Dr. Steven Howe
Associate Director & Research Fellow
Dr. phil.
T +41 41 229 54 23
steven.howe@unilu.ch
Frohburgstrasse 3, Postfach 4466, 6002 Luzern, Room 4.A34
CV
Steven Howe is lecturer and senior research fellow at the University of Lucerne, where he also serves as Associate Director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Legal Studies. He read German Studies (BA) at the universities of Manchester and Hamburg, and holds an MRes and a PhD in European Languages and Cultures from the University of Exeter – both funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council. Alongside regular modules at the universities of Lucerne and Exeter, he has taught guest seminars at the University Roma Tre, the Goethe-Universität Frankfurt/Main, and the Australian National University in Canberra. He also frequently convenes international workshops on interdisciplinary topics around law, the humanities and critical theory. Currently, his teaching and research focus on the intersections of law, art and politics across various contexts. Recent publications include articles on legal cinema in Weimar Germany, on clemency and statehood in nineteenth-century drama, and on representations of law and violence in the works of Kleist and Shakespeare, as well as a special issue of the journal Pólemos on “Law and Art in the Aftermath” (edited with Laura Petersen, 2022). In 2018, Steven was a visiting fellow at the Humanities Research Centre of the Australian National University. In 2022, he was awarded a large-scale grant by the SNSF to lead the interdisciplinary project “Imagining Justice: Law, Politics and Popular Visual Culture in Weimar Germany.”
Research
RESEARCH PROJECTS
- Imagining Justice: Law, Politics and Popular Visual Culture in Weimar Germany (2023-2027)
- Kleist, Education and Violence: The Transformation of Ethics and Aesthetics (2011-2015)
- Heinrich von Kleist: Violence, Identity, Nation (2006-2011)
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Law and Literature / Law and Film
- Art and Politics
- German and European Literature (18th, 19th and 20th Century)
- European Romanticism
- Representations of Violence in Literature and Film
Publications
- howe steven, For a Justice to Come: Milo Rau’s Utopian Realism, in: Seminar 60/2/2024, pp. 108–122
- Howe Steven/Petersen Laura, Foreword: Law and Art in the Aftermath, in: Polémos. Journal of Law, Literature and Culture 16/2/2022, pp. 199–204, https://doi.org/10.1515/pol-2022-2013
- Howe Steven/Pégorier Clotilde, Law, Narrative and Critique in Contemporary Verbatim Theatre, in: Polémos. Journal of Law, Literature and Culture 14/2/2020
- Howe Steven, Justice in Crisis? On the Popular Jurisprudence of Weimar Film, in: Polémos. Journal of Law, Literature and Culture 12/1/2018
- Howe Steven, ‘Des Vaterlandes grauses Sinnbild’: Legitimacy, Performance and Terror in Kleist’s Die Herrmannsschlacht, in: German Life and Letters 64/3/2011, pp. 389–404
- Howe Steven, The Early Reception of Heinrich von Kleist’s Die Herrmannsschlacht (1815-1848), in: Immermann Jahrbuch 8/2007, pp. 9–33
- Howe Steven, Just Violence? War, Law, and Politics in Kleist’s Die Herrmannsschlacht and Shakespeare’s Henry V, in: High, Jeffrey L./Stewart, Rebecca/Chen, Elaine (Eds.), Heinrich von Kleist: Literary and Philosophical Paradigms, Rochester NY 2022, pp. 30–51
- Howe Steven, In/Humanidad. Figuras de la Enemistad alrededor de 1800, in: González, Ángela Sierra/Urricelqui, Leire/Gourhand, Vanesa/Abbt, Christine (Eds.), Los discursos sobre el otro: Cambios y continuidades en las retóricas de la dominación, Barcelona 2021, pp. 123–140
- Howe Steven, Law, Clemency and the Politics of Emotion in Heinrich von Kleist’s The Prince of Homburg, in: Battisti, Chiara/Fiorato, Sidia (Eds.), Law and the Humanities: Cultural Perspectives, Berlin 2019, pp. 275–292
- Howe Steven, "The Seat of the Young, Loving Feelings, Thus Delusionally, Barbarically - ": Barbarism and the Revolutionary State in Heinrich von Kleist’s Penthesilea, in: Christian Moser/Maria Boletsi (Eds.), Barbarism, Revisited: New Perspectives on an Old Concept, Amsterdam 2015, pp. 183–201
- Howe Steven, Literature and Legal History: A Neglected Dialogue?, Luzerner Beiträge zur Rechtswissenschaft LBR, in: Steven Howe/Jessica Christine Lai (Eds.), Recht und Kultur, Zürich 2015, pp. 3–27
- Howe Steven, From ‘Gottes Sohn’ to ‘höllischer Bösewicht’? Education, Violence and Identity in Kleist’s ‘Der Findling’, in: Ricarda Schmidt/Seán Allan/Steven Howe (Eds.), Heinrich von Kleist: Konstruktive und destruktive Funktionen der Gewalt, Würzburg 2012, pp. 195–210
- Howe Steven/Schmidt Ricarda/Allan Seán, Kleist und die Frage der Gewalt, in: Ricarda Schmidt/Seán Allan/Steven Howe (Eds.), Heinrich von Kleist: Konstruktive und destruktive Funktionen der Gewalt, Würzburg 2012, pp. 9–40
- Howe, Steven/Petersen, Laura (Eds.), Law and Art in the Aftermath, Special Focus Section of Polemos: Journal of Law, Literature and Culture, Vol. 16.2, Berlin 2022
- Howe, Steven/Lai, Jessica Christine (Eds.), Recht und Kultur, Luzerner Beiträge zur Rechtswissenschaft, Zürich 2015, https://www.schulthess.com/verlag/detail/ISBN-9783725571611/Howe-Steven-Hrsg.-Lei-Jessica/Recht-und-Kultur
- Howe, Steven/Schmidt, Ricarda/Allan, Seán (Eds.), Heinrich von Kleist: Konstruktive und destruktive Funktionen von Gewalt, Würzburg 2012, https://www.verlag-koenigshausen-neumann.de/product_info.php/info/p7380_Heinrich-von-Kleist--Konstruktive-und-destruktive-Funktionen-von-Gewalt------39-80.html
- Howe Steven, Susan E. Gustafson, Goethe’s Families of the Heart; Karin Schutjer, Goethe and Judaism: The Troubled Inheritance of Modern Literature; Christine Lehleiter (ed.), Fact and Fiction: Literary and Scientific Cultures in Germany and Britain, in: European Romantic Review 28/4/2017, pp. 495–500
- Howe Steven, Jeffrey High & Sophia Clark (eds), Heinrich von Kleist: Artistic and Political Legacies, in: Modern Language Review 110/2/2015, pp. 590–592
- Howe Steven, Tim Mehigan, Heinrich von Kleist: Writing after Kant, in: The Modern Language Review 108/4/2013, pp. 1307–1308
- Howe Steven, Zachary Sng, The Rhetoric of Error from Locke to Kleist, in: The Modern Language Review 107/2/2012, pp. 598–599
Achievements
- The Paragraph Film in Weimar Germany: Politics, Aesthetics, Historical Context. Lecture, In the Thick of Images: Law, History and the Visual, University of Lucerne, Luzern, 2024
- Popular Visual Legalities in Weimar Germany. Lecture, Constitutivity, SFB Recht und Literatur, Universität Münster, Münster, 2024
- The Art of Assembly. Lecture, Critical Times 2023: Movement(s), University of Lucerne, Luzern, 2023
- The Art of Refusal (Or: Toward a Radical Imagination of Law). Lecture, AIDEL Conference 2023, AIDEL, Perugia, 2023
- From Spectacle of Transparency to Judicial Panopticon: The Revolutionary Festival Revisited. Discussion contribution, Interdisziplinärer Workshop "Transparenz", Juristische Fakultät, Universität Basel, Online, 2022
- The Reading Group and Love’s Work in the University. Discussion contribution, Law and Love (in and beyond Pandemic Times): Images and Narratives, Histories and Cultures, Law, Literature and the Humanities Association of Australasia, USC Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs + online, 2021
- Imagining Law Otherwise: Theatrical Preenactments and Future Justice. (Panel) contribution, Critical Legal Conference, University of Dundee, University of Dundee, 2021
- Tales from the War on Terror: Law and Narrative in Contemporary Documentary Theatre. (Panel) contribution, IVR World Congress: Dignity, Democracy, Diversity, University of Lucerne, University of Lucerne, 2019
- Law, War and Politics in Kleist's Die Herrmannsschlacht and Shakespeare's Henry V. (Panel) contribution, German Studies Association, Annual Conference 2019, German Studies Association, Portland, 2019
- In/Humanity. Figures of Enmity Around 1800. Lecture, In Terms of Exclusion. Thinking the Barbarian Then and Today, SNF-Förderprofessur Philosophie, Luzern, 2018
- Law, Film and History: Perspectives and Possibilities. Lecture, Law and Literature Conference, Masaryk University, Brno, Brünn, 2017
- On Nations and Devils: The Remediation of the Hostis Humani Generis Concept in French Revolutionary Culture and German Romantic Nationalism. Lecture, Transporting Romanticism, Romantic Studies Association of Australasia, Wellington, 2017
- The “Vice-Scarred Monster”: Napoleon, le droit des gens and German Romantic Nationalism. Lecture, Monstrosity: From the Canon to the Anti-Canon, Associazione italiana diritto e letteratura, Università di Verona, Verona, 2017
- Shakespearean Negotiations in the Third Reich: The Merchant of Venice and Nazi Legal Culture. Lecture, As You Law It: Negotiating Shakespeare, Associazione italiana diritto e letteratura, Università di Verona, Verona, 2016
- Imag(in)ing Justice: On the Visibility of Law in German Film (1919-1933). Lecture, (In)Visibility: Law and Culture, Centre for Law and Culture, St. Mary's University, Twickenham, London, 2016
- Just Crime? The 'Good' Terrorist in German and British Romantic Literature. (Panel) contribution, Annual Conference of the North American Society for the Study of Romanticism, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 2016
- Visions of Violence: Film, Crime and Legal Culture in Weimar Germany. Lecture, Visualising Law, Associazione italiana diritto e letteratura, Università di Verona, Verona, 2015
- Visualising the Revolution: The Fête Révolutionnaire in John C. Cross’s Julia of Louvain; or Monkish Cruelty and Heinrich von Kleist’s The Earthquake in Chili. Lecture, Images of Identity, University of Zurich, Zurich, 2015
- Apocalypse Then? Napoleon and the Romantic Imaginary. Lecture, Modern Languages Research Seminar, University of Leicester, University of Leicester, 2015
- “Der Sitz der jungen lieblichen Gefühle, um eines Wahns, barbarisch – ”: Savagery, Barbarism and the Revolutionary State in Heinrich von Kleist’s Penthesilea. Lecture, Barbarism, Revisited, University of Leiden, Leiden, 2012
- From “Gottes Sohn” to “höllischer Bösewicht”: Education, Violence and Identity in Kleist’s Der Findling. Lecture, Heinrich von Kleist: Constructive and Destructive Functions of Violence, University of Exeter and University of Warwick, Exeter, 2011
- “Steinigt sie! Steinigt sie!”: History, Agency and Violence in Kleist’s Das Erdbeben in Chili. Lecture, Kentucky Foreign Language Conference, University of Kentucky, Kentucky, 2011
- Educating the Nation: Echoes of Rousseau in German and British Romanticism. Lecture, Research Seminar, University of Leicester, Leicester, 2010
- Justice and Revenge in the Works of Heinrich von Kleist. Lecture, Violence: A Necessary Evil?, Rutgers University, New Jersey, 2008
- Liberation or Vengeance? Kleist, Rousseau and the Validity of Violent Revolution in Die Verlobung in St. Domingo. Lecture, Containment and Subversion: The Work and Person of Heinrich von Kleist, Institute of Germanic & Romance Studies, University of London, London, 2007
- Cultures of Legality in Weimar Germany, (Co-)Organiser, Lucerne, 2023
- Critical Times 2023: Movement(s), 5-day international workshop, (Co-)Organiser, Universität Luzern, 2023
- Critical Times 2022: Futurity Now? 3-day international workshop, Event chair, Online, 2022
- Critical Times 2021: For One Day Only: Law, Space, Matter, 24-hour online workshop, (Co-)Organiser, Luzern, 2021
- Doctoral Forum in Law & Humanities, (Co-)Organiser, ZOOM/Unilu, 2020
- Dignifying and Undignified Narratives in and of Law, Panel organisation, University of Lucerne, 2019
- 29. Weltkongress der Internationalen Vereinigung für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie (IVR) „Dignity, Democracy, Diversity", Member of organisation committee, Luzern, 2019
- Global Law: Text and Normativity in a Global Context (2014), (Co-)Organiser, Luzern, 2014
- Law and Film Workshop, (Co-)Organiser, Exeter, 2013
- Global Law: Text and Normativity in a Global Context (2013), (Co-)Organiser, Frankfurt, 2013
- Law and Film Workshop, (Co-)Organiser, Warwick, 2012
- Heinrich von Kleist: Constructive and Destructive Functions of Violence, Event chair, Exeter, 2011
- Law, Crisis and the Cultural Imaginary in Weimar Germany. Seminar Series Legal Intersections Research Centre, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, 2018
- Enlightened Enmity? The Enemy of the Human Race in French Revolutionary and German Romantic Culture. Seminar Series, Centre for Translating Cultures, University of Exeter, Exeter, 2018
- Law and Transgression in Weimar Film. Seminar Series, Humanities Research Centre, Australian National University, Canberra, 2017
