After finishing my PhD in philosophy in 2013, I decided to work on something different. I didn’t want to write more papers on philosophers whose work has already been studied in detail. I discovered that many people want to study and teach a more diverse history of philosophy – but that without translations, commentary and publicity on lesser-known and marginalised figures and traditions, it’s difficult to do. So I decided to help provide these resources for diversifying the canon. And then I found, and fell in love with, the work of early 19th century German philosopher Karoline von Günderrode…
Sarah Cameron, Shirking Your Responsibilities. sarahcameroninfo@gmail.com
Philosophical Fragments
Forthcoming in OUP’s Oxford New Histories of Philosophy series. This collection of translations of the work of German poet, dramatist, and philosopher Karoline von Günderrode (1780–1806) includes selections from Günderrode’s published works, notes from her philosophical studies, and letters, with commentary highlighting the philosophical concerns of her writings. Günderrode’s work is an unmined source of insight into German Romanticism, Idealism, and the reception of Indian, Persian, and Islamic thought in Europe. The commentaries aim to make Günderrode’s contributions to these traditions accessible and help with teaching.
Hope & the Kantian Legacy: New Contributions to the History of Optimism
Forthcoming September 2023 in Bloomsbury’s Studies in Modern German Philosophy series. This collection, which I co-edited with Katerina Mihaylova, includes papers on hope in the work of Kant, Beck, Tieftrunk, Fichte, Forberg, Hoffbauer, Wilhelm von Humboldt, Schleiermacher, Eschenmayer, Fries, Schelling, Novalis, Günderrode, Georg Friedrich Creuzer, Schopenhauer, and Kierkegaard.
German Women Philosophers in the Long 19th Century: The German Tradition
This anthology, edited by Kristin Gjesdal and Dalia Nassar and featuring my translations, includes masterfully selected material by nine historical women philosophers from the German philosophical tradition. Karoline von Günderrode (1780-1806), Bettina Brentano-von Arnim (1785-1859), Hedwig Dohm (1831-1919), Lou Andreas-Salomé (1861-1937), Edith Stein (1891-1942), Gerda Walther (1897-1977), Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919) and Clara Zetkin (1857-1933), as well as translations of Germaine de Staël (1766-1817) by Dalia Nassar.
~find it on goodreads~
Poetic Fragments
Karoline von Günderrode’s second anthology, Poetic Fragments, was published in 1805 under the pseudonym “Tian.” The complete collection is translated here into English for the first time. My introductions highlight the philosophical significance of the texts, especially their unique consideration of metaphysics, death, religion, power, and gender. The dramas “Hildgund” and “Muhammad, the Prophet of Mecca” are two of Günderrode’s most important works for her accounts of agency, recognition, and the status of women. The poems “Piedro,” “The Pilgrims,” and “The Kiss in the Dream” reflect themes of erotic longing and union with the divine, and outline Günderrode’s radical reimagining of death. Part of the SUNY Series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy.
~find it on goodreads~
Articles & Book Chapters
“Earth, Spirit, Humanity: Community and the Nonhuman in Karoline von Günderrode’s ‘Idea of the Earth.’” In Romanticism and Political Ecology. Ed. Kir Kuiken. Romantic Praxis Circle: forthcoming.
“The ‘Momentary Self’ and the ‘Submerged’ Self: Alienation and Authenticity in the Work of Karoline von Günderrode.” Proceedings of the International Association of Women in Philosophy Conference, Beijing 2018 (forthcoming).
“Knowledge, Faith and Ambiguity: Hope in the Work of Novalis and Karoline von Günderrode.” In Hope and the Limits of the Self. Ed. Anna Ezekiel and Katerina Mihaylova. Forthcoming 2023.
“Through Consciousness Parted from Dream: Alternative Knowledge Forms in Karoline von Günderrode.” In The Being of Negation in Post-Kantian Philosophy. Ed. Gregory S. Moss. 163–180. Dordrecht: Springer: 2023.
“Revolution and Revitalisation: Karoline von Günderrode’s Political Philosophy and Its Metaphysical Foundations.” British Journal of the History of Philosophy (2022; preprint 2020).
“Women, Women Writers, and Early German Romanticism.” In The Palgrave Handbook of German Romantic Philosophy. Ed. Elizabeth Millán, 475–509. Palgrave Macmillan, 2020.
“Narrative and Fragment: The Social Self in Karoline von Günderrode.” Symphilosophie: International Journal of European Romanticism 2 (2020).
“Death in Karoline von Günderrode (1780-1806).” Encyclopedia of Concise Concepts by Women Philosophers. Ed. Mary Ellen Waithe and Ruth Hagengruber. Paderborn University. September 2019.
“Life in Karoline von Günderrode (1780-1806).” Encyclopedia of Concise Concepts by Women Philosophers. Ed. Mary Ellen Waithe and Ruth Hagengruber. Paderborn University. September 2019.
“Love in Karoline von Günderrode (1780-1806).” Encyclopedia of Concise Concepts by Women Philosophers. Encyclopedia of Concise Concepts by Women Philosophers. Ed. Mary Ellen Waithe and Ruth Hagengruber. Paderborn University. September 2019.
“Novalis (Georg Philipp Friedrich von Hardenberg) (1772–1801).” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2017 [2012].
“Sincerity, Idealization and Writing with the Body: Karoline von Günderrode and Her Reception.” Aufrichtigkeitseffekte. Signale, soziale Interaktionen und Medien im Zeitalter der Aufklärung. Ed. Simon Bunke and Katerina Mihaylova, 275–90. Rombach, 2016.
“Metamorphosis, Personhood, and Power in Karoline von Günderrode.” European Romantic Review 25.6 (2014): 773–91.
“A Human Cry: Nietzsche on Affirming Others’ Pain.” Philosophy and Social Criticism 40:9 (November 2014): 913–930.
“Power, Relativism and Society in Zarathustra’s ‘Of the Thousand and One Goals.’” CrossCurrents: Comparative Responses to Global Interdependence. Proceedings from the 2011 Uehiro CrossCurrents Philosophy Conference. Ed. Ian Sullivan, Laura Specker and Cindy Scheopner. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2013.
“Trope, Truth, and Transcendence: Creativity in Nietzsche’s and Novalis’ Theories of Language.” Philosophy Study 2.10 (2012).
Guest Blog Posts
“An Essential Romantic: On Dorothea Veit-Schlegel.” Genealogies of Modernity. 3 November 2021.
“Philosophy in Letters [Rahel Varnhagen].” Genealogies of Modernity. 3 March 2021.
“The Forgotten Young Hegelian [Bettina Brentano-von Arnim].” Genealogies of Modernity. 14 January 2021.
“The Woman at the Heart of German Romantic Philosophy [Karoline von Günderrode].” Genealogies of Modernity. 10 December 2020. Translated into Spanish by Sofia Batko as “Mujeres en el corazón de la filosofía romántica alemana.” Rumor de las Multitudes. ElSaltoDiario.com, 5 October 2021.
“Discovering the Women at the Heart of Philosophy.” Genealogies of Modernity. 28 October 2020. Translated into Spanish by Sofia Batko as “El descubrimiento de las mujeres en el corazón de la filosofía.” Rumor de las Multitudes. ElSaltoDiario.com, 2 March 2021.
Short Translations
“Karoline von Günderrode, ‘Muhammad’s Dream in the Desert.'” ACEzekiel.com. October 2021. Reprinted in Synkrētic 2 (June 2022): 133-144.
“Karoline von Günderrode, ‘Antiquity, and Modernity.'” ACEzekiel.com. March 2021.
“Karoline von Günderrode, ‘Valorich.'” ACEzekiel.com. March 2021.
“Karoline von Günderrode, ‘Musa.'” ACEzekiel.com. January 2021.
“Karoline von Günderrode, ‘A Persian Tale.'” Symphilosophie: International Journal of European Romanticism 2. 2020.
“Karoline von Günderrode, ‘The Apparition.'” ACEzekiel.com. November 2020.
“Karoline von Günderrode, ‘Don Juan.'” ACEzekiel.com. October 2020.
Interviews & Presentations
“Philosophy in the Spotlight with Anna Ezekiel: A Discussion on Karoline von Günderrode.” Philosophy in the Spotlight. Interview by Christopher Satoor. YouTube. 8 April 2022.
“An Introduction to Karoline von Günderrode.” New Narratives in Philosophy. Ed. Lisa Shapiro. YouTube. 1 April 2021.
“Philosopher File: Anna Ezekiel on Günderrode, Identity, and Doing Philosophy Differently.” Looking for Wisdom. Interview by Will Buckingham. Text. 14 January 2021.
“There is an infinite force, an eternal life, that is everything that is, that was and will become, that engenders itself in mysterious ways, that remains eternal during all change and dying”
Karoline von Günderrode
ACEzekiel 