The volume assembles the findings of an interdisciplinary symposium revolving around the concept of 'edification', which has hitherto been primarily regarded from a religious vantage. Here, however, literary scholars, art scholars, musicologists, and cultural studies experts aim at achieving a broader understanding of the term, both in its content and in its definition. Accordingly, interest is not restricted to edifying literature but extends to an examination of edification as manifested in different media. The result is a broader understanding of its diversity and its historical development up to the present.