Kultivierung der Katastrophe. Untergangsszenarien und Selbstbehauptung in den Literaturen der Schweiz

“Catastrophe” is a term of that culture which is threatened by it; the modern understanding of catastrophe dialectically marks the boundary between nature and culture where the term originates. This can be exemplarily shown in the cultural coding of Swiss topography: threatening scenarios have been incorporated into Switzerland’s idyllic image repertoire since the 18th century, and they further developed into a “catastrophe culture” of its own. One looks up at the Alps from all directions not only because they are the symbol of identity, but also because they represent a collective threat and thus a challenge for solidary self-assertion. Thus, catastrophes support the construction of modern, national identity.Swiss literature contributes to the specific cultivation of catastrophe with various disaster scenarios. However, it also develops counter scenarios, which reflexively question the integrative effect of the catastrophe: It hears the discord in the unity choir and it reflects Switzerland’s alleged bystander role during global catastrophes. Moreover, it opens localness, when it ideologizes itself as “homeland,” to universality by releasing the transgressive energy with which the catastrophe attempts to destroy all political, topographical, medial, and aesthetic boundaries.