The conference "'F for Forgery'. Falsified Provenances in Literature and its Sciences", of the German Literary Archives Marburg on 21.09.2023 and on 22.09.2023 will deal with the falsification of provenance histories, provinces, literary objects. Professor Dr. Meike Hopp, associated member at the ECDF, will be present at the event as moderator.

Manuscripts, diaries, and book collections occupy a central position as cultural assets. When acquired by libraries or literary archives, the provenance principle applies: objects are acquired or exhibited because they are considered to have cultural-historical relevance based on their history of ownership. But what if the provenance history of a literary object turns out to be manipulated? Fictitious discovery narratives and manipulation are used to disguise the forgery. Forgeries, as the prominent cases of the forged Schiller manuscripts or the forged Hitler diaries, at Sternverlag show, unsettle the humanities in central concepts of authenticity, aura or authority. At the same time, the forgery and manipulation of provenance also enables productive dimensions and forms of knowledge and practice to emerge that would not be possible without it. This is true both for forgers who need to perfect the style and genre of the original and for those who rely on the value of the original and thus on verification practices.

The hybrid conference is open to interested parties after registration (at: forschung@dla-marbach.de and marie.limbourg@dla-marbach). Login data for the zoom transmission will be provided after registration. Here, you will find further informations as well as a detailed programme.