Topic: Globalizing Germany: Immigration, Religion and Cultural Identity

After the Berlin wall came down in 1989, Germans faced the task of
developing new concepts of national identity not only against the
background of separate East vs. West-German postwar histories and the
legacy of the Holocaust, but also in the midst of ongoing processes of
Europeanization and globalization, which increasingly challenged
traditionally exclusive concepts of citizenship and belonging. In the
midst of controversial political reforms acknowledging the realities
of postwar immigration, September 11 and the following War on Terror
further heated up ongoing controversies about cultural identity. While
immigration had been predominantly discussed in ethnic terms in the
twentieth century (with an emphasis on the Turkish as Germany’s
largest minority), conflict became increasingly coded as a matter of
religion – of encounters between Islam, Christianity and (more in the
background) Judaism.

Should headscarves – and Christian crosses, or yarmulkas – be allowed
in German public schools? How does the construction of mosques in
German cities challenge the understanding of cultural identities and
histories? What memories and traditions form the basis of these
identities in the first place, and what is the place of religion in
contemporary civic society? How can this civic society best answer
political extremism and violence, including (highly publicized) ‘honor
killings’ by Islamist immigrants in German cities, but also (often
much less noticed) Neonazi attacks on minorities? Through discussions
of literature, films, theater productions, German hiphop music,
political commentary as well as some theoretical readings on cultural
identity and the role of religion in contemporary society, this course
attempts a critical, in-depth exploration of these and related
questions. By looking closely at contemporary German society in its
historical context (and, a little, at the diverse – Turkish, Iranian,
Israeli, etc. – backgrounds of its immigrants), we will sharpen our
understanding also of much broader issues in the contemporary –
globalizing – world.

Assignments will include two longer critical papers (one in English,
one in German) and a (more or less creative) presentation in class.
Readings are partly in German, partly in English (more abstract
critical and historical background readings), class discussions in
German only. We will have occasional film showings on Monday night as
needed; if you have a time conflict, separate arrangements for
watching the audiovisual materials are possible.

A majority of readings will be on e-reserve, but you will need a copy
of the following:

1.Germany in Transit: Nation and Migration, 1955-2005. Ed. Deniz
Göktürk, David Gramling and Anton Kaes. (Paperback) University of
California Press, 2007. ISBN-13 978-0-520-24894-6; ISBN-10: 0-520-24894-5.

2.Emine Sevgi Özdamar: Die Brücke vom Goldenen Horn. Köln: Kiepenheuer
& Witsch, 2002 (paperback; ISBN-10: 3462031805; ISBN-13: 978-3462031805).