On the edge of Europe? – perceptions of borders and mobility in German island representations, 1648–approx. 1763

The aim of the project was to investigate the perception of supposedly marginalized European island regions in German sources between 1650 and 1750 and to identify concepts of the ideal territorial state, cultural isolation, or pan-European identity that circulated across political and cultural borders. A cartographic representation of the places of publication as well as a »distant reading« of selected prints has contributed to the understanding of the early-modern transfer of media and knowledge. Translation processes between the various European languages and the institutional and personal networks that controlled the dissemination of information about Europe's islands have been of particular relevance to the analysis.