Abstract: Based on the ambivalence of the concept of nature and the politicization of ecological discourses in Elfriede Jelinek's literary work, this article examines Jelinek's theater text Sonne, los jetzt! with regard to the political-ecological discourses addressed within it. It takes a closer look at the speaking positions in the text; intertextual references to philosophy, mythology, and scientific sources; and the problematization of climate change and the associated apocalyptic scenarios. Of particular interest are the questions: What is the political element of this theater text? In what way are political and ecological discourses intertwined and to what extent do they influence each other?

Abstract: For the theater texts examined—the Corona play Lärm. Blindes sehen. Blinde sehen! , the supplementary text Was ich sagen wollte , and the dystopian trilogy Sonne / Luft / Asche —a poetics of dissolution of boundaries is constitutive in terms of content and form. It takes place on four levels: (1) between literature in a narrower, poetic sense, everyday life influenced by the media in the twenty-first century, the narratives of ancient mythology, the "myths of everyday life" and politics; (2) between genres and text forms (essay, play, ethical-political manifesto); (3) as a change of external and internal speakers and perspectives in the text; (4) in the combination of a cosmic perspective of the creation and destruction of worlds, history, politics, and the most personal feelings of grief over the loss of a loved one. This fourfold poetics of dissolution of boundaries combines aesthetic perception, social ethics, and political-feminist criticism to create an aesthetic form of resistance.

Abstract: This article analyzes Karin Beier's production of Elfriede Jelinek's Das Werk/Im Bus/Ein Sturz as an example of glocal eco-politics that connects local manmade catastrophes with national and global dynamics. It situates this extraordinary trilogy production within the context of an ideal of the municipal theater that is modeled on the Greek polis and appeals to active citizenship. With references to Timothy Morton's "dark ecology" and Jean-François Lyotard's concept of the oikos as the "secluded," it examines how the performance creates an ecological tragic as well as comic experience through its dramaturgical devices. It argues that, together with the associative and overflowing qualities of Jelinek's writing, the production's increasingly overflowing dramaturgy works affectively as a disruption of political discourse and has the capacity to cause the audience to reflect on their civic and democratic responsibility, awakening their desire to intervene in the ecological politics of their city.

Abstract: This article discusses Jelinek's trilogy Sonne / Luft / Asche from the perspective of a climate activist in the context of the escalating climate crisis in the early 2020s. Although all three parts are steeped in imagery of the destructive nature of climate change, Jelinek offers glimpses of hope, especially in the first two parts of the trilogy. This begins with the realizations that humans do indeed need a healthy planet earth to survive and still have the capacity to save the world. The essay shows how the plays reveal Jelinek's understanding of the concrete steps that are needed to address the climate crisis, from reductions in consumption—especially of animal products—to an end to fossil fuel dependence and new forms of transportation to grassroots activism. Though these are often presented through the prism of cynicism, Jelinek leaves room for directors to amplify encouraging messages in their productions.

Klima tried to steer Austria back to the Grand Coalition of the first decades after World War II, he was unsuccessful.Wolfgang Schssel's formation of a coalition with Haider's FP ensued, despite objections from fourteen EU members as well as formal, albeit symbolic, "sanctions" from the body as a whole.This "punishment" lasted six months, after which Austria was pardoned by the EU.After examining Schssel's seven-year tenure, the work proceeds to explore the brief term of Alfred Gusenbauer and the eight-year chancellorship of Werner Faymann.Rathkolb's work then segues into the 2000s with Faymann's "flipflopping" on the issue of immigration, an issue that is discussed at the end of the work along with Reinhold Mitterlehner's and Sebastian Kurz's eventual stints in leadership.The conclusion of the work discusses the Austria of today and its ongoing search for identity, its economic strategy, and its efforts to come to terms with its own "victim-only" past.For a course on Austrian or European history, this work would serve as a good companion in introducing younger scholars to a country that found itself in a unique situation after 1945.

Abstract: This article examines Peter Altenberg's collection of thirty-eight semiautobiographical sketches Ashantee (1897) through the lens of spatial theming and the aesthetics of ethnography. This essay explores how Altenberg constructs an exoticized and eroticized representation of the West African (Ghana) Ashanti people and culture through encounters with specifically staged ethnographical shows as part of nineteenth-century zoological exhibits. Influenced by the commercial entertainment technology of theming, contemporary ethnographic practices, and colonial perspectives prevalent during his time, these Völkerschauen highlight the complexities of cultural representation and the perpetuation of stereotypes, urging readers to engage with literary texts from a decolonial perspective. Ultimately, this study seeks to enrich discussions on the aesthetics of ethnography in literary works and encourage a reevaluation of cultural representation and its impact on shaping historical narratives.