Events & Exhibitions

Last August was the 350th anniversary of the birth of the Zurich polymath Johann Jakob Scheuchzer. Scheuchzer was a fascinating personality whose importance for the history of science and the history of Zurich was recognized only late. 

Scheuchzer was driven by an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, which was not least alimented by his strong Christian faith: Nature, created by God, was for him a second book of revelation next to the Bible, which he also wanted to make accessible to broad sections of the population. 

The exhibition gives an impression of the versatility of Scheuchzer's work and his environment by means of rare volumes and information posters as well as manuscripts, maps and fossils from Scheuchzer's collection. 

Location: UB Sciences, Campus Irchel

Duration: February 2 to August 31, 2023, accessible during library opening hours.

How is the literary canon created?

Which books belong in the German-language canon? Which books are excluded? Which ones are merely called trivial literature or even insulted as evil books? At what point is a book considered canonical? Can books that at the time of publication were still considered mere entertainment literature or were dubbed dirty, wicked stuff, also be considered indispensable for German-language culture a few years or even decades later?

At the UB German Studies & Nordic Language and Literature, we explore precisely these questions. In doing so, we exhibit both canonical literature and books that do not (quite) enjoy this status.

Our aim is not to answer the question conclusively and for all time, but to offer a historical overview of German-language canon formation. And so the exhibition includes books such as Sebastian Brant's Ship of Fools, the sonnets of Andreas Gryphius, Max and Moritz, and the Grimm brothers' collection of fairy tales.

Ort: UB German Studies & Nordic Language and Literature