GERST 6960 - [Rites of Contact: Emergent German Literature and Critical Method]

(crosslisted)
(also COML 6960, NES 6960)

4 credits.

Next offered 2014-2015. Must have reading knowledge of German and English.

L. Adelson.

New forms of German literature emerged in the wake of transnational labor migration, especially after 1989. Taking leave of a sociological model that interprets this literature as a plea for compassionate intercultural dialogue, this course juxtaposes prose fiction about cultural contact and critical theories of difference with two primary goals in mind. Students will be introduced to representative examples of contemporary German literatures of migration, and critical modes of conceptualizing cultural contact in Germany will be compared in relation to each other and in tension with the literary field. A focus on German literature of Turkish migration will be complemented by readings reflecting other transnational phenomena such as postsocialism, postcolonialism, and globalization. Good reading knowledge of German and English required.