In literary studies, the term 'Wende' is mainly used in relation to the literature of the socio-political change in Germany of 1989/90 and to the so-called 'turns', such as the iconic turn, spatial turn, interpretative turn, performative turn or cultural turn. These two generic terms have determined the discourse in literary studies for more or less forty years. However, the contributions in this volume go beyond the established semantics of the turn. The focus is on turning-point phenomena and perceptions that - in the sense of a turning point - promised a new beginning and a new orientation. To what extent the historical, social, cultural and political turning points influenced literature in terms of content and form and what effects they had on the creation and reception of literature and culture - these are the central questions of this volume.
