Private life, profession, mandate – the social and cultural foundations of parliamentary representation (1871-1918)

自2021年1月以来，题为“私人生活、职业、授权议会代表的社会和文化基础(1871-1918年)”的研究项目一直在探讨德意志帝国议会制度和政治的专业化问题。特别侧重于议会任务的行使及其从自愿活动向全职工作的过渡，而不是议会的运作。该项目考察了国会议员及其在工作、家庭和政治活动交汇处的日常生活。分析的主要来源是来自德国国会和普鲁士众议院105名议员的“私人”信件和日记。研究成果将以纸质书和电子版出版。本研究项目调查了开始大规模政治化阶段的议员的生活状况。它使人们深入了解时间和资源的管理，以及任务负责人在议会席位、选区和国内的日常做法和生活方式。私人交流还可以提供对演员对他们的社会角色的理解的洞察力，以及关于现代“职业政治家”正在出现的形象的社会话语。项目组的研究表明，为了彻底说明1871年至1914年间政治职业化的进程，有必要扩展最初的研究设计，提出针对性别的问题。扩大这一视角的重点是让妇女融入议员的政治生活世界。这尤其适用于议员妻子的作用，她们是作为代理人的政治职业化进程的组成部分，是议会授权、国内收入来源和家庭生活之间的交汇点。家庭的私人生活和社会生活与丈夫的政治任务之间日益纠缠，为妇女提供了非正式的政治途径，这在一定程度上被用来维护自己的机构。在已开展的研究的基础上，将继续并完成对24名议员妻子的“私人通信”和日记的更详细的调查。在收集资料的基础上，该研究项目调查了在政治“职业化”过程中，妇女参与男性议会主义的情况。

Since January 2021, the research project "Private life, profession, mandate the social and cultural foundations of parliamentary representation (1871-1918)" has been addressing the professionalization of parliamentarianism and politics in the German Empire. Particular focus is placed on the exercise of the parliamentary mandate and its transition from voluntary activity to full time occupation, rather than on parliamentary operations. The project examines the parliamentarians and their daily life at the intersection of work, family and political activities. Main source for analysis are "private" correspondences and diaries from 105 members of the German Reichstag and the Prussian House of Representatives. The research results will be published in a printed book and a digital edition. The research project investigates the parliamentarians’ living conditions in the phase of the beginning mass politicization. It offers insights into the management of time an d resources, into the everyday practices and lifestyles of the mandate holders at the parliamentary seat, in the constituency and at home. Private communication can also provide insights into the actors’ understanding of their social roles and the societal discourse on the emerging profile of the modern "career politician". The research of the project group has shown that an extension of the initial research design with gender specific questions is necessary to thoroughly illustrate the process of the professionalization of politics between 1871 and 1914. The broadening of this perspective focuses on the integration of women into the political lifeworld of parliamentarians. This applies in particular to the role of the wives of MPs, who were an integral part of the professionalization process of politics as agents and »intersections« between the parliamentary mandate, the domestic source of income and family life. The increasing entanglements between the private and social life of the family and the political mandate of the husband provided women with »informal« access to politics, which was partly used to assert own agencies. In continuation of the research already conducted, more detailed investigations of the "private correspondence" and diaries of 24 wives of parliamentarians will be continued and completed. On the basis of this collection of sources, the research project investigates female participation in »male« parliamentarianism during the "professionalization" of politics.