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In Freudian psychoanalysis the so-called »primal scene« is of a very fragile ontological and epistemological nature. It oscillates between factual event, phylogenetically pre-structured phantasy and construction of the analyst. The book examines Freud's arguments for and against the reality of the primal scene by way of his famous case study »Aus der Geschichte einer infantilen Neurose«. It employs methods from the history of science to address philosophical, epistemological, aesthetic, and political questions. Apart from analyzing Freud's arguments themselves and their metaphorical vehicles, it examines the first edition of the case study and also takes into account the manuscript in the Library of Congress in Washington. Both sources have been heretofore neglected by Freud scholars. - In der Psychoanalyse Freuds kommt der »Urszene« ein fragiler epistemischer Status zu. Als traumatischer Keim einer Neurose schwankt sie zwischen realem Ereignis, phylogenetisch vorstrukturierter Phantasie und Konstruktion des Therapeuten. Anhand der Fallstudie »Aus der Geschichte einer infantilen Neurose« rekonstruiert das Buch Freuds Argumente für und gegen den »Realwert« der Urszene. Es verbindet philosophische, wissenschaftsgeschichtliche und bildtheoretische Fragestellungen und weist nach, dass Freud neben den indirekten Beweisen für die Realität der Urszene eine Reihe von supplementären Verfahren zur Anwendung bringt, die darauf zielen, die Urszene direkt vor Augen zu stellen. Die Untersuchung berücksichtigt nicht nur die interne Struktur der freudschen Argumente und die Metaphern, deren sie sich bedienen, auch das materielle Arrangement der Erstpublikation und das Manuskript der Fallstudie werden erstmals zugänglich gemacht und einer detaillierten Analyse unterzogen.

This book brings together an exciting new archive of queer and trans voices from the history of sexual sciences in the German-speaking world. A new language to express possibilities of gender and sexuality emerged at the turn of the twentieth century, from Sigmund Freud's theories of homosexuality in Vienna to Magnus Hirschfeld's "third sex" in Berlin. Together, they provided a language of sex and sexuality that is still recognizable today. Queer Livability: German Sexual Sciences and Life Writing shows that individual voices of trans and queer writers had a significant impact on the production of knowledge about gender and sexuality during this time and introduces lesser known texts to a new readership. It shows the remarkable power of queer life writing in imagining and creating the possibilities of a livable life in the face of restrictive legal, medical, and social frameworks.

Queer Livability: German Sexual Sciences and Life Writing will be of interest to anyone who wants to learn more about LGBTQ+ history and literature. It also provides a fascinating insight into the historical roots for our thinking about gender and sexuality today. The book will be of relevance to an academic readership of students and faculty in German studies, literary studies, European history, and the interdisciplinary fields of gender and sexuality studies, medical humanities, and the history of sexuality.