GERST 6960 - Rites of Contact: Emergent German Literatures and Critical Method

(crosslisted) COML 6960, NES 6960

Spring. 3 credits. Student option grading.

Prerequisite: good reading knowledge of German and English required, exceptions require instructor approval. Intended for: graduate students.

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 only in terms of 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. Focus on German literature of Turkish migration complemented by readings reflecting other transnational phenomena such as postsocialism, postcolonialism, globalization, refugees, world literature.