Substantial Grant of EUR 1.45 Million Granted for Cultural Studies at Hamburg University

The University of Hamburg is set to embark on an exciting new research project, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), that will delve into the origins and forms of silent film music up to 1918. This project, titled "Dramaturgy of Silent Film Music," will run for a duration of five years, with Prof. Dr. Oliver Huck receiving 750,000 euros for his leadership.

The project will focus on scores and films housed in archives in Germany, Italy, France, and the USA, with research being conducted in various archives, including those of the Kunsthalle, the Foreign Office, and archives in Paris and Los Angeles. The Hamburger Kunsthalle, founded by Hamburg citizens in the 19th century, will be the primary focus of the project, under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Iris Wenderholm and Dr. Ute Haug.

The research aims to investigate the influence of city society on the art collection and how it was appropriated for political purposes. It will also explore whether the musical dramaturgy of silent films could have influenced today's film music. The project will cover different phases, from the Nazi takeover to the occupation period and the establishment of the Bonn Republic.

Silent film music is considered to be a distinct genre, differing from modern film music, and is assumed to represent an independent narrative level in dramaturgy. During the Nazi era, the Hamburger Kunsthalle was embedded in political networks influenced by Nazi power structures, which affected its museum life and collection through ideological control and the suppression of "undesirable" art. After World War II and during the founding of the Bonn Republic, the Kunsthalle’s political environment shifted as Germany grappled with its Nazi past, influencing renewed approaches to museum management and collection policies amid competing Cold War narratives in Hamburg.

In addition to this project, the University of Hamburg has also received funding for other research initiatives. The University has been awarded 4.5 million euros for research on learning and psyche, 2 million euros for language research, and 1.6 million euros for open-access publications at UKE. The excellence clusters at the University of Hamburg have also drawn an interim balance.

Prof. Dr. Oliver Huck, in a statement, declared film music to be the most powerful new musical genre of the 20th century. The findings from this research project are expected to shed new light on the evolution and impact of silent film music, providing valuable insights into the development of modern film music.