Christa Agnes Tuczay

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Christa Agnes Tuczay (born 7 February 1952 in Eisenstadt) is an Austrian University professor in Medieval German Language and Literature at the Institute of German Studies at the University of Vienna. [1] Tuczay is well known for her research on narratives and fairytales in the Middle Ages.

Contents

Biography

Tuczay studied German Literature and Pedagogy, Philosophy and Psychology and also Ethnology, Indology and Finnish and Hungarian Studies at the University of Vienna, gaining the title of Magister in 1978. In 1981 she received her doctorate with a study on the fairytale motif "Der Unhold ohne Seele" (the soulless monster). From 1981 to 2006 she was a researcher in the Austrian Academy of Sciences’ (OeAW) "Motif Index of German Secular Narrative Literature from the Beginnings to 1400". [2] Currently, Tuczay lectures at the Institute of German Studies at the University of Vienna. She has also been a visiting professor in Chiang Mai (Thailand), Innsbruck and Klagenfurt. [1]

Research foci

Tuczay's research focuses on narratives, cultural studies, history of mentality, history of magic and the psychohistory of the Middle Ages. Her interest in narratives and fairytales was sparked during her undergraduate days, and she eventually wrote her doctoral thesis on an international fairytale motif. [3] With her knowledge on this area she also contributed to the OeAW project "Motif Index of German Secular Narrative Literature from the Beginnings to 1400". [2] She has also written several entries in the Encyclopedia of Fairy Tales. [4] [5] [6]

From 1999 onwards, Tuczay worked on the edited volumes in the series “Mythen des Mittelalters” (Myths in the Middle Ages) and contributed with various articles. [7] [8] [9] [10] Together with researchers on the Motif-Index she edited a volume of collected papers on the modern Austrian legend. [11] Since the publication of "Magie im Mittelalter" (Magic in the Middle Ages) [12] Tuczay has been dedicated to the special field of research on witchcraft, which has been on the rise since the 1980s, from the perspective of history of mentality and cultural studies, [13] resulting in various articles in English- and German-speaking anthologies. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] Her monograph "Kulturgeschichte der mittelalterlichen Wahrsagerei" (A Cultural History of Medieval Fortune Telling), published in 2012, focuses on the topic of divination, briefly outlined in "Magie und Magier im Mittelalter". [22] [23]

In her habilitation Tuczay examines the subject of ecstasy, experienced in medieval texts as a desirable borderline experience. [24] Her work in this area introduced her to research on shamanism in Hungary, where she has contributed to the frequent congresses and publications in the field. A related experience, dreams and visions, has been the focus of Tuczay's psychohistorical observations, [25] including a three-part series on revenants, human-to-animal transformation and occultism.

Besides these research foci, Tuczay has written many articles on topics firmly rooted in medieval German studies. [26] Her book "Herzesser" (Heart Eaters) also examines the history of crime and mentality in Austria. [27] [28]

Publications (selection)

A comprehensive list of Tuczay's publications can be found on the webpage of the University of Vienna. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Curriculum vitae Christa Tuczay". University of Vienna. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Motif Index of German Secular Narratives". Austrian Academy of Science. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  3. Die Seele außerhalb in den Volkserzählungen, Diss. Wien 1981, Buchausgabe: Der Unhold ohne Seele, Wien 1981
  4. Tuczay, Christa (1990). Das Herz des Unholds im Ei“, in: Enzyklopädie des Märchens, Bd. 6, Berlin 1990, Sp. 929-936.
  5. Tuczay, Christa (1999). Mann, der wie ein Vogel flog und wie ein Fisch schwamm (ATh 665), in: Enzyklopädie des Märchens Bd.9, Berlin 1999, Sp. 215-218.
  6. Tuczay, Christa (1999). Golem, in: Wunderlich, Werner/ Müller, Ulrich (Hg.): Mythen des Mittelalters Bd. 2: Dämonen, Monstren, Fabelwesen, St. Gallen 1999; S. 257–267.
  7. Tuczay, Christa (1999). Incubus, in: Wunderlich, Werner/ Müller, Ulrich (Hg.): Mythen des Mittelalters. Bd. 2: Dämonen, Monstren, Fabelwesen, St. Gallen 1999; S. 333–343.
  8. Tuczay, Christa (1999). „Golem”, in: Wunderlich, Werner/ Müller, Ulrich (Hg.): Mythen des Mittelalters Bd. 2: Dämonen, Monstren, Fabelwesen, St. Gallen 1999; S. 257-267.
  9. Tuczay, Christa (1999). „Riese/Zwerg”, in: Wunderlich, Werner/ Müller, Ulrich (Hg.): Mythen des Mittelalters Bd. 2: Dämonen, Monstren, Fabelwesen, St. Gallen 1999; S. 635-659.
  10. Tuczay, Christa (1999). „Meisterdieb“ in: Wunderlich, Werner/ Müller, Ulrich (Hg.): Mythen des Mittelalters Bd 3: Verführer Schurken Magier, St. Gallen 2001; S. 629-639.
  11. Habiger-Tuczay, C., Hirhager, U., & Lichtblau, K. (1996). Vater Ötzi und das Krokodil im Donaukanal: moderne österreichische Sagen. Wien: Löcker.
  12. Tuczay, Christa (2003). Magie und Magier im Mittelalter (Überarb. Neuausg.). München: DtTaschenbuch-Verl. ISBN   3-89996-852-2
  13. Bever, E. (2013). Popular Witch Beliefs and Magical Practices. In: Levack, B. P. (2013). The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America. OUP Oxford.
  14. Golden, R. M. (2006). Encyclopedia of witchcraft: the western tradition : 1 : A - D. Santa Barbara, Calif. [ua]: ABC-Clio.
  15. Tuczay, Christa (2006). „Animals“, in: Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, hg. v. Richard M. Golden, Santa Barbara 2006, Bd. I S. 40-42.
  16. Tuczay, Christa (2006). „Bibliomancy“, in: Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, hg. v. Richard M. Golden, Santa Barbara 2006, Bd. I S. 120-121.
  17. Tuczay, Christa (2006). „Charms“, in: Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, hg. v. Richard M. Golden, Santa Barbara 2006, Bd. I S. 181- 182.
  18. Tuczay, Christa (2006). „Flight of witches”, in: Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, hg. v. Richard M. Golden, Santa Barbara 2006, Bd. II S. 379-382.
  19. Tuczay, Christa (2006). „Grimoire“, in: Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, hg. v. Richard M. Golden, Santa Barbara 2006, Bd. II S. 462-464.
  20. Tuczay, Christa (2006). „Johannes Hartlieb“, in: Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, hg. v. Richard M. Golden, Santa Barbara 2006, Bd. II S. 475.
  21. Tuczay, Christa (2006). „Holda”, Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, hg. v. Richard M. Golden, Santa Barbara 2006, Bd. II S. 501-502.
  22. Tuczay, C. A. (2012). Kulturgeschichte der mittelalterlichen Wahrsagerei. Berlin: de Gruyter. ISBN   3110240408
  23. Bever, E. (2014). Kulturgeschichte der Mittelalterlichen Wahrsagerei by Christa Agnest Tuczay (review). Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft, University of Pennsylvania Press, 9(1), 87–90. https://doi.org/10.1353/mrw.2014.0011
  24. Tuczay, Christa (2009). Ekstase im Kontext. Mittelalterliche und neuere Diskurse einer Entgrenzungserfahrung. Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2009. ISBN   3-63157-194-1
  25. Tuczay, C. A., & Ballhausen, T. (2018). Traumnarrative: Motivische Muster – Erzählerische Traditionen – Medienübergreifende Perspektiven. Wien: Praesens Verlag. ISBN   978-3-7069-0998-3
  26. Tuczay, Christa (2015). Westöstliche Askesepraxis in >Barlaam und Josaphat< und der Gymnosophistenepisode. In: Barlaam und Josaphat: Neue Perspektiven auf ein europäisches Phänomen. Hg. v. Constanza Cordoni und Matthias Meyer. Berlin 2015, S. 365–388.
  27. Tuczay, C. A. (2009). Die Herzesser. Dämonische Verbrechen in der Donaumonarchie. Seifert Verlag, Wien 2007. ISBN   3-90240-628-3
  28. Reet Hiiemäe. "Book reviews - Cannibals, ritual murderers, organ robbers: the darker side of folklore" (PDF). www.folklore.ee. Retrieved 11 January 2019.