Luise K. Gottsched: Introduction

Together Johann Christoph Gottsched and Luise Gottsched, née Kulmus, undertook to propagate the philosophy of reason in central Europe, especially in German-speaking lands. To realize their goals the couple motivated and engaged the energies of students, friends, colleagues and publishers throughout northern Europe and through numerous projects involving translations, journals, theatrical productions and books. The Gottscheds were thus critical to the institutionalization of textual culture in Germany in the mid-eighteenth century, but until recently Luise Gottsched has received very little attention.