substantial new answers to this question by looking at different examples from nineteenth-century Prussia. On 14 October, Christopher Clark (University of Cambridge) will present his new book, which looks at how local authorities responded to a social and religious scandal in 1830s Königsberg, which tapped directly in the state’s fears for renewed revolutionary upheaval. The following day, Susanne Bauer (Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities), Jan Markert (Trier University) and Frederik Frank Sterkenburgh (Utrecht University) will present their books on how the Hohenzollern monarchy sought to establish itself as the imperial dynasty in the decades preceding and following the 1848 revolution and the challenges posed by nationalism, liberalism, the calls for a constitution and the emergence of mass media. This was a challenge for which a monarch always required his consort and family as well.  

Taken together, these four books provide distinct new insights in how nineteenth-century Prussian and German history unfolded but are not exclusive to the German lands: how states responded to a rapidly changing society was a challenge which authorities faced across Europe and beyond. Finally, this event forces us to reflect on how authorities respond in the modern era to challenges to their powers in an age marked by a new transformation of the public sphere through the ascent of social media, a decline of notions of facts and truths, and heightening social and economic inequality.  

Meld je hier gratis aan