Displaced: Contemporary Narratives of Involuntary Migration - Detailseite

What does it mean to be displaced, having to flee one's home country due to war, persecution, or devastating living conditions? How can one make a life in a new place? In their writings, displaced authors give many different answers to these questions. In doing so, they have to grapple with entrenched notions of how a "worthy" newcomer is supposed to behave. While contributing significantly to the vitality and vibrancy of literary production in the countries to which they have moved, their texts are not necessarily uncritical of the political, social, and cultural structures the encounter in their new environments, racism in particular. Reading such texts in school might give students a more nuanced understanding of cultural transformations currently taking place in many Western countries, including Germany.

In this course, we will primarily discuss texts published in the US and Canada, such as Zoulfa Katouh's As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow, Kao Kalia Yang's The Latehomecomer, and Dina Nayeri's "The Ungrateful Refugee," but link them to displaced writers' cultural production in Berlin as well.

Credit for the course requires regular attendance, contributions to class discussions, and participation in organizing one session. THERE IS NO AGNES REGISTRATION FOR THIS COURSE. You can sign up for the seminar in the first session.