Christina von Braun

Gender order is one domain in which claims to power are demarcated in societies based on a religious codex as well as in secular societies such as nation-states. Gender order especially becomes the area in which conflicts are carried out when a society experiences transition or clashes with another society. At a time when Israel and Palestine face an escalation of their conflict and Germany is undergoing profound changes, renowned scholars discuss the implications on the gender order from their individual vantage points. The transdisciplinary articles focus on Gender in the context of Knowledge, Arts and Representation, Memory and Scripture, Political Transition, and Life Sciences. "Ulrike Auga" is assistant professor at Humboldt University, Berlin (Germany). "Christina von Braun" is the head of the Chair for Cultural History and Gender at Humboldt University, Berlin.

The great arc or arc de cercle (Arch of Hysteria) with its ambivalence of loss of control and domination, is a seductive motif that has a long tradition in the history of art and culture. It can be found in representations of dance and acrobatics, though it also describes physical or psychological illnesses: the overextended (female) body expresses ecstatic rapture or even a psychotic disorder, yet in dance it stands for virtuoso body control and expressiveness. With Arch of Hysteria , the Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, centers an exhibition entirely on this powerful visual motif. Works of art from the last one hundred years and various contexts, are on display, tracing the variety of expressive possibilities inherent in the pose - to the point of transforming it into abstract, yet expressive and therefore unmistakable forms. The book and the exhibition illuminate the (art) historical roots of the motif as well as current adaptations in painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and video and performance art. Among the protagonists are Denis Darzacq, Max Ernst, Gustav Klimt, Alfred Kubin, Auguste Rodin, Alexandra Bircken, Louise Bourgeois, Valie Export and many others.

In diesem brillanten Standardwerk unternimmt Christina von Braun eine Tour dHorizon durch das abendländische Denken und erzählt dabei nicht weniger als die Geschichte der Phantasien über die Weiblichkeit. Ein herausragendes Buch, das mit zahlreichen Ausflügen in die Kulturgeschichte brilliert und die Neurosen unserer Gesellschaft auf spannende Weise aufdeckt.