Wikipedia entries on fiction: Under what terms is it possible to report about non-propositional knowledge gained from reading? (alternative summary line: Given that non-propositional knowledge gained from reading a work of art is fiction's defining characteristic, on what terms can entries on fiction be improved?)
<p>Given that Wikipedia entries are likely to extert a strong influence on how literary texts are perceived – due to their preferential ranking in Google – there is some demand that research dealing with the transfer of knowledge on literature to the public be more concerned with looking into both the content that is available for free on the Web and any aspect that may come with writing about literature for free. This contribution argues from within Wikipedia's multidisciplinary consensus-driven space in which propositional knowledge is given priority that it would be essential for entries on fiction to present non-propositional knowledge as being one of its hallmarks. For this aim, a special concept is developed that is designed to function as the study's formal object: „Erlesnis“ (which in German is a pun that combines „Erlebnis“ – adventure experience – and „lesen“ – reading). It is defined as non-propositional knowledge that has been acquired in an individual reading process. Writing about one's own Erlesnis in new ways is being tried out in essays on Traveling on One Leg (1989) by Herta Mueller, Save the Reaper (1998) by Alice Munro, Alfred and Emily (2008) by Doris Lessing and rein GOLD (2013) by Elfriede Jelinek respectively. Ideally, an Erlesnis is based on a text's literariness (see Ulrike Draesner's re-reading of Felix Krull, Thomas Mann's last novel). On de.wikipedia.org an experiment is conducted to find out what community members think about the idea of including, in entries on fiction, sections specifically designed to report about what people felt like when reading a certain text. Finally, a draft typology of Erlesnis-writing is suggested. This contribution is the first of its kind internationally to deal with Wikipedia from the point of view of transfer of knowledge on literature to the public. For the theory of this field of research some new aspects are offered for debate.
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Keywords: Alfred and Emily; Alice Munro; Confessions of Felix Krull; Criticism; Doris Lessing; Elfriede Jelinek; Encyclopedic article; Erlesnis; Fiction; Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht; Herta Müller; Ina Hartwig; Knowledge; Non-propositional knowledge; Open Knowledge; Perlentaucher.de; Portraits of a Marriage; Reading; Rein Gold; Sándor Márai; Save the Reaper; Thomas Mann; Transferring knowledge on literature to the public; Traveling on One Leg; Ulrike Draesner; Wikipedia
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