Doctoral dissertation entitled Stille Perturbationen. (Kon)Figurationen der Instabilitäten im Schaffen Judith Hermanns (Silent perturbations. Creations and configurations of instability in Judith Hermann’s work) is devoted to the short prose of contemporary German author Judith Hermann (b. 1970), representing the 'Fräuleinwunder' current. Hermann's texts focus on existential issues characteristic of her generation. The body of work consists of four volumes of short stories: Sommerhaus, später (1998), Nichts als Gespenster (2003), Alice (2009) and Lettipark (2016). The work draws on the social systems theory of the German sociologist Niklas Luhmann, who places the phenomenon of 'communication', also exposed in Hermann's texts, at the centre of his reflection. In sociological terms, the disruption of human communication in today's unstable world is considered. Particular attention is given to the question of how (con)figurations are affected by perturbations, i.e. additional factors that disrupt already unstable relationships, such as illness, loss and others. To date, research on contemporary literature only marginally considers such topics. Judith Hermann's use of minimalist strategies contributes to the creation of literary portraits of characters lost in modernity.