Humanity conquers literature! In the Age of Enlightenment, humanity becomes the focus of scientific interest. But how does this new understanding of humanity manifest in beautiful literature? How can its content and methodological perspectives be utilized for a better understanding of literary texts? The new thematic volume of the Akademie Studienbücher is the first student textbook that comprehensively discusses these questions: Interdisciplinary understanding of humanity reflected in literature: from Enlightenment to Classicism, from Rousseau to Büchner. Contexts: Education, psychology, and ethnology in the 18th century. Anthropological literary genres: travel reports and didactic poems, psychological case studies, novels, and dramas. New knowledge about humanity: women's self-determination, dreams, sexuality, crime, madness. Body language and physiognomy: sources of understanding humanity.