Armenbriefe und Unterstützungsgesuche in Deutschland und Großbritannien, 1770 - 1914 / Pauper Letters and Petitions for Poor Relief in Germany and Great Britain, 1770 - 1914

历史研究表明，人们对下层阶级的生活见证（自我文件）产生了新的、更强烈的兴趣。在这种情况下，德国历史学家迄今很少注意过去几年来英国研究中越来越感兴趣的来源，即由贫民或为贫民向其家乡教区申请救济而写的信件、申请书和请愿书。这样的“贫民叙事”在英国和德国的档案馆中都有保存，通常数量很大，与乞讨信和其他叙事一起保存。该项目建议：- 收集和在线编辑一系列的贫民叙事从可比的英国和德国社区在1770年至1914年期间; -分析这些叙事的语言结构和内容。这项工作将在三个层次上完成：以信息技术为基础分析叙述形式之间的语言异同;对每种叙述形式中反复出现的短语、修辞形式和战略推理进行定量研究;将叙述的语言内容与普通人写的或为普通人写的其他材料，包括自传、激进的演讲和家庭信件，进行系统的比较;- 使用这些资源和语言分析来探讨问题，如英国和德国穷人声称或发展代理权的程度，当涉及到权利;穷人使用政治语言和参与政治进程;穷人使用的战略和修辞方法（包括例如声称归属或基督教义务）来建立或维持应得性。

Historical research has shown a new and intensified interest in life testimonies (ego-documents) of the lower classes. In this context German historians have so far paid little attention to sources which have met with increasing interest in British research over the past years, namely letters, applications and petitions written by or for paupers to their home parish in order to apply for relief. Such ‘pauper narratives’ are preserved in British as well as in German archives, often in large numbers and alongside begging letters and other narratives. This project proposes: - to collect and edit on-line a range of pauper narratives from comparable British and German communities over the period between 1770 and 1914; - to analyse the linguistic structure and content of these narratives. This will be accomplished at three levels: an IT-based analysis of the linguistic similarities and differences between narrative forms; the quantitative study of recurring phrases, rhetorical forms and strategic reasoning within each narrative form; and the systematic comparison of the linguistic content of narratives with a corpus of other material written by or for ordinary people, including autobiographies, radical speeches and familial letters; - the use of these sources and the linguistic analysis to explore issues such as the degree to which the British and German poor claimed or developed agency when it came to entitlement; the use of political language and participation in the political process by the poor; and the strategic and rhetorical methods (including for instance claiming belonging or Christian duty) used by the poor to establish or maintain deservingness.