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

历史研究显示，人们对下层阶级的生活见证(自我文献)产生了新的强烈兴趣。在这方面，德国历史学家到目前为止很少注意到过去几年来英国研究越来越感兴趣的来源，即由穷人写给或为他们的家乡教区申请救济的信件、申请和请愿书。英国档案馆和德国档案馆都保存着这样的“乞丐故事”，通常是大量保存的，与乞讨信件和其他故事一起保存。该项目建议：-在线收集和编辑1770年至1914年期间英国和德国可比社区的一系列赤贫叙述；-分析这些叙述的语言结构和内容。这将在三个层面上完成：以信息技术为基础分析叙事形式之间的语言异同；对每种叙事形式内反复出现的短语、修辞形式和战略推理进行量化研究；将叙事的语言内容与由普通人撰写或为普通人编写的其他材料，包括自传、激进演讲和家书，进行系统的比较；-利用这些来源和语言分析，探讨以下问题：英国和德国穷人在享有福利时要求或发展机构的程度；政治语言的使用和穷人对政治进程的参与；以及穷人用来建立或维持遗弃的战略和修辞方法(例如，声称属于或基督教责任)。

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.