Peter Jelavich specializes in the cultural and intellectual history of Europe since the Enlightenment, with emphasis on Germany. His areas of interest include the interaction of elite and popular culture; the history of mass culture and the media; and censorship of arts and ideas.

He is the author of Munich and Theatrical Modernism: Politics, Playwriting, and Performance, 1890-1914 (1985), Berlin Cabaret (1993), Berlin Alexanderplatz: Radio, Film, and the Death of Weimar Culture (2006), and Kunstfreiheit: Eine deutsche Ideologie. Vom Naturalismus bis zur documenta 15 (2025).

He currently is writing a book on censorship of the arts in Germany from 1890 to the present.

“ ‘Wiederjudmachung’: Jüdischer Humor in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland.” In: Jörg Requate and Carina Gabriel-Kinz, eds., Lachen und Verlachen: Komik und Satire in gesellschaftlichen Auseinandersetzungen seit dem ausgehenden 19. Jhrhundert. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2025.Pp. 79-94.

“Kunstfreiheit: Eine deutsche Ideologie.” In: Winfried Nerdinger, ed., Grenzen der Kunstfreiheit? Göttingen: Wallstein Verlag, 2024. Pp. 163-191.

“Pan(dem)izza: Panizza lesen in der Pandemie.” In: Jahrbuch der Freunde der Monacensia 2021. Pp. 169-180.

“Am Anfang war Panizza.” In: Herzattacke 100 (2018): 94-99.

“Terror of the Soul.” Berlin: 2018. 29 pp. [Separately bound essay, in artist book edition of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven”, three volumes + portfolio, illustrations by Felix Martin Furtwängler and photographs by Peter Jelavich.]

“Popular Entertainment and Mass Media: The Central Arenas of German-Jewish Cultural Engagement.” In: Steven Aschheim and Vivian Liska, eds., The German-Jewish Experience Revisited. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2015. Pp. 103-116.

“Kunstfreiheit = Impotenz der Kunst?” In: York-Gothart Mix, ed., Kunstfreiheit und Zensur in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2014. Pp. 119-131.

“Maschinenmenschen: Mediale Massenbildung bei Alfred Döblin.” In: Stefan Keppler-Tasaki, ed., Massen und Medien bei Alfred Döblin: Internationales Alfred-Döblin-Kolloquium 2011. Bern: Peter Lang, 2014. Pp. 251-274.

“When Are Jewish Jokes No Longer Funny? Ethnic Humour in Imperial and Republican Berlin.” In: Martina Kessel and Patrick Merzinger, eds., The Politics of Humour: Laughter, Inclusion, and Exclusion in the Twentieth Century. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2012. Pp. 22-51.

 “Döblins Moderne.” Internationales Archiv für Sozialgeschichte der deutschen Literatur, vol. 37, no. 1, 2012, pp. 119-127.

 “Nietzsches ‘guter’ (und antitheatralischer) Europäer.” In: Erika Fischer-Lichte, Matthias Warstatt and Anna Littmann, eds., Theater und Fest in Europa: Perspektiven von Identität und Gemeinschaft. Tübingen: Francke Verlag, 2012. Pp. 305-323.

 “Dance of Life, Dance of Death.” In: Starr Figura, ed., German Expressionism: The Graphic Impulse. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2011. Pp. 36-51.

“Wie ‘jüdisch’ war das Theater im Berlin der Jahrhundertwende?” In: Tobias Becker, Anna Littmann, and Johanna Niedbalski, eds., Die tausend Freuden der Metropole: Vergnügnungskultur um 1900 . Bielefeld: transcript Verlag, 2011. Pp. 87-104 [=translation and revision of following article].

 “How ‘Jewish’ was Theatre in Imperial Berlin?” In: Jeanette Malkin and Freddie Rokem, eds., Jews and the Making of Modern German Theatre. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2010. Pp. 39-58.

 “What’s Wrong with Fragmentation?” Internationales Archiv für Sozialgeschichte der deutschen Literatur, vol. 34, no. 2, 2009, pp. 217-221.

 “ ‘Die Welt würde die Bücher nicht fassen, die zu schreiben wären’: Geschichte zwischen Logos und Logorrhoe.” In: Martin Baumeister, Moritz Föllmer, and Philipp Müller, eds., Die Kunst der Geschichte: Historiographie, Ästhetik, Erzählung. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2009. Pp. 13-27.

“Die ‘Elf Scharfrichter’: Ein Münchener Vorbild für das Kabarett Fledermaus.” In: Michael Buhrs, Barbara Lesak, and Thomas Trabitsch, eds., Kabarett Fledermaus 1907 bis 1913: Ein Gesamtkunstwerk der Wiener Werkstätte: Literatur, Musik, Tanz. Vienna: Christian Brandstätter Verlag, 2007. Pp. 17-29.

 “Cultural History.” In: Gunilla Budde, Sebastian Conrad, and Oliver Janz, eds., Transnationale Geschichte: Themen, Tendenzen und Theorien. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht: 2006. Pp.  227-237.

 “Grotesque and Carnivalesque: Negation and Renewal around 1900.” In: Pamela Kort, ed., Comic Grotesque: Wit and Mockery in German Art, 1870-1940. Munich: Prestel, 2004. Pp. 89-104 [=translation of following article].

 “Grotesk und karnevalesk: Negation und Erneuerung um 1900.” In: Pamela Kort, ed., Grotesk! 130 Jahre Kunst der Frechheit. Munich: Prestel, 2003. Pp. 79-89.

 “The City Vanishes: Piel Jutzi’s Berlin Alexanderplatz (1931).” In: Mark Shiel and Tony Fitzmaurice, eds., Screening the City. London: Verso, 2003. Pp. 58-79.

“Der demokratische Giftschrank: Zensur und Indizierung in der Weimar Republik und der Bundesrepublik.”  In: Stephan Kellner, ed., Der ‘Giftschrank’: Erotik, Sexualwissenschaft, Politik und Literatur—‘REMOTA”: Die weggesperrten Bücher der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek. Munich: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, 2002. Pp. 56-67.

[in Hebrew:] “Free to Destroy Freedom? Hate Speech in the Weimar Republic.” In: Michael Confino, ed., The Power of Words and the Frailty of Reason: Propaganda, Incitement and Freedom of Speech. Tel Aviv: Am Oved Publishers, 2002. Pp.181-199.

 “Satire under Socialism: Cabaret in the German Democratic Republic.” In: Sigrid Bauschinger, ed., Die freche Muse / The Impudent Muse. Tübingen: Francke Verlag, 2000. Pp. 163-178.

 “ ‘Am I Allowed to Amuse Myself Here?’: The German Bourgeoisie Confronts Early Film.” In: Suzanne Marchand and David Lindenfeld, eds., Germany at the Fin de Siècle: Culture, Politics, and Ideas. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2004. Pp. 227-249 [=translation of following article].

“ ‘Darf ich mich hier amüsieren?’ Bürgertum und früher Film.” In: Manfred Hettling and Stefan-Ludwig Hoffmann, eds., Der bürgerliche Wertehimmel: Innenansichten des 19. Jahrhunderts.  Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2000.  Pp. 283-303.

 “Paradoxes of Censorship in Modern Germany.” In: Mark Micale and Robert Dietle, eds., Enlightenment, Passion, Modernity: Historical Essays in European Thought and Culture. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2000. Pp. 265-285.

 “Performing High and Low: Jews in Theater, Cabaret, Revue, and Film.” In: Emily Bilski, ed., Berlin Metropolis: Jews and the New Culture, 1890-1918.  New York: The Jewish Museum, 1999. Pp. 208-235.

 “German Culture in the Great War.” In: Aviel Roshwald and Richard Stites, eds., European Culture in the Great War.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Pp. 32-57.

“Literature and the Arts.”  In: Roger Chickering, ed., Imperial Germany: A Historiographical Companion.  Westport: Greenwood Press, 1996.  Pp. 377-408.

 “The ‘Wrapped Reichstag’: From Political Symbol to Artistic Spectacle.”  German Politics and Society, vol. 13, no. 4, Winter 1995, pp. 110-127.

 “Methode? Welche Methode? Bekenntnisse eines gescheiterten Strukturalisten.”  In: Christoph Conrad and Martina Kessel, eds., Kultur und Geschichte: Neue Einblicke in eine alte Beziehung. Stuttgart: Reclam, 1998.  Pp. 141-159 [=translation of following article].

 “Method? What Method? Confessions of a Failed Structuralist.”  New German Critique, no. 95, Spring/Summer 1995, pp. 75-86.

“Poststrukturalismus und Sozialgeschichte—aus amerikanischer Perspektive.” Geschichte und Gesellschaft, vol. 21, no. 2, April 1995, pp. 259-289.

 “A berlini kabaré mint a metropolisz-lét montázsa.”  Budapesti Negyed, Spring 1995, pp. 72-102 [=chapter 1 of Berlin Cabaret].

 “German Culture in a Modern World.”  In: James Harris and Fay Metcalf, eds., Germany and Europe since World War II: Resources for Teachers.  Bloomington: Educational Resources Information Center, 1994.  Pp. 69-83.

 “ ‘Girls and Crisis’: The Political Aesthetics of the Kickline in Weimar Berlin.”  In: Michael Roth, ed., Rediscovering History: Culture, Politics, and the Psyche.  Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1994.  Pp. 224-239.

“Paradoxien der Zensur im Deutschland des 20. Jahrhunderts.” Potsdamer Bulletin für Zeithistorische Studien, no. 1, August 1994, pp. 16-26.

“Metamorphoses of Censorship in Modern Germany.” German Politics and Society, no. 27, fall 1992, pp. 25-35.

 “Populäre Theatralik, Massenkultur und Avantgarde: Betrachtungen zum Theater der Jahrhundertwende.”  In: Herta Schmid and Jurij Striedter, eds., Dramatische und theatralische Kommunikation: Beiträge zur Geschichte und Theorie des Dramas und Theaters im 20. Jahrhundert.  Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag, 1992.  Pp. 253-261.

“Kulturgeschichtliche Bemerkungen zur Berlin-Historiographie.”  In: Konrad Jarausch, ed., Zwischen Parteilichkeit und Professionalität: Bilanz der Geschichtswissenschaft in der DDR.  Berin: Akademie Verlag, 1991.  Pp. 107-121.

“The Limits of Political Satire: Cabaret in the Weimar Republic and the Federal Republic.”  In: Ursula Hoffmann-Lange, ed., Social and Political Structures in West Germany: From Authoritarianism to Postindustrial Democracy.  Boulder: Westview Press, 1991. Pp. 175-186.

“ Modernity, Civic Identity, and Metropolitan Entertainment: Vaudeville, Cabaret and Revue in Berlin, 1900-1933.”  In: Charles W. Haxthausen and Heidrun Suhr, eds., Berlin: Culture and Metropolis.  Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1990. Pp. 95-110.

 “Authorial Games: Confronting Censorship and the Market.”  In: Karin MacHardy and Gisela Brude-Firnau, eds., Fact and Fiction: German History and Literature 1848-1924.  Tübingen: Francke Verlag, 1990.  Pp. 69-75.

 “Contemporary Literary Theory: From Deconstruction Back to History.”  Central European History, vol. 22, no. 3/4, September/December 1989, pp. 360-380.

 “Berlin's Path to Modernity.”  In: Art in Berlin 1815-1989.  Atlanta: High Museum of Art, 1989.  Pp. 13-40.

 “Cabarets in Berlin, 1901-1944.” In: Marc Ferro and Sheila Fitzpatrick, eds., Culture et révolution.  Paris: Editions de l'Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, 1989.  Pp. 91-103.

 “Republican Ethics as Social Science: The Case of Emile Durkheim.”  In: Murray Milgate and Cheryl Welch, eds., Critical Issues in Social Thought.  London: Academic Press, 1989.  Pp. 139-157.

 “Cabaret and the Dilemma of Satire in the Early Weimar Republic.”  In: Gerhard Kirchhoff, ed., Views on Berlin. Boston: Birkhäuser, 1989.  Pp. 69-79.

 “ ‘Nach Moskau! Nach Moskau!’: Three Faces of Three Sisters in Berlin.” German Politics and Society, no. 17, summer 1989, pp. 61-70.

 “The Berlin Jubilee: Which History to Celebrate?”  German Politics and Society, no. 12, October 1987, pp. 11-17.

“Fabricated Berliners: Identity-Formation in Cabarets and Revues, 1901-1933.”  German Politics and Society, no. 12, October 1987, pp. 17-24.

“Satiriker in der Sackgasse: Das Berliner Kabarett der Weimarer Ära.”  Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Jahrbuch 1984/85.  Berlin: Siedler Verlag, 1986.  Pp. 71-84.

“Berlin and the 20th Century: The Century's History as Seen from Berlin and Reflected in its Experience.”  Report from Aspen Institute Berlin, no. 2/85.  14pp.

“The Censorship of Literary Naturalism, 1890-1895: Bavaria.”  Central European History, vol. 18, no. 3-4, September-December 1985, pp. 344-359.

 “Wedekind’s Spring Awakening: The Path to Expressionist Drama.”  In: Stephan Bronner and Douglas Kellner, eds., Passion and Rebellion: The Expressionist Heritage.  South Hadley: J.F. Bergin Publishers, 1983.  Pp. 129-150.

“Popular Dimensions of Modernist Elite Culture: The Case of Theater in fin de siècle Munich.”  In: Dominick LaCapra and Steven Kaplan, eds., Modern European Intellectual History: Reappraisals and New Perspectives.  Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1982.  Pp. 220-250.

“München als Kulturzentrum: Politik und die Künste.”  In: Armin Zweite, ed., Kandinsky und München: Begegnungen und Wandlungen 1896-1914.  Munich: Prestel-Verlag, 1982.  Pp. 17-26 [=translation of following article].

“Munich as Cultural Center: Politics and the Arts.”  In: Kandinsky in Munich 1896-1914.  New York: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1982.  Pp. 17-26.

“ ‘Die Elf Scharfrichter’: The Political and Sociocultural Dimensions of Cabaret in Wilhelmine Germany.”  In: Gerald Chapple and Hans Schulte, eds., The Turn of the Century: German Literature and Art 1890-1915.  Bonn: Bouvier-Verlag, 1981.  Pp. 507-525.

 “Art and Mammon in Wilhelmine Germany: The Case of Frank Wedekind.”  Central European History, vol. 12, no. 3, September 1979, pp. 203-236.

 “Marché culturel, radicalisation idéologique et innovation esthétique dans le théâtre munichois fin de siècle: Thoma, Wedekind, Fuchs.”  Le Mouvement social, no. 109, October-December 1979, pp. 35-65.