Briefe in Politischer Kommunikation Vom Alten Orient Bis Ins 20. Jahrhundert (Schriften Zur Politischen Kommunikation)

The history of the letter is as old as the history of writing itself. In the Romantic period, the letter was perceived as the most private and authentic of all sorts of texts. Ever since then researchers from various disciplines have cherished and still do cherish letters as a source of the authentic thoughts of historical figures. This volume gathers the contributions of 14 authors from three countries and various disciplines to hold a discussion of the letter genre going beyond particular times or disciplines. They consider the letter to be a type of political text marked by its crafted nature. The contributions also point out the political ramifications of letter-writing by investigating exemplary aspects such as: the development of the letter's form, the organization and control of the dispatch of letters, the access to written communication and to communication mediated by letters, the archiving and collecting of letters, the networks of letter writers.