Der deutschsprachige Universitätsroman seit 1968: Die Verwandlung eines wenig geachteten Genres – Trombik Vojtěch (2017)

The work deals with the transformation of the German-language university novel after 1968. The author divides the corpus of 33 novels based on the way they are written into four types: 1. university crime novels, 2. university novels narrated from a subjective perspective, 3. entertaining and satirical university novels, and 4. experimental university novels. Previous research, which has not been extensive, has reduced the German university novel to just a few works and attributed to it a low literary level, partly due to its limited focus on depicting the relationship between the university and society. In contrast, the author sees the main measure of literary quality in the university novel as the mutual intensification of the chosen writing style and the university theme. The work shows that previously overlooked or insufficiently interpreted novels (experimental, subjective university novels, as well as some that approach these types) exhibit higher quality. The more differentiated view of the university novel that the work presents aims to contribute to its perception as a valuable genre.