Russian-German identities and mobility processes in contemporary German-language literature

Zelfdeterminatie en (im)mobiliteit in de hedendaagse Russlandduitse roman
Start - End 
2012 - 2016 (ongoing)
Type 
Research Focus 
Research Period 
Additional tags 
German literature
Novel
Migration

Tabgroup

Abstract

Contemporary German-language literature shows an increased interest in Eastern and Central Europe. These texts often have migration processes, negotiations of identities and characters coping with traumatic events at their core. Based on these observations this PhD project focuses on the interdependency between identity formations and mobility processes in representations of Russian-German characters which question the concept of 'Germanness' in their hybridisation of German ethnicitiy and migration background. First, Russian-German identity negotiations within intercultural contexts (integration and assimilation) are discussed. Second, transgenerational memory transfers with a focus on the repressions in the Soviet Union are central to the analysis. Third, the texts are interpreted from a spatial perspective with a focus on disorientation, transgressions and (in)voluntary mobility processes. Finally, the literary field is explored (languages, translations, publishers etc.). The corpus exists of contemporary German-language novels and short stories thematising Russian-German characters written by authors of Russian-German and of non-Russian-German descent.

People

Supervisor(s)

Phd Student(s)