Helmut Koopmann

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Helmut Koopmann (born June 15, 1933 in Bochum ) is a German literary scholar who was Professor of Modern German Literature at the University of Augsburg for decades and who studied the work of Heinrich Heine , Friedrich Schiller , Bertolt Brecht and, above all, the brothers Heinrich and Thomas Mann busy.

Life

Helmut Koopmann was born in Bochum and grew up in Norden (East Friesland) , where he graduated from the Ulrichsgymnasium in 1952 . After studying German , English and philosophy in Bonn and Münster , he received his doctorate in Bonn in 1960 with Benno von Wiese with a thesis on the novels of Thomas Mann, who remained at the center of Koopmann's scientific work.

Koopmann had been Benno von Wieses' assistant since 1961 and completed his habilitation in 1968 with a paper on Young Germany . A year later, at the age of 36, Koopmann became Professor of Modern German Philology in Bonn and in 1974 moved to the University of Augsburg as Full Professor of Modern German Literature.

He did not accept offers at Harvard University and the Free University of Berlin and remained until his retirement in Augsburg, where he became a “cultural institution” beyond the boundaries of the university public, a “lighthouse” of the university. At the same time, Koopmann has repeatedly worked as a guest lecturer abroad, including several times in the USA, India, Italy and at the Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit in Johannesburg , South Africa , which awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1998.

Koopmann's research focuses on literature from the 18th to 20th centuries; he was particularly interested in the literature of the 18th century, the turn of the century and the post-war period in Germany . He was chairman of the Eichendorff Society and the Heinrich von Kleist Society (1992–1996) and was in charge of the Heinrich Mann working group from 1978 to 1996. Since 1987 he has also chaired the VG Wort Approval Committee . Koopmann is on the editorial board of several professional journals, including Acta Germanica and the yearbook of the Association for German Studies in South Africa. Koopmann has been retired since 2001.

Works

A selection of his publications up to 1999 can be found in the directory of Germanists at the University of Erlangen and a complete list in the festschrift on his 75th birthday. Overall, Koopmann has published more than 15 independent writings and 180 essays, complete editions by Eichendorff and Kleist as well as manuals on Schiller and Thomas Mann. In selection:

  • The development of the 'intellectual novel' in Thomas Mann. Investigations into the structure of Buddenbrooks, Royal Highness and Zauberberg. Bouvier, Bonn 1962.
  • Friedrich Schiller , 2 volumes, Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung 1966, 2nd edition 1977
  • Young Germany. Analysis of his self-image. Metzler, Stuttgart 1970.
  • (Ed.): Heinrich Heine. Historical-critical complete edition of the works. Volume 11: Ludwig Börne. A memorandum and smaller political papers. Hoffmann & Campe, Hamburg 1978.
  • (Ed. Et al.): Bertolt Brecht - aspects of his work, traces of its effect. Vögel, Munich 1983. 2nd, expanded edition. 1994.
  • (Ed., Among others): Complete works of Baron Joseph von Eichendorff. Historical-critical edition. Founded by Wilhelm Kosch and August Sauer, continued and edited by Hermann Kunisch and Helmut Koopmann. Max Niemeyer, Tübingen 1984 ff.
  • (Ed.): Thomas Mann Handbook. Kröner, Stuttgart 1990. 3rd, updated edition. 2001.
  • Heinrich von Kleist. Complete Works. According to the text of the last edition. With an epilogue, notes and timetable by Helmut Koopmann. Artemis & Winkler, Munich 1994.
  • (Ed.): Schiller manual. Kröner, Stuttgart 1998. 2nd, revised and updated edition. 2011, ISBN 978-3-534-24548-2 .
  • Schiller's life in letters. Böhlau, Weimar 2000.
  • Goethe and Frau von Stein. Story of a love. Beck, Munich 2002.
  • (Ed.): Friedrich Schiller. The great dramas. Edited and with an afterword by Helmut Koopmann. Artemis & Winkler, Düsseldorf, Zurich 2005.
  • Thomas Mann - Heinrich Mann. The unequal brothers. Beck, Munich 2005.
  • Inquiry: On German literature from the 18th and 19th centuries. Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main 2013, ISBN 978-3-465-03770-5 (Commemoration for the 80th birthday with selected writings, communication from the university ).
  • Welcome and farewell. Goethe and Friederike Brion . Beck, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-406-65998-0 .

literature

  • Andrea Bartl, Jürgen Eder, Harry Fröhlich, Klaus Dieter Post, Ursula Regener (eds.): “Follow in tracks…”. Festschrift for Helmut Koopmann. Max Niemeyer, Tübingen 1998.
  • Andrea Bartl et al. (Ed.): On the shoulders of the other. Festschrift for Helmut Koopmann on his 75th birthday. Mentis, Paderborn 2008.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brief introduction to the author in: Fritz Reuter - in his and in our time. Festive ceremony for Jürgen Grote on his 75th birthday. Hinstorff, Rostock 2011, p. 166.
  2. ↑ a b Literature Competence (32). Drama: The Epic Theater. ( Memento from April 26, 2003 in the Internet Archive ) Broadcast of the Telekolleg on Bavarian television with a short presentation of the studio guest Helmut Koopmann.
  3. ↑ a b c Brief presentation at the Monday Forum. European Academy for History and Culture eV
  4. ↑ a b c d Klaus P. Prem: Johannesburg honorary doctor and commemorative publication on the 65th for the Germanist Helmut Koopmann. In: Information Service Science. dated June 16, 1998.
  5. ↑ Sarah Ritschel: One who has set standards: literary scholar Helmut Koopmann is celebrating his 80th birthday today. In: Augsburger Allgemeine , June 15, 2013.
  6. ↑ What we do at the Heinrich Mann Society.
  7. ↑ a b Online directory of the University of Erlangen.
  8. ↑ Helmut Koopmann's publications. In: Andrea Bartl et al. (Ed.): On the shoulders of the other. Festschrift for Helmut Koopmann on his 75th birthday. Mentis, Paderborn 2008, pp. 327-331.
personal data
SURNAME Koopmann, Helmut
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German literary scholar
DATE OF BIRTH June 15, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Bochum