Refine
Year of publication
- 2010 (2782) (remove)
Document Type
- Article (974)
- Doctoral Thesis (378)
- Book (338)
- Part of Periodical (337)
- Part of a Book (212)
- Contribution to a Periodical (144)
- Review (141)
- Working Paper (84)
- Report (71)
- Conference Proceeding (31)
Language
- German (1695)
- English (842)
- mis (105)
- Portuguese (49)
- French (32)
- Croatian (29)
- Multiple languages (13)
- Italian (7)
- dut (3)
- Spanish (3)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (2782) (remove)
Keywords
- Mosambik (114)
- Mozambique (114)
- Moçambique (113)
- Filmmusik (96)
- Deutsch (75)
- Christentum (65)
- Bibel (63)
- bible (63)
- christianity (63)
- Literatur (40)
Institute
- Extern (296)
- Medizin (295)
- Präsidium (235)
- Gesellschaftswissenschaften (99)
- Biowissenschaften (98)
- Biochemie und Chemie (97)
- Physik (87)
- Geschichtswissenschaften (68)
- Geowissenschaften (59)
- Wirtschaftswissenschaften (55)
„Der rechte Weg geht über Steine” : zur romantischen Dimension der Lyrik von Frida Binder-Radler
(2010)
In order to argue my hypothesis of the romantic dimension of poetry written by Frida Binder-Radler, a very little known Romanian-German author (1908-1986), better known as „poetess of the Saxon world”, I am referring to the poems of the author edited 2006 by her son Wolfgang Binder in Augsburg under the title Licht ins Dunkel (second enlarged edition). The volume contains fifty poems of which the first twenty-one were written in the German language, the other twenty-nine poems were translated from Transylvanian-Saxon dialect into German, most of them by the author herself, and published 1947 in the volume Gedichte. The idea of infinity that characterises romantic poetry, expressing itself as longing („Sehnsucht”) for a lost paradise, justifies the poems of love of Frida Binder-Radler. The elements of nature (flowers and birds, clouds and fog, moon, night and shadow), the melancholic atmosphere of her poems, but also the vivid imagery of her poetic language, its simplicity without being simple are diagnosed and interpreted as elements of a romantic-poetical arsenal.
The article analyses the early novels stillborn, Terminifera und Magma by Michael Stavarič in respect of their compliance with the theory of postmodern novels. The analysis concludes that the works of th e academically educated writer correspond in very high proportions to the theory and attitudes of post-modernism.
The paper analyzes the handling of sources in the historic and ethnographic literature about Roma. In it a tradition of copying can be found without sufficient acknowledgement of sources, the unchecked assumpti on of foreign statements and inadmissible generalization. These characteristic features are integrated into a pejorative structure. The historic and ethnographic literature is characterized by a moralizing condemnation of those referred to as „gypsies” whereas the social realities remain largely hidden. It is based on only a few sources, in which statements about Roma in the Transylvanian area take a key role. Texts from the 17th to the 19th century are referred to in context of this aspect and are analyzed on their contents.
On August 13, 2010 Horst Schuller, university professor, former head of the German Studies Department of the University of Sibiu, Romanian-born German critic and literary historian reached the age of 70 years. The present article pays homage to the well-known scientist at reaching the venerable age.
The present study which was presented at an international scientific session dedicated to the Bologna process and to its implementation in Romania – session organized in Sibiu in the period May 6-8, 2010 – makes reference to the structure of the Bologna-type structure within the German Studies of Sibiu. There have been taken into account the Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees as well as exemplifications regarding curricular aspects. The study points out both the strengths of the Bologna process and its weaknesses such as a more modest interaction between research and instruction within the Bachelor’s degree studies, whereas this desideratum can be better met within the Master’s degree programmes, the crowning achievement within the research activity being the doctorate.
The 25th Volume of the Germanistische Beiträge Hermanstadt can be viewed as an attempt to reevaluate and recontextualise the works of Joachim Wittstock. Through a shift of perspective towards international Paradigms and a dislocation of the analysed works from canonical interpretational networks the seven contributing scholars achieve to refresh the way we perceive and read Joachim Wittstocks writings.
The following paper presents the latest book Literatur im Streiflicht of Carmen Elisabeth Puchianu, associate professor of the Transilvania University of Braşov. The paper makes a short presentation of all chapters included in Puchianu’s collection of studies. The aim is to give an overview to the specific aspects that the author is dealing with in her research: the literature of Thomas Mann and Franz Kafka, the German-language Literature in Romania setting the main focus on Joachim Wittstock and on the German poetry written in Romania during the oppressive 80ies.
The following paper presents the 12th volume of the Studies on German Language and Literature – Kronstädter Beiträge zur germanistischen Forschung 2010. The theme of the volume is humor, so that each article aims at analyzing various aspects in rendering humor in language and literature.
The following paper presents the 11th volume of the Studies on German Language and Literature – Kronstädter Beiträge zur germanistischen Forschung 2009. The theme of the volume is „Remembering and Forgetting” On the Contribution of German Writing in the Process of Identity Construction in Central and Eastern Europe. Thus, each article aims at analyzing various aspects regarding the role of writing within identity construction.
Rezension zu:
Germanistische Beiträge 25. Sonderband. „Schreiben ist zweifellos ein Ziegelrücken”. Studien und Aufsätze zu Joachim Wittstock: Bibliographie 1999-2009. Universitätsverlag Sibiu/ Hermannstadt 2009. ISSN 1454-5144. / Elekes Robert Gabriel
Carmen Elisabeth Puchianu: Literatur im Streiflicht – Germanistische Aufsätze, Rezensionen, Würdigungen. Überarbeitete Textauswahl. aldus Verlag Kronstadt, ISBN 978-973-7822-48-2, 15 RON / Delia Cotârlea
Band XI. der Kronstädter Beiträge zur germanistischen Forschung „Erinnern und Vergessen”. Zum identitätsbildenden Beitrag der Deutschsprachigkeit im mittel- und osteuropäischen Raum. aldus Verlag Kronstadt 2009, ISSN 1842 – 9564, 22 RON. / Delia Cotârlea
Band XII. der Kronstädter Beiträge zur germanistischen Forschung. Lachgeschichte(n). Humor und seine Spielarten in der deutschen Sprache und Literatur. aldus Verlag Kronstadt 2010, ISSN 1842 – 9564, 25 RON. / Delia Cotârlea
In the 1930s and 40s the leading political figures of the German minority in Romania embraced a pro-fascist attitude. Therefore, after the WWII, Germans had to suffer expropriation, deportation and privation of civil rights. Since 1949 they were permitted to rebuild their cultural life which – according to the communist paradigm – had to be „Marxist in its content and national in shape“. In 1956 an Institute for Social Studies and the Humanities of the Romanian Academy was created in Sibiu in order to continue important scientific projects of the German minority, and since 1959 the review Forschungen zur Volks- und Landeskunde appeared as a tribune of Transylvanian studies. Although the editorial staff had to make concessions to the communist regime, its members tried to keep high scientific standards. Therefore the review Forschungen, the sole scientific periodical of the Romanian Academy published in German, was one of the most important reviews of the time.
This essay deals with the intertextuality of the 21st century novel Zaira by the Swiss-Romanian writer Cătălin Dorian Florescu and the 21th century tragedy Zaire by Voltaire. It is analysed whether the name of the female protagonist Zaira is used by Florescu by accident or whether he refers to Voltaire. Furthermore, the differences between East and West brought up in the novel and the tragedy are examined. There are some similarities to be found as to the topoi of the selling respectively buying of women or fate deciding about the life of the protagonists. However, in the author’s opinion they don`t justify the assumption that Florescu knows the text by Voltaire or even uses it in his own novel.
The purpose of this work is the linguistic analysis of the German street names in Petreşti, a locality in the county of Alba situated 4 kilometers south of the town of Sebeş which has a German-Romanian bilingual population. We also want to develop a morpho-lexical analysis (compounds of two words and descriptive constructions formed by a preposition and a noun), as well as of aspects of orthography and spelling (we analyze especially the inconsequences which appeared in the spelling of the street names and in their orthography), and furthermore an analysis of onomastic interferences, starting from the comparison of the German and Romanian street names (translation calques and words resulted from calques).
Beispiel, Erfahrung, Theorie : Übersetzungswissenschaftliche Anmerkungen von Hermine Pilder-Klein
(2010)
The present article concentrates on the activity of Hermine Pilder-Klein as theoretician and translation critic. (Hermine Pilder-Klein: translator from Romanian to German of the second half of the 20th century carried out 80 translations from this cultural space in the period 1933-1972. Horst Schuller makes reference to 2 articles that are kept in the archive of the Museum of Gundelsheim: 1. a review of the volume Siebenbürgisch Sächsisches Wörterbuch (Transylvanian Saxon Dictionary) published in Bucharest. The review was published in the No. 4/1972 of the periodical Vierteljahresblätter in München; 2. a critical presentation of the volume Rumänische Volksmärchen (Romanian Folk Tales) edited by Ovidiu Bârlea and Felix Karlinger (the volume was published in 1969 in Düsseldorf/Köln: Eugen Diederichs Verlag), the work bearing the title Übersetzung-Schlüssel und Brücke (Translation – Key and Bridge) (1977), remained unpublished and was taken over by Horst Schuller in the present article.
Kultur und (Rechts)Sprache
(2010)
The content of the present paper can be outlined as follows:
1) Law is an integrative part of culture.
2) Legal terminology is system-bound. Thus, within one and the same language there are as many legal languages as there are legal orders that use that particular language as their legal language.
3) The representation of culture in legal texts is encountered both on word and on text level: on the one hand legal terms have often been referred to as culturemes, as they are informed by the respective legal order; on the other hand texts are being regarded as cultural products as they depend on the particular legal order.
The adequate assessment of lexicographical approaches to phraseologisms requires certain evaluation criteria. Among the aspects to be assessed are, besides the arrangement of the front, middle and back matter and the selection of material, the macrostructural organization and the quality of the microstructural components. The present article focuses on the lexicographical standards set for phraseological dictionaries by metalexicographical researchers in the field of German Studies, while it critically examines the macro- and microstructural profile of special phraseological dictionaries developed in Romania with German as a target and source language. This examination has revealed serious shortcomings regarding both the conceptual orientation and the construction of dictionary entries. These shortcomings may influence the use of dictionaries by translators and non-native speakers as well, who represent the actual target group.
Gradation and intensification can be subject to different linguistic procedures. The present paper focuses on aspects of intensification and gradation by means of word formation in adjectives. The argument is that German and Romanian, as languages belonging to different language families, operate with different means to express high intensity in adjectives. The critical analysis on dictionary items (German-Romanian) aims at disclosing how mental representations are being formally structured at language level. It argues that correct equivalence in translation work can be achieved only if the deep structure level is properly understood by the translator.
Dieter Schlesak’s novel VLAD. Die DraculaKorrektur tries to deconstruct in an original manner the myth of Dracula by proposing a new approach of the subject: instead of the homonymous literary motif, the author deals with the literary figure Vlad Ţepeş. The originality of this approach lies in the fact that Schlesak does not present the reader with a classical heroic figure, instead he deliberately prefers fiction to the attributes of the classic historic novel. Thus he operates not only with a polyphonic text, but also with intertextualism, creating a novel of impressing complexity. This way of dealing with the subject is sustained by the main character, conceived as a decadent Renaissance prince and a prisoner between two antagonic universes, as well as by the whole constellation of real and fictional characters that define his contradictory personality. Dieter Schlesak has accepted the risk of being criticised by his countrymen as well as by historians, deliberately trying to change the Western readers’ perception of this legendary Romanian figure. By creating a literary character that rejects the Western stereotypes and the Romanian prejudices, he manages to prove the potential of the literary figure of Dracula.
The poetic oeuvre of Franz Hodjak takes an intermediate position between modernism and postmodernism. While his early works show the influence of German modernist poetry (Georg Trakl, Bertolt Brecht), the poems of his last volume, entitled Die Faszination eines Tages, den es nicht gibt (2008), show most clearly the approach to postmodernism. The ironic, sarcastic tone, the robust and acrobatic language as well as the rebellion against all conventional poetical structures are amplified in these poems. Besides ontological questions regarding identity, the borderline status between two worlds – neither of them a home –, also the banalities of everyday life are treated sometimes in an elated tone, sometimes almost parodied.
Uwe Timm and Robert Schiff have both written an autobiographical text dealing with the premature death of an elder brother who was a combattant in the Waffen-SS in their childhood. Despite the frappantly similar biographical constellation, there are differences in narrative technique and thematical focus that stem from their respective sociocultural context. The analysis shows that Timm is in many ways a representative author of the German ‘68 generation that critically reevaluates the attitude of their parents during the national socialist period and points to omissions and falsifications in the oral family history, while the narration of Schiff, an emigrated author born in the pre-war milieu of the German minority of Southwest Romania, is mainly a reconstruction of the impact of big history on his childhood and thus also the effort to conserve the memory of a world that has passed away and to reconcile himself with the experience of loss.
Zum Quellenwert deutscher Sprachzeugnisse aus Südosteuropa für die Sprachgeschichte des Deutschen
(2010)
The history of the German language is not described adequately by the classification into Old, Middle High, Early New and New High German. Looking at regional varieties shows the simultaneous existence of older and newer manifestations in the language. Examples of older Transsylvanian writings and Danube-Swabian dialects from Romania and Hungary show how German varieties of South-Eastern Europe can be used for a more profound understanding of the history of the entire German language.
The novel written by the priest Schlattner, a Romanian born citizen of German origin, caught the attention of the German speaking world in 1998, the year of its publication. This novel describes the Saxon nation in Transylvania before World War II with its way of living, education, church, preachers and teachers, traditions and habits. The action takes place on August 23, 1944 when Romania turns against Germany. The story-teller, a teenager, remembers aspects of his family, which are the same with those of the whole community. The family stands for the whole community. Three generations are living under the same roof, which is typical for the middle class. Grandparents, parents and children are members of the same community, but they do not share the same beliefs. These characters are representatives of their own history and of the period of time when they lived. The grandparents had the opportunity to live in Hungary and also in Italy, but they chose to return to Transylvania. The parents are very different one from another. The mother stays at home and looks after the children. The father is a business man who has to support the family, but also to survive with his small family business on an insecure market. He is a typical example of an open-minded man without prejudices. The five children are of different ages, therefore with different preoccupations. Felix, the story-teller, is quite interesting for the reader. He tries to live in a community full of traditions, but also wants to stand up to the demands of the time. He works as a horde leader in the local Hitler-organization, but he fails. The servants also live in the same house, but they do not belong to the family. Nobody knows their last names, but without them the family wouldn’t be able to live properly. The essay ends with a conclusion about the narrator’s family, which can be seen as a model. Such families actually existed in small towns. Schlattner wrote this story in order to inform the next generations about their history and to reinforce the idea that the Saxon world as we knew does no longer exist.
The search for footing can be thought of as an essential human experience. Joachim Wittstock’s essays published in the anthology Einen Halt suchen reveal not only the socio-political repercussions of this pursuit but also establish its phenomenology and morphology. In my paper I will focus on the link between the search for footing and the mortal condition, thus demonstrating how the true nature of this pursuit for existential stability and security can be understood as life’s aversion towards death.
The present article written by Ch. Klein on the occasion of Joachim Wittstock’s 70th birthday concentrates on a kind of balance, starting from the story Karussellpolka of the writer from Sibiu. Wittstock wrote the above mentioned story at the age of 40 and, consciously or not, he suggests the necessity of each of us to make the balance of his/her own life as soon as possible. Ch. Klein regards the story Karussellpolka adequate to this purpose, i.e. for balance, as it is the only prose narrative which deals with such a balance, not only generally as a human condition, but also with regard to the community of the Saxons of Transylvania to which Joachim Wittstock belongs.
: The concept of the foreign view is a recurring theme throughout all of Herta Müller’s prose. This kind of view derives from her biography. Certainly an unique biography but it is also transferable to many other people. Expressions like „remaining in order to leave“ or „arrived, but long not here“ become guidelines of leaving and arrivals or non-arrivals. The individual acts in-between languages, worlds and in-between cultures. Identity has to change continuously, as it is always in a process.
The Chair of German Philology at the University of Sibiu delivered literary-historical studies on themes of the German Literature in Romania for several years. Together with the Forschungszentrum für Sozialwissenschaften (Research Centre for Social Studies), together with the local agency of the Romanian Academy Bucharest, denominated the Institute for Social and Humanistic Researches and together with other Chairs of the country there have been envisaged and performed community projects.
The contributor gives information on such projects on the basis of his knowledge of the involved staff, from the overview of agreements, methods and balances.
The present approach deals with an almost forgotten aspect of the oevre of Ludwig Hesshaimer, primarily known and appreciated for his drawings. Hesshaimer is nowadays known for his drawings and paintings from World War I. He also was very well known at his time as president of the Austrian Association of Philatelists. This approach starts with a brief biography, presenting the historical and family background of Hesshaimer, in order to position his work into the literary and historical context of the time. The second part of the present text refers to his autobiographical book Miniaturen aus der Monarchie printed in 1992 under the supervision of Hesshaimers daughter and granddaughter. Then it focuses on the analysis of his three stories about artists that are considered of general interest because they are almost unknown being published just once in 1928. Applied to the most interesting story Der nackte Fuß (The naked foot) follows an analysis of the stylistic phenomenon known as ekphrasis, which is a literary description of works of art.
Die Rede von der Unrettbarkeit des Ich, die sich bekanntlich bis in die Postmoderne zieht, wird im ausgehenden 19. Jahrhundert explizit und spätestens um die Jahrhundertwende topisch. Hugo von Hofmannsthal, so soll das vorliegende Buch zeigen, beteiligt sich an dieser Debatte mit einem außergewöhnlichen Beitrag: Er rekonstruiert in seinen literarischen Texten die sowohl psychologischen (nicht nur psychoanalytischen) als auch theologischen Wurzeln der genannten Gedankenfigur und macht sie auf diesem Wege zur Grundlage seines poetischen Schreibens und dessen immanenter Reflexion.
Die Wende 1989 in Joachim Wittstocks Erzählung "In der Nachbarschaft. Von der Schwäche der Macht"
(2010)
The present article deals with Joachim Wittstock’s story In der Nachbarschaft. Von der Schwäche der Macht. Wittstock’s narration presents in the form of a diary the upheaval of 1989 in Sibiu, Romania. We try to analize the story in a wider context, as we consider that the changes of 1989 in Eastern Europe cannot be judged only within the context of their own country, they have to be judged against the European context. Overcoming dictatorship in 1989/91 in East-Central Europe can be regarded as a culturally formative era border; through the restoration of freedom there was a change within all societies of the former Soviet bloc.
How the Romanian Revolution is depicted in Wittstock’s text will be discussed in the following article. The importance of the text for the consolidation of the collective and cultural memory is also an issue stressed in the present analysis.
Vorwort (11)
Joachim Wittstock (Sibiu/Hermannstadt): Professor Dr. Horst Schuller zu Ehren (13)
I. Literaturwissenschaft und Landeskunde
Cornelia Esianu (Iassy/Wien): „Der rechte Weg geht über Steine“. Zur romantischen Dimension der Lyrik von Frida Binder-Radler (21)
Delia Esianu (Iassy): „Wohin mir das Wort […] fiel“ – Gott und Gottlosigkeit in der Dichtung PaulCelans (39)
Sunhild Galter (Sibiu/Hermannstadt): Ludwig Hesshaimers als Schriftsteller. „Lebensbuch“ und Künstlererzählungen (52)
Joachim Krauß (Berlin): „Vom wandernden Zigeunervolke“. Siebenbürgische Quellen als Baustein der deutschsprachigen Zigeunerkonstruktion (66)
Johann Georg Lughofer (Ljubliana): Postmodernität in der zeitgenössischen österreichischen Literatur. Eine Analyse anhand der frühen Romane von Michael Stavaric (78)
Carmen Elisabeth Puchianu (Brasov/Kronstadt): Der Ausbruch aus dem engen Bretterhaus. Von der Spielbarkeit postmodernen Theaters am Beispiel der Eigenproduktion Nyktophobie, oder: Mephistos später Gruß an Faust (111)
Thomas Schares (Bucuresti/Bukarest): Formelhafte Sprache als gattungskonstituierendes Element in Michel Beheims Vlad-Tepes-Gedicht (123)
Maria Trappen (Sibiu/Hermannstadt): In Auszügen rezipiert – Bemerkungen zu der Übersetzung von Max Frisch Tagebüchern ins Rumänische (136)
Bernhard Schwaiger (Erfurt): „Warum Rumänisch unwichtig wird, wenn die Latinos sich vermehren“ (150)
II. Sprachwissenschaft
Sigrid Haldenwang (Sibiu/Hermannstadt): Zu „Deisam“, den damit gebildeten Komposita und dem Verb „deisamen“ im Siebenbürgisch-Sächsischen (mit Einbezug rheinischer und rheinpfälzischer Mundartbelege) (161)
Rodica Ofelia Miclea (Sibiu/Hermannstadt): „Mann soll den Teufel nicht an die Wand malen. Zum Facettenreichtum des Teufelbildes in deutschen und rumänischen Sprichwörtern und sprichwörtlichen Redensarten (175)
Doris Sava (Sibiu/Hermannstadt): Hoch soll er leben! Routineformeln als Forschungsaufgabe der phraseologischen Kontrastivik (197)
Adina-Lucia Nistor (Iasi/Iassy): „Bragia/ per nos plaids / e lur melodia“ (Weine für unser Lied / und seine Weise“) – Romanische Minoritäten-Sprachvarianten in der Schweiz, am Beispiel der Lyrik von Tresa Rüthers-Seeli (210)
III. Übersetzungswissenschaft und -kritik
Horst Schuller (Hermannstadt/Heidelberg): Transkulturelle Problemaspekte im rumänisch-deutschen Übersetzungsprozess (225)
Ioana Constantin (Sibiu/Hermannstadt): Reichsleiter, Obersturmbannführer, Sieg Heil – zur Bewältigung des Nationalsozialismus in der Übersetzung (268)
Simona Marin (Sibiu/Hermannstadt): Sprache und Recht. Zu den vielfältigen Beziehungen zwischen Sprachwissenschaft und Übersetzungswissenschaft (276)
IV. Das aktuelle Thema
Maria Sass (Sibiu/Hermannstadt): Der Bologna-Prozess – (k)ein Erfolg? Einige Aspekte aus der Perspektive der Hermannstädter Germanistik (287)
V. Bücherschau
Robert Gabriel Elekes (Brasov/Kronstadt) (305)
Delia Cotarlea (Brasov/Kronstadt) (307)
I. Literaturwissenschaft und Landeskunde
Vorwort (11)
Joachim Wittstock (Sibiu/Hermannstadt ): Aus dem Bereich von „Litteris et Artis“. Literarhistorische Erörterungen im Rahmen der Hermannstädter Hochschulgermanistik (15)
Christoph Klein (Sibiu/Hermannstadt): Bilanz-Warum? – Retrospektive-Wieso? Betrachtungen zu Joachim Wittstocks Erzählung „Karussellpolka“ (31)
Delia Cotârlea (Brașov/Kronstadt): Die Wende 1989 in Joachim Wittstocks Erzählung „In der Nachbarschaft. Von der Schwäche der Macht“ (45)
Robert Gabriel Elekes (Brasov/Kronstadt): „Der uns angebotene Halt.“ Joachim Wittstock als Essayist (61)
Taferner Barbara (Toblach, Italien): Der Fremde Blick im Werk Herta Müllers (70)
Silvia Machein (Sibiu/Hermannstadt): Nachgetragene Erinnerung: Uwe Timm, „Am Beispiel meines Bruders“ (2003) und Robert Schiff, „Feldpostbriefe. Chronik eines ungebauten Hauses“ (1994) (82)
Réka Sánta-Jakabházi (Cluj Napoca/Klausenburg): „Musen in Mülltonnen, Schutzengel auf dem Flohmarkt.“ Franz Hodjaks neue Gedichte zwischen Desillusionierung und Melancholie (102)
Tanja Becker (Timișoara/Temeswar): „Ich habe Voltaire nie gelesen“ – Unfreiwillige Parallelen zwischen Cãtãlin Dorian Florescus „Zaira“ und Voltaires „Zaire“ (117)
Rodica Bãluþ (Sibiu/Hermannstadt): Intertextualität und Polyphonie in Dieter Schlesaks „VLAD. Die Dracula-Korrektur“ (126)
Andreea Iacob (Sibiu/Hermannstadt): Die siebenbürgische Familie als Paradigma in Eginald Schlattners Roman „Der geköpfte Hahn“ (141)
Gudrun-Liane Ittu (Sibiu/Hermannstadt): „Forschungen zur Volks- und Landeskunde“ – eine Zeitschrift im Dienste der wissenschaftlichen Bestrebungen der deutschen Minderheit in Rumänien (1959-1989) (151)
II. Sprachwissenschaft
Heinrich J. Dingeldein (Marburg): Zum Quellenwert deutscher Sprachzeugnisse aus Südosteuropa für die Sprachgeschichte des Deutschen (167)
Doris Sava (Sibiu/Hermannstadt): Defizite der rumänischen bilingualen Phraseografie mit Deutsch (185)
Adina-Lucia Nistor (Iasi/Jassy): Die Straßennamen von Petersdorf Mühlbach. Formanalyse und Nameninterferenzen (223)
Rodica-Ofelia Miclea (Sibiu/Hermannstadt ): Strukturen der Steigerung und Intensivierung im Vergleich. Am Beispiel des Adjektivs im Deutschen und Rumänischen (239)
Marin Simona (Sibiu/Hermannstadt): Kultur und (Rechts)Sprache. S. 254
III. Übersetzungswissenschaft und -kritik
Horst Schuller (Hermannstadt/Heidelberg): Beispiel, Erfahrung, Theorie. Übersetzungswissenschaftliche Anmerkungen von Hermine Pilder-Klein. S. 269
Doppeltgänger — man fasst diesen Begriff bei Jean Paul gerne im heutigen Sinne auf, also als Beschreibung zweier Menschen, die sich äußerlich gleichen und daher von dritten miteinander verwechselt werden. Das 18. und frühe 19. Jahrhundert hat jedoch vor allem die Dimension des "geistige[n] Doppeltgänger[s]" im Blick, also die psychische, ja psychopathologische Innenansicht einer solchen Verwechslung. Es handelt sich bei einem oder mehreren Doppeltgängern dementsprechend um "Leute, die sich selber sehen" oder genauer:'um "eine Person, von verbrannter Embildungskraft, welche wahnt, daß sie doppelt zu sehen sei, oder zu einer und derselben Zeit an zwei verschiedenen Orten zugleich sei".'
Ich rekonstruierte die Geschichte, wie es Steffens gelang, in kürzester Zeit berühmt zu werden und danach über vierzig Jahre sich im Gespräch zu halten, obwohl der Ausgangspunkt und die Basis seiner Berühmtheit, die Naturphilosophie, längst obsolet geworden waren [...]. Statt wie Steffens ideologisch auf einer organischen Gestaltung seines Lebenslaufes zu bestehen, beobachte ich die kunsthandwerklich ausgefuchste, märchenhafte, novellistische, Reisebild schreibende, manifestartige Technik seiner Autobiographieschreibung und den virtuosen Einsatz von Effekten der Wendepunkte, Epiphanien, von schnellen Wechseln von Höhe- zu Tiefpunkten und umgekehrt.
[Dem] Wechsel vom Erhabenen ins Komisch-Lächerliche ist eine Komik unzugänglich, die im Innersten des Erhabenen hervorbricht und dazu korrespondierend ein Erhabenes, das durch und durch komisch durchtränkt ist. Umso mehr mag erstaunen, dass eine spekulative Ästhetik der Hochromantik, nämlich Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand Solgers "Erwin" und ein oft aus der Sicht der Entwicklung zur Moderne eher randständiger Lyriker - Eduard Mörike - diese moderne Erfahrung des Erhabenen als Komisches und des Komischen als Erhabenes auf je eigentümliche und doch korrespondierende Weise theoretisch und lyrisch erfasst haben.
Der vorliegende Beitrag […] begründet […] die Relevanz des Kulturbegriffs in Fragen der Digitalisierung philologisch und geht erstens davon aus, daß kulturelle Kompetenz sich von philologischer Kompetenz nicht unterscheidet. Daraus läßt sich ein privilegiertes Mitspracherecht der Philologie in kulturellen Fragen ableiten. Dieses Mitspracherecht betrifft zweitens gerade Projekte der Digitalisierung, weil sie in einem engen Verhältnis zu einem der Kernbereiche der Philologie stehen: zur Edition. Die Diskussion um die "Google Buchsuche" hat bislang genau diesen Zusammenhang zwischen Kultur, Philologie und Digitalisierung vernachlässigt. Seine Berücksichtigung kann zu einer tiefenschärferen Bewertung des Unternehmens in kultureller Perspektive beitragen und zugleich den notorischen Rekurs auf den Kulturbegriff in der Google-Debatte erklären helfen.
Zu bedenken ist, daß nur die Literatur zwischen 1750 und 1806 jene Höhe erreicht, die es gestattet, von der Epoche prägender Kraft der Klassik zu reden. Die Künste unterliegen dem Gesetz des Ungleichzeitigen. Die deutsche bildende Kunst des Klassizismus ist im Verhältnis zur Literatur von geringerer Qualität. Annäherungen an Inhalt und künstlerische Qualität des Werkes von Tischbein sind daher auch auf diesen Vergleich hinzu überprüfen. Die Frage entsteht: Wieso kann ein Werk der bildenden Kunst, die sich nicht auf der Höhe der literarischen Klassik bewegt, das "Ereignis Weimar" so prägnant um- und beschreiben, daß es bis heute als ein Hauptwerk dieser Epoche gilt? - "Goethe in der Campagna" ist geprägt von einer Auffassung vom Dichter, die wir vom Maler Johann Heinrich Tischbein vor Augen geführt bekommen. Es handelt sich dabei um eine Interpretation von Goethes Persönlichkeit aus erster Hand.
Seit gut zwanzig Jahren sind keine Zweifel mehr erlaubt: Heinrich Heine ist in seine deutsche Heimat wieder definitiv heimgekehrt, und die große Heine-Ökumene scheint angebrochen. Denn wohl erstmalig in der Geschichte herrscht heute im deutschsprachigen Raum ein universeller und ungebrochener Konsens zu dem Dichter, daß er jedem, der die wechselhafte Geschichte dieses ungezogen Lieblings der Grazien in seinem Vaterlande kennt, fast verdächtig anmuten muß: Traut man doch gerade als alter Heine-Kämpe da dem Frieden, ja bisweilen den Augen nicht. Und so triumphal der Einzug - und selbst sein Heros Napoleon hat in Düsseldorf wohl keinen triumphaleren gehalten - , den der inzwischen allseits Gefeierte beispielsweise 1997 zum zweihundersten Jubiläum in seiner Geburtstadt hielt, das mit allem gebührenden Glanz und Gloria als mediale Event und internationales wissenschaftliches Happening, gar als germanistisches Love-In begangen wurde, überkam den eingefleischten Heine-Verehrer bei aller Genugtuung dabei doch fast ein leichtes Unbehagen, ein fast nostalgisches Heimweh nach jener nicht allzu fernen, doch nun versunken
anmutenden Äone, wo, wie die verklärende Erinnerung es suggeriert, um und über den Dichter noch so aufwühlend wie aufschlußreich gestritten wurde.
Die Frage nach dem "Erbe der Literatur" steht ihrerseits in einer Erbfolge. Nach 1945 stellte sie sich schon einmal im Kontext der Legitimierung einer sich neu definierenden Gesellschaftsformation. Der Anspruch der DDR, ein Hort der Bewahrung und Pflege des klassischen, bürgerlich-humanistischen Erbes zu sein, wurde in der westdeutschen Sicht der sechziger Jahre kritisch umgedeutet als Kulturkonservatismus, Traditionalismus und Antimodernismus, die als "bürgerliche" Haltungen genuin sozialistisch-revolutionäre Neuerungen und Traditionen abblockten. Erst in den siebziger Jahren wurde die literarische Erbetheorie in der DDR grundsätzlich reformuliert und für Modernisierungen zugänglich. Wie stellt sich aber die Frage nach dem (bürgerlichen) Erbe in der ostdeutschen Literatur nach der Wiedervereinigung? Hier können nur einige historische Skizzen und ästhetische Teilaspekte in einer feldanalytischen Perspektive im Sinne der Soziologie Pierre Bourdieus vorgestellt werden. Sie münden in die Betrachtung eines spezifischen Erbes von drei Vertretern der sogenannten Generation der "Hineingeborenen", nämlich Ingo Schulze, Durs Grünbein und Uwe Tellkamp.
Der Briefwechsel zwischen Ingeborg Bachmann und Paul Celan ist im August 2008 endlich erschienen, nachdem er von der Familie jahrelang sehr zum Leidwesen der Forscher unter Verschluß gehalten wurde und ursprünglich auch erst 2023, 50 Jahre nach Bachmanns Tod, der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich gemacht werden ollte.
Die Hauptargumentation soll zeigen, wie die Romane von Bobrowski und Drach die Unterscheidung zwischen der historiographischen Ebene des Erzählens und dem erzählten historischen Geschehen in ihrer paradoxen, da heißt prekären, aber konstitutiven Bedeutung für das Schreiben/Erzählen von Geschichte reflektieren. Dieser Zweck erfordert es auch, die Analytik Hayden Whites für die Narrativität der wissenschaftlichen Geschichtsschreibung in Gebrauch zu nehmen; außerdem werden die Methodologie des New Historicism und Leitsätze einer postkolonialen Historiographie herangezogen.
Als Rückseite des Erzählens ist das dynamisierte Unbewußte deessentialisiert und in gewissem Sinne deterritorialisiert. In dieser Hinsicht ist die Allegorisierung des Unbewußten als dem Verschütteten, das es auszugraben gilt, gerade nicht zutreffend. Das Erzählmodell, das dieser Erzählung zugrunde liegt, ist aber andererseits nur die Quintessenz des 19. Jahrhunderts, weil es zugleich auf eine restlose Essentialisierung und Reterritorialisierung hinausläuft. Das Verschüttete, das wiedergewonnen werden muß, ist ja die tote schwesterliche Geliebte als das globale Signifikat, auf das alle Signifikanten, alle Fehlleistungen verweisen (und das den Rückseiten des Erzählens allemal ein Ende setzt).
Es geht um Wahrheit: Und zwar nicht um die uninteressanten Wahrheiten, über die man einfach erzählen kann, sondern um die Wahrheiten, die überall offen zutage liegen und die dennoch niemand sieht – weil die eigenen Erwartungen und Erklärungsmuster einen diese nicht sehen lassen. Damit ist dieses Kino das Gegenteil von einem Kino, das bewußt an den Erwartungen und Erklärungsmustern der Zuschauer entlangproduziert wird (was auch heißen kann, diese um der Effekte willen gezielt zu durchkreuzen), also das Gegenteil von einem Kino, das mit Zuschauern rechnen kann.
Zum einen gilt es zu klären, inwiefern die im Zuge der empiristischen Neuausrichtung der Wissenschaften erfolgende Aufwertung von Beobachtungs- und Tatsachenwissen dem Archiv allgemein und der Bibliothek im besonderen die Rolle eines universalen Wissensspeichers zuweist und diesen Institutionen somit eine Schlüsselposition in der geplanten rationalen Erforschung und Beherrschung der Natur zukommen läßt. Zum anderen ist zu untersuchen, welchen Einfluß gesellschaftliche Demokratisierungsprozesse auf die Neukonzeption der Bibliothek ausüben, indem sie letztere in den Rang eines öffentlichen und möglichst pluralistisch verfaßten Meinungs- und Diskussionsforums zu erheben trachten. Erst im Kontrast zu diesen und doch auch im Anschluß an diese beiden historischen Typen eines Generalarchivs soll schließlich die Frage nach der Traum- bzw. Alptraumhaftigkeit des babylonischen Schriftkosmos erörtert werden, indem also eruiert wird, wie in Borges' literarischem Entwurf einer vollständigen Bibliothek der utopische Charakter des geschichtlichen Vollständigkeitsideals zugleich übernommen, radikalisiert und dabei doch auch im Geiste der Kombinatorik konsequent umgedeutet wird.
Von [den] Tatsächlichkeiten der Mediengesellschaft ausgehend, läßt sich rückblickend beobachten, wie in den klassischen Ehebruchsromanen die mediale Konstruktion und Reproduktion durch Geschriebenes und Gedrucktes, durch Gelesenes, Gesehenes und Gehörtes, durch Brief, Buch, Malerei und Musik wirksam waren. Insbesondere dann, wenn eben diese reproduktive und generative 'dritte Kraft' der "Medien" die einschlägigen Narrative nicht nur "transferiert", sondern in sie "interveniert": einbricht in die Liebes- und Verratsgeschichten […].
[E]ine Interpretation der Erzählung aus psychoanalytischem Blickwinkel […], die auf Texte und Theoriemodelle Freuds rekurriert, die ungefähr im selben Zeitraum wie Döblins Erzählung entstanden sind und die mit ihren eigenen Mitteln und eigenen Kategorien die damaligen gesellschaftlichen Beziehungsmuster, intrapsychischen Befindlichkeiten und kulturelle Semantik ebenfalls widerspiegeln.
Es ist nicht zu übersehen: Jene Schriftspur der Träne bildet das Medium der Sichtbarkeit eines ansonsten Nicht-Sichtbaren. Aufgrund dessen ist dem Objektiv der Träne ein transitorisches oder passageres, das heißt eine Grenze passierendes "Begreifen des Unsichtbaren" an den äußersten Grenzen der bloßen Vernunft möglich. Das Objektiv der Träne hält den Sehenden in der Blickbahn des 'selbanderen' Passanten, der – der Transitivität der Zeit zum Trotz - eine Topographie des Einzigen zum Vorschein bringt. So repräsentiert die Träne – die zugleich einen Schutzfilm bildet, um mit dem Leben davonzukommen – eine (un-)sichtbare Urspur des Unsichtbaren.
[Es] sollen hier einige wenige repräsentative Momente der Konstellation von Erinnerung und Bildlichkeit in das Blickfeld gerückt werden. In diesem Zurückrufen einiger Motive, das ein Offenes bleiben muß, sollen sich wesentliche Züge der Beziehung von Erinnerung und Bild bei Heidegger herauskristallieren, um diese Begriffe in seinem Denken in einem etwas weniger rätselhaften Lichte erscheinen zu lassen. Unter dem Gesichtspunkt dieser Beziehung läßt sich möglicherweise auch Heideggers ebenso grundsätzliche wie apodiktische Behauptung nachvollziehen, "vielleicht ist 'das Denken' stets 'Andenken'". So ließe sich für sie im Sinne einer Heideggerschen Erörterung unvorgreiflich ein Ort finden.
Hysterie und Mathematik : die zwei Modelle der Kriminalerzählung: E. A. Poe und E. T. A. Hoffmann
(2010)
In der Nachkriegszeit hat man versucht, das Phänomen der "Detektivgeschichte" von der Kriminalerzählung zu isolieren, um diese in ihrem Charakter als Rätselgeschichte zu erhalten. Die Aufteilung in diese beiden Gattungen wird sowohl mittels eines phänomenologischen als auch eines strukturierenden Ansatzes vorgenommen. Beide Versuche werfen das Problem einer zu scharfen Abgrenzung auf […]. Dabei wäre auch ein flexibleres Modell denkbar […]. Das Konstrukt der Kriminalerzählung wird nach dieser Vorstellung als Komponentenmodell verstanden, das auf zwei parallel existierenden Prototypen basiert, die jeweils einem Paradigma folgen [im Zentrum das Motiv oder die Spur]. […] Mit welch gegensätzlichen Mitteln diese beiden Modelle, repräsentiert von Hoffmann und Poe, arbeiten, soll ein Vergleich anhand der typischen Versatzteile einer jeden Kriminalgeschichte vor Augen führen.
Olmis Verfilmung ist mit Roths Text, mit dessen Schweben zwischen Glauben und Ironie durchaus kompatibel. Diese Feststellung wird im folgenden mit einer intermedialen Analyse belegt, die sich auf den Schluß von Vorlage und Verfilmung konzentriert, um Rauminszenierung als Phänomen von Diegesis und Mimesis zu untersuchen.
Uwe Timms Erzählung ist die Novelle einer Novelle, analog zu den in der Neuzeit zahlreichen Ansätzen zu Romanen eines Romans. Die gattungspoetologische Selbstreflexivität wird in der Verschachtelung der Sujets von Rahmen- und Binnenhandlung ausdrücklich verbalisiert. Mittels intertextueller literarischer Referenzen wird sie direkt evident, indem in einem Kreuzworträtsel, das der "gefangene" Bremer zum Zeitvertreib löst, die Frage nach einer griechischen Zauberin mit fünf Buchstaben ("Kirke") und die nach einer literarischen Gattung mit märchenhaften sieben Buchstaben ("Novelle") gestellt wird. Die logogriphische Siebenzahl verweist auf Kirkes Komplementärfigur "Kalypso" bei Homer, innertextuell auf die "vermittelnde" Protagonistin Lena "Brücker" bei Timm; metatextuell figuriert sie die gattungspoetologisch gestellte und aufgelöste Rätselfigur als gleitende Übergänglichkeit von "Novelle" und "Märchen".
In Fühmanns letzten Jahren ist die Erfahrung des Scheiterns an die Stelle getreten, die seit seinen literarischen Anfängen eine andere Erfahrung eingenommen hatte: die von Schuld und von der Notwendigkeit und Möglichkeit einer Wandlung. Wie beide Erfahrungen – Schuld und Scheitern – zusammenhängen, darum wird es im folgenden gehen.
Der Briefwechsel [zwischen Mann und Adorno] bietet […] im Kontext der Adornoschen Ästhetik sowie später Erzählungen und Romane Thomas Manns eine hervorragende Möglichkeit, die Arbeit am Spätwerk nachzuvollziehen und als Auseinandersetzung mit dem Alter zu diskutieren. Insbesondere erlauben es die umstrittene Erzählung "Die Betrogene" (1952) und Adornos diesbezügliche Interpretation, die Konstellation von Alter, ästhetischer Theorie und literarischem Schreiben zu diskutieren.
Dieses Eigene besteht vor allem darin, daß in [Maiers] Romanen die Problematik des Nihilismus mit dem Funktionieren der menschlichen Sprache und mit der (klein)bürgerlichen Konsumwelt verbunden wird. Im folgenden soll vor allem sein erster Roman, "Wäldchestag" […] einer genauen Analyse unterzogen werden. Dazu werden zunächst Maiers Poetikvorlesungen herangezogen. Die beiden späteren Romane werden dann, ausgehend von diesen Analysen, nur noch kurz erwähnt.
Das Monster ist die der Ordnung immanente Beliebigkeit oder Unordnung, das heißt aber auch: die Verantwortung, deren Aufscheinen am Nicht-nur-Objekt im Blick des Nicht-nur-Subjekts. Das rührt an jenes Wissen, das allein verboten sein kann, das verordnete Metaphysiken […] und ihre "totalitäre[n] Metaphysiker" vergessen machen wollen […]. Mit der beliebigen Verschiebung jenes Limes, der die Allgemeinheit von den Monstern scheidet, zeigt sich, wie viel die Monster vom Menschsein offenbaren, noch ehe man das Monster verklärt […]. Monster sind die Differenz zwischen Demo- und Ochlokratie, sind die Differenz von Rationalität und Rationalismus.
Im vorliegenden Beitrag soll untersucht werden, welche Akteur- und Zuschauerkonstellationen sich in Online-Communities aufweisen lassen, die Millionen individueller Nutzer durch Social Software miteinander verbinden. Sind spektatorische Situationen, in denen interagierende soziale Akteure auf einen Dritten treffen, der ihnen zuschaut, auch in medialisierten Formen des sozialen Verkehrs wirksam, in denen die Hauptbedingung der Face-to-Face-Kommunikation, die körperliche Kopräsenz von Akteuren, Co-Akteuren und zuschauenden Dritten, nicht mehr zwingend gegeben ist? Es hat sich erwiesen, daß die webbasierte Gruppendynamik nur dann angemessen zu erfassen ist, wenn die mehrstelligen Akteur- und Zuschauerkonstellationen analysiert werden, in denen sich die (Selbst-)Strukturierungsprozesse in sozialen Gruppen vollziehen. Die Herausforderungen des Web 2.0 haben Neuansätze zu sozial- und kulturwissenschaftlichen Akteurtheorien befördert; das Konzept der spektatorischen Situation, das sich auf Perspektiven- und Positionswechsel zwischen Ego-Akteuren, Alter-Akteuren und zuschauenden Dritten konzentriert, kann als eine Variante dieser neuen Akteurtheorien begriffen werden.
Da das Singuläre im Aktionsbereich des Literarischen einen angestammten Ort der Verhandlung und der Ausgestaltung hat, stellt sich die Frage, inwiefern der Literatur selbst eine hiatische Funktion, das heißt die Funktion einer "Atemwende", eines Richtungswechsels, oder weniger luftig gedacht: die Funktion eines Aktes, einer Veränderung bewirkenden Kraft zukommt.
Die Literaturgeschichte quillt über on Werken über den Krieg, aus dem Krieg, mit dem Krieg, gegen den Krieg. Ein Heldenepos schien jahrhundertelang nicht anders denkbar denn als Erzählung von Kämpfern, Kriegern, Eroberern. [...] Im 20. Jahrhundert entstehen, oft im Widerspruch zu solcher Privatisierung, neue Formen, mit dem Krieg, der dieses Jahrhundert noch entsetzlicher traf als vorhergegangene, literarisch fertig zu werden: Dokumentation, Erlebnisbericht, Lautgedicht, Medienkritik, aber auch Schriften, in denen Kriegskameraderie als Alternative zur bürgerlichen Lebenswelt erscheint. Die Jugoslawienkriege der neunziger Jahre haben Europa auch außerhalb der unmittelbar betroffenen Gebiete erschüttert. Innerhalb der deutschsprachigen Literatur haben ich in den letzten Jahren nicht wenige Autoren mit zeitgenössischen Kriegen befaßt. Aus der Fülle von Texten greife ich drei nicht-fiktionale heraus; drei Reiseberichte, wenn auch höchst unterschiedlicher Natur, von Angehörigen verschiedener Generationen verfßt. Peter Handke ist ein Kriegskind, 1942 geboren; Juli Zeh, Jahrgang 1974, hat die Jugoslawienkriege als Jugendliche über die Medien mitbekommen, Peter Waterhouse, Jahrgang 1956, steht zwischen den beiden Generationen, sein Vater war sowohl im Zweiten Weltkrieg wie auch im Kalten Krieg in einer Weise aktiv, die für den Autor Beweggrund zu vielerlei Fragen ist.
Die Ausrichtung der Blicke : Aspekte des Schauens und Angeschaut-Werdens im Werke W. G. Sebalds
(2010)
In der Art und Weise, wie Sebald Melancholie bei sich als "emotionale Disposition" begreift, überträgt er in seine Prosa eine Vorstellung von Melancholie, die nicht als reaktiver Zustand zu verstehen ist [...], sondern analog zu Hildesheimer als ein konstitutioneller Zustand in Erscheinung treten soll, als ein der Literatur innewohnender Gestus. Melancholie dient dabei einer Fiktionalisierung und darf zugleich nicht fiktionalisiert werden. Melancholie kommt vielmehr subtil zur Geltung; im Blick der Augen, im Blicken der Figuren, im gegenseitigen, kontemplativen Anblicken und in den bildlichen Ausblicken, die die Fotografien gewähren. Diese in die Texte eingelassenen Bilder, die immer auch Blicke nach den ihnen ganz eigenen Regeln und Gesetzen preisgeben, funktionieren wie Fenster, die "unentbehrlichen Requisiten der Melancholie". Für den lesenden Betrachter bedeuten sie nur auf den "ersten Blick" äußerliche Aussichten, denn vielmehr bieten sie Einblicke in
das melancholische Wesen der Sebaldschen Literatur.
Die Paradigmen des Schlachtgemäldes und der Schlachtbeschreibung dienen Sebald und Simon als Kontrastfolie für ihre Versuche, sich den historischen Katastrophen des 20. Jahrhunderts anzunähern. Auf unterschiedliche Weise demontieren beide Autoren den Anspruch dieser Paradigmen auf Transparenz und wenden sich damit auch gegen das Pathos einer bestimmten Tradition der Darstellung des Krieges. Aber zugleich reflektieren beide Autoren die sich zu einem einheitlichen und sinnhaften Ganzen zusammenfügenden Erfahrungen des 20. Jahrhunderts gerade in dieser auf Totalität abzielenden Form. Sie ermöglicht ihnen die spielerische Suggestion von Unmittelbarkeit und Intensität bei gleichzeitigem Beharren auf der Unverfügbarkeit einer Erfahrung, die nicht vergessen, aber auch nicht erinnert werden kann.
Die Neuen Kriege seit dem Epochenbruch von 1989 sind Thema der Gegenwartsliteratur geworden, und sie sucht im Raum der Fiktion eine eigene Anschaulichkeit und spezifische Vorstellungen vom Charakter dieser neuen Konflikte zu erzeugen. Zugleich sind diese Neuen Kriege ein Gegenstand der disziplinär erfaßten Diskurse der Wssenschaften, die nach den kurzen Friedenserwartungen im Anschluß an 1989/90 eine Theorie der Kriege im Zeichen einer neuen Globalisierung verstärkt diskutieren. Wenn das gegenwärtige Denken des Krieges literarisch und außerliterarisch seine Kontur gewinnt, erscheint die Relationierung beider Felder geboten, wie in einem neueren literaturwissenschaftlichen Forschungszweig nach dem Verhältnis von Literatur und Wissen bzw. von literarischen Texten und wissensehaftlichen Diskursen gefragt wird. Das Thema Neue Kriege läßt sich jedoch hier aus zwei Gründen nicht umstandslos einreihen. Der eine Grund ist theoretisch-methodischer Art. Nur die Dualität von disziplinär verfaßten historisch-politischen Diskursen und literarischem Text in den Blick zu nehmen ist zu wenig differenziert. Es ist nötig, sie um eine dritte Dimension zu erweitern: den Komplex der Medien, die als Wissensgeber vom Krieg, als eigene Kriegsmittel und als Gegenspieler der Literatur fungieren.
Weimarer Beiträge 56/2010
(2010)
Die Weimarer Beiträge - seit ihrer Einstellung durch den Aufbauverlag 1991 vom Passagen Verlag herausgegeben - ist eine der renommiertesten Literatur- und Kulturzeitschriften der ehemaligen DDR. Durch ihren interdisziplinären Ansatz, der auch allgemeine kulturelle, ästhetische und politische Überlegungen einbezieht, trägt sie zu einer Einbindung der deutschsprachigen Kulturwissenschaften in die internationale Diskussion bei.
Child of earth
(2010)
Child of Earth is the story of Achu, a young African boy who loses his mother when he is still a baby. He is raised by his father in a household teeming with wives and children. Then the father dies and the task of raising Achu devolves on his aunt, his father's sister, who is married to one of the richest and most powerful men in the country. But the aunt is jealous because Achu is doing better in school than her own children . . .
Intimate strangers
(2010)
Intimate Strangers tells the story of the everyday tensions of maids and madams in ways that bring together different worlds and explore various dimensions of servitude and mobility. Immaculate travels to a foreign land only to find her fiancé refusing to marry her. Operating from the margins of society, through her own ingenuity and an encounter with researcher Dr Winter-Bottom Nanny, she is able to earn some money. Will she remain at the margins or graduate into DUST - Diamond University of Science and Technology? Immaculate learns how maids struggle to make ends meet and madams wrestle to keep them in their employ. Resolved to make her disappointments blessings, she perseveres until she can take no more.
Les murmures de l'harmattan
(2010)
The author of Harmattan Whispers reproduces life in such a harmonic order enveloped with dreams carefully filtered and balanced. As a keen observer of his society, he describes with passionate fervour movements that give existence its density. Emmanuel Matateyou in this poetic cocktail of his takes the reader through an African society where Harmattan, this North East trade wind, destroys as it sweeps along the ugly, the vicissitudes and the shredded pieces of life to leave place to a new kind of drunken quest. In the flux of his words and imagery, he gives life to dreams, fantasies and the Utopian visions of this lover of life, all of which are brought to the limelight through poetically revealing correspondences all rooted in passion and hope.
This is a very engaging book based on compelling stories of human triumph over adversity coming out of Africa, Asia and America. Gideon's personal journey and his account of his mother and uncle in this book exemplify what it means to be truly resilient. The book is moving, well thought out and masterfully structured, a most riveting Read. Gideon For-mukwai draws on local wisdoms from his native Cameroon to tell a universal story. It is a book written in evidence of a mind in tune with the heart. Its stories, strategies, and metaphors provide incredible wisdom relevant to any society and explicitly remind readers that our circumstances may be different, but the strategies to overcome are the same. If a widow can make a legendary success story in Africa, then almost anybody can. What makes this book special is the fact that it is based on the stories of modest human beings.
Konglanjo : (Spears of Love without Ill-fortune) and Letters to Ethiopia with Some Random Poems
(2010)
This collection of poems evolves as a network and satellite of an expressive pursuit of justice with a difference. For, though this poetry simultaneously shapes global and grassroots smiles and tears, its corpus is no matter for laughter or weeping. In familiar but not identical voices, the poet tackles social evils as parasites while cross-examining cultural assumptions in the same vein. Triple form -title poem, Letters to Ethiopia and Some Random poems, explores nightmares of colonial mission civilisatrice by dint of two decades of inspirational events from 1965 as invitations into a more serene world emerging from post-discoveries.
The forces of nature warranted that these two English speaking poets, linguists, translators cum academics and researchers be born in Ndop, Ngoketunjia Division, in the North West Region of Cameroon. The one is based in the USA and other in Australia. Disgusted by the rotten political clime in their country as well as the political stance of politician vis-à-vis the English speaking minority, these two poets in their poetry explore the ins and outs of the problems of existence, not only of the minority English speaking Cameroonian but those of minorities in a modern world with a push for globalization. To them art is not only a weapon for survival but one for resistance.
Rock of God (Kilán ke Nyùy)
(2010)
Rock of God centres on a significant war that Nso fought with Bamoun in the 1880s, and which war resulted in a devastating defeat for the Bamouns. During this war, a major Nso combat rule was broken: the Sultan (king) of Bamoun was decapitated. Both local story tellers and historians have indicated that the Sultan was only supposed to be captured alive. The play explores some very compelling reasons for this violation. It mocks any attempt at categorization because the events involved are as historically relevant as they are anthropologically profound; as literarily dense as they are linguistically compelling. It surely stands on its own because it clearly combines concepts of docu-drama, morality play, classical theatre, historical drama, and much more. But beyond all else, it is great artistry that demonstrates the genius of experimentation.
The call of blood
(2010)
Efenze, the President of the Board of Directors of government companies and a member of the Central Committee of the Ruling Party, eliminates his erstwhile business contractor, Sancheu, with the complicity of the latter's wife. His aim is to inherit Sancheu's widow and wealth and to forge his way into the Political Bureau of the Party. The Call of Blood is a dramatization of evil in its multifaceted dimensions including treachery, infidelity, greed, hypocrisy, double-crossing and vaulting ambition in a postcolonial society where those who wield political and financial power thrive or perish by their involvement in obscure schemes. The play is enriched by a great sense of dramatic economy and poetic style evident in the preponderant use of local imagery.
Wholeness Living
(2010)
Wholeness Living is about recognizing the power that exists within us, in others and in the Higher Power. When these powers are in harmony we experience growth in the sense of physical health, high self-esteem, high social interest, and high optimism. Therefore, wholeness living is the openness to the truth about the relationship with the physical self, the psychological self, others and the Higher Power. Based on years of clinical practice, academic research and personal investigation, Dr Bonaventura Balige's approach to leading a full, rich and happy life focuses on four main areas - the physical, the psychological, the social and the spiritual - any one or more of which can be at the root of our difficulties. In this book are lessons and heartfelt advice to help us address the issues interfering with our enjoyment of life. While it is true that life is often difficult, we have the tools to deal with any situation. Dr Balige shows us that every person has the power to create the wholeness that can see us through the storms of life. Every person can find happiness by following the steps explaining what wholeness living entails.
This book is the first comprehensive contribution to understanding the character of important societal transitions in Tanzania during Benjamin Mkapa's presidency (1995- 2005). The analyses of the trajectory of these transitions are conducted against the background of the development model of Tanzanian's first president, Julius Nyerere (1961-1985), a model with lasting influence on the country. This approach enables an understanding of continuities and discontinuities in Tanzania over time in areas such as development strategy an ideology, agrarian-land, gender and forestry issues, economic liberalization, development assistance, corruption and political change. The period of Mkapa's presidency is particularly important because it represents the first phase of Tanzania's multi- party political system. Mkapa's government initially faced a gloomy economic situation. Although Mkapa's crusade against corruption lost direction, his presidency was characterised by relatively high growth rates and a stable macro-economy. Rural and agrarian transitions were dominated by diversification rather than productivity growth and transformation. Rural attitudes in favour of land markets emerged only slowly but formal land disputes showed more respect for women's rights. Some space emerged for widening local participation in forest management, but rural dynamics was mainly found in trading settlements feeding on economic liberalization and artisanal mining. The transitions documented and analysed of Mkapa's presidency, however, indicate only limited transformational change. Rural poverty is therefore likely to remain deep and the sustainability of economic development to be at risk in the future. Mkapa was, however, able to protect the legacy of peace and political stability of Nyerere, but there were nevertheless important challenges to the first multiparty elections and governance, and particularly in Zanzibar. The post- script (covering 2005 2010), indicates that the incumbent president, Jakaya Kikwete, has yet to prove that he can change this legacy of Mkapa. Co-published with the Nordic Africa Institute and the Sokoine University of Agriculture, the contributions to the eleven chapters of this book are evenly shared between Tanzanian, Nordic and other European researchers with a long-term commitment to Tanzanian development research. he book is dedicated to the youth of Tanzania.
Conflict in Northern Ghana appears to be increasing in amplitude and frequency and its effects are getting more devastating. It is the view of this book that the Government of Ghana and civil society organisations involved in aspects of conflict management have approached peace issues in the region with an inadequate understanding of the local issues that divide and unite the people, or using sufficient resources to preempt conflict. In 2003 The Mole V summit was held in Damongo to discuss strategic directions for comprehensive development and poverty reduction in Northern Ghana as a mechanism for supporting conflict management. It is the aim of this publication to contribute to the proposed plan by suggesting past and current conflict management resources and mechanisms which could be employed. The suggestions are informed by surveys, which are oulined in the book, of particular conflicts in the three northern Regions of Ghana between 2006 and 2008 - their histories, causes and effects and their resolution.
he name Dar es Salaam comes from the Arabic phrase meaning house of peace. A popular but erroneous translation is haven of peace resulting from a mix-up of the Arabic words 'dar' (house) and 'bandar' (harbour). Named in 1867 by the Sultan of Zanzibar, the town has for a long time benefitted from a reputation of being a place of tranquility. The tropical drowsiness is a comfort to the socialist poverty and under-equipment that causes an unending anxiety to reign over the town. Today, for the Tanzanian, the town has become Bongoland, that is, a place where survival is a matter of cunning and intelligence (bongo means brain in Kiswahili). Far from being an anecdote, this slide into toponomy records the mutations that affect the links that Tanzanians maintain with their principal city and the manner in which it represents them. This book takes into account the changes by departing from the hypothesis that they reveal a process of territorialisation. What are the processesenvisaged as spatial investmentswhich, by producing exclusivity, demarcations and exclusions, fragment the urban space and its social fabric? Do the practices and discussions of the urban dwellers construct limited spaces, appropriated, identified and managed by communities (in other words, territories)? Dar es Salaam is often described as a diversified, relatively homogenous and integrating place. However, is it not more appropriate to describe it as fragmented? As territorialisation can only occur through frequenting, management and localised investment, it is therefore through certain placesfirst shelter and residential area, then the school, daladala station, the fire hydrant and the quaysthat the town is observed. This led to broach the question in the geographical sense of urban policy carried out since German colonisation to date. At the same time, the analysis of these developments allows for an evaluation of the role of the urban crisis and the responses it brings. In sum, the aim of this approach is to measure the impact of the uniqueness of the place on the current changes. On one hand, this is linked to its long-term insertion in the Swahili civilisation, and on the other, to its colonisation by Germany and later Britain and finally, to the singularity of the post-colonial path. This latter is marked by an alternation of Ujamaa with Structural Adjustment Plans applied since 1987. How does this remarkable political culture take part in the emerging city today?
This book is a compilation of oral histories about the movement of Luo and some Bantu-speaking peoples. It includes histories of many clans or ethnic groups, and how drought, warfare, disease, and competition over pastoral resources in western Kenya forced them to look for a land that they could call their own. Highly entertaining, the stories cross over from pre-colonial to post-colonial eras, with tales of fooling the colonial officers, winning battles and producing miracles. Although warriors and chiefs play a critical part in the stories so too do unlikely actors such as women, prophets, and common farmers. As one of the elders put it, 'Without history you are like wild animals' you need to know where you came from and who you are.' People with kinship connections to the ethnic groups represented here will delight in the references to places, people, kin groups and events. Residents of western Kenya will be able to trace some of their genealogies to North Mara and vice versa. Historians and anthropologists will find in this book a rich primary source for their own research. Those interested in cultural change will find this a fascinating case of Luo assimilation: events chronicled in this book are still underway and observable in communities today. Producing the text in both Swahili and English ensures that local people will have access to these histories for their own learning and on-going discussions about the past.
Despite being a large capital city in Africa in terms of size and its regional role, Nairobi is an unrecognised entity. For the majority of its inhabitants, the capital of Kenya is a transit point rather than a dwelling place. Since its origins, Nairobi has been a city of migrants, more predisposed to their rural roots than to their current city status. It is a non-conforming town, which conceals its urbanity more than it claims it, and whose identity remains evasive. Nairobi presents itself as a mosaic of residential areas which bring to mind the cityís history. The racial segregation that stratified the development of the colonial city has today disappeared, but it has given way to a form of social segregation. One must, therefore, not seek a unique identity in Nairobi, but rather, several identities - those of different communities that comprise the city and whose dynamics are seen at village and residential estate level. However, Nairobi is also a city that is contradictory. This East African capital city is often associated with slums and crime, and their increase and growth stigmatises the failure of urban policies. Therefore, it is at these cracks and fringes of the city that we should seek out the identities and dynamics that have shaped the city for a century. Nairobi is a fragmented city that can be understood in steps. The 13 contributory articles in Nairobi Today thus reveal the city. This multidisciplinary collective work invites us to gain entry into certain areas of the city, to visit its communities and to familiarise ourselves with its formal and informal institutions. This is a requirement in order to fully understand what makes Nairobi what it is today.
The importance of watercourses to human life and development cannot be overemphasised. From communication, trade, agriculture and the location of human settlements, they have played an immeasurable role. Almost 60% of Africa lies within shared rivers and lake basins. The Nile is shared by more than seven nations, the Zambezi by six, and the Congo by nine. With populations on the rise, many countries have been labeled water scarce nations, and in fifteen years it is predicted that many people on earth will be exposed to water shortage consequences such as famine and disease. Thirteen African nations already suffer water stress and soon another twelve will join the list unless something is done to thwart the problem. On March 20, 2009 in Nairobi, Hekima College collaborated with Jesuit Hakimani Centre and the French Institute for Research in Africa (IFRA) to host the Hekima College Water Day Academic Seminar with the theme Shared Waters, Shared Opportunities. This book is the result of critical research and presentations by internationally renowned scholars, researchers and experts, and students of the Institute of Peace Studies and International RelationsHekima College. For most of 2009 Kenya suffered severe problems caused by flooding which took many lives and destroyed homes and important infrastructures. It highlighted the issues of water management and water conflicts, not only in Kenya but in other parts of East Africa, as it was made abundantly clear that not only scarcity of water, but excess water, incorrectly managed, can be disastrous. This timely, scholarly book presents discussions of the issues which underlie the major water crises in the region. They open the debate into the water problems of Kenya and East Africa in an effort to join the global campaign to find solutions to these difficulties.
Cheche, a radical, socialist student magazine at the University of Dares Salaam, first came out in 1969. Featuring incisive analyses of key societal issues by prominent progressives, it gained national and international recognition in a short while. Because it was independent of authority, and spoke without fear or favor, it was banned after just a year of existence. The former editors and associates of Cheche revive that salutory episode of student activism in this book with fast-flowing, humor spiced stories, and astute socio-economic analyses. Issues covered include social and technical aspects of low-budget magazine production, travails of student life and activism, contents and philosophy of higher education, socialism in Tanzania, African liberation, gender politics and global affairs. They also reflect on the relevance of past student activism to the modern era. If your interests cover higher education in Africa, political and development studies, journalism, African affairs, socialism and capitalism, or if you just seek elucidation of student activism in a nation then at the center of the African struggle for liberation, this book presents the topic in a lively but unorthodox and ethically engaging manner.
Sitting on the terrace of the royal plantation Frederiksgave, his favourite retreat, Governor Edward Carstensen came to see the inevitable: Denmark had to give up her 'possessions' in Africa. As fate would have it, he came to be the instrument by which two centuries of Danish involvement on the Gold Coast was terminated, thereby making way for the emergence of the colonial system that developed there. After the abolition of the slave trade, Denmark had struggled to find ways and means to legitimate her continued stay at the Coast. At an early stage the Danes initiated a number of attempts to establish experimental plantations to cultivate export crops such as cotton, coffee and sugar. But a transition from slave trade to 'legitimate' products required stability and peace, and a need for control, which the rather limited Danish presence was not able to maintain. Closing the Books comprises a compilation of the official reports that the last Danish Governor sent home during his term of office at the Gold Coast. The reports reflect his personal views regarding the economic and political situations there, as well as his ideas on the 'civilization of Africa'.
This book brings together articles and conference papers on the Zambezi River and Kariba Dam written by Dr. Tumbare between 1998-2010. Part I discusses issues of river basin and integrated water resources management and Part II contains papers in infrastructure development in the water and energy sectors.
The last text on the geography of Uganda was written in 1975 by Professor Brian Langlands. Since the last publication, Uganda has undergone numerous changes. The population has more than tripled from less than 10 million to almost 30 million. The district boundaries have changed and the number of districts increases every year. New districts are created every year. Economic productivity has also shifted over the years. Furthermore, new and emerging diseases have surfaced in Uganda. This book addresses the need for an updated document on the geography of Uganda. This book was written by a joint group of Ugandan geographers. The contributors authored chapters in their areas of specialization. There are a total of twelve chapters in the book. These chapters are based on the most current data available.
The Cold War period witnessed competition from political, economic, ideological, diplomatic, military and social dimensions between the United States of America (USA), and the then Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). In the superpower rivalries, India and Africa were adversely affected in many ways. The situation did not change for the better in the post-Cold War period, which has witnessed the domination of the world by the US and its allies, the Group of Eight (G-8) industrialised countries. This domination has been characterised by the process of Americanization of the worlds, otherwise termed globalisation, in virtually all spheres of life. USA, India, Africa During and After the Cold War demonstrates that both the United States and The Soviet Union used African States, India and other Third World countries for their own geopolitical considerations; that the foreign policy and foreign relations of the US were meant to subject Africa and India to the dictates of US imperialism. The book assesses the impact of the Cold War and the post-Cold War order on Africa, India and the entire world and argues that the Non Aligned Movement is still relevant to the Third World countries despite the demise of the Cold War. The book analyses issues from the African point of view as opposed to hitherto Western view points but provides a balanced appreciation of the complex forces that shape foreign policies and foreign relations globally. It is a valuable contribution to modern diplomatic history and targets university students, researchers, foreign affairs ministries, and practising diplomats.
This books is the result of concerted teamwork among the academia staff of the Department of Religious Studies, University of Nairobi between 1986 and 1990. The Project was prompted by the necessity to produce relevant and comprehensive textbooks for the undergraduate degree programme. The book has remained in demand, confirming the relevance and quality of its content covering the whole range of major religions of the world with extensive geographical and historical acope. It includes a specific section on African Religion, thus placing the African Religious Heritage within the mainstream of the comparative study of the world's religions.
Reproductive Health, Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction in Africa : Frameworks of Analysis
(2010)
This volume contains framework papers prepared for a collaborative research project on Reproductive Health, Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction in Africa, an initiative of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC). Taken together, the chapters in this book make a compelling argument that improvement in reproductive health is key to raising household incomes and to reducing poverty. the books reveals that the triple phenomena of better reproductive health, economic growth, and declining poverty, are likely to be found in an environment in which labour and product markets function. Further, a macroeconomic framework that encourages domestic and foreign investments and promotes social protection for current and future generations is essential.
A woman yearns for self-assurance to be a woman of dreams, of song and poetry. The feel of life, buried by over socialisation and domestication processes, oppressed by the surrounding culture and dealing with a problem without a name, is lifted in the process of dreaming, singing songs and reciting poetry. That is the woman Wanjira becomes when she narrates stories. She reclaims her dreams through her stories. She reclaims her wellness, hope, independence and strength. You see the sparkle in her eyes when she talks abut dances, courtship, beauty, children, love, courage, determination, joy, and womanhood. Reclaiming My Dreams: Stories by Wanjira wa Rukenya is thus, an individual artist's work. It goes a long way in helping students appreciate the narrative genre and understand the creative role of individual artists. This understanding demystifies the idea that anybody and everybody in the African society is a storyteller; an assertion that has belittled the artistry of African Oral Literature. The book makes us appreciate our cultural heritage. Students of literature in Secondary Schools and in higher institutions of learning will find this book useful.
Jean Hartley, born in Kenya, is acknowledged as being the first to legitimise fixing for wildlife film crews. Over the last 25 years, she has worked on over a thousand films, the vast majority being about wildlife and nature. She features five of the great film makers who all started their careers in Kenya in the1950s, legends whom she is proud to call personal friends. Watching all of their films, and many more, she became fascinated by the history of film making in Kenya and determined to find out when it all started. In this insightful book, she traces the roots of wildlife film back a hundred years, drawing on accounts of the original film makers and the professional hunters who guided those early safaris. She tracks the changes from those grainy, speeded up, silent films through to the technologically perfect High Definition and 3D films that are being made today.
This book seeks to help African Christian leaders to follow the notions of biblical leadership as servanthood and to train men and women with biblical and academic knowledge, which will be critical, practical, pastoral and applicable in the Kenyan context and participate in the discovery, transmission and preservation of knowledge and stimulate the intellectual life and cultural development of Kenya.
This text broadly and comprehensively covers the area of law of succession in Kenya. It exposes the substantive succession legal regime applying in Kenya as well as the Kenyan probate practice. It is tailored specifically for the legal practitioner, the Magistrate and Judge and the law student William Musyoka holds L.L.B and LL.M degrees from the University of Nairobi. He is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a law lecturer. He has taught the law of succession at the Kenya School of Law and is currently teaching the subject at the School of Law, University of Nairobi.
Written in a clear, concise and engaging style this book presents the entire criminal process in a simple, yet authoritative and informative way. The core principles that underpin the criminal procedure, their rationale and assumptions are well articulated and critiqued. In addition the book presents by way of illustration a comprehensive range of the latest local judicial decisions.
Studies have shown that the negative effects of credit market inefficiencies are most felt by smaller firms. Therefore, in countries such as Uganda, where micro enterprises are at the bottom of the economic pyramid, moral hazard and adverse selection severely affect their ability to access formal credit hence limiting their growth potential. Microfinance has been heralded for its use of innovative lending methods to improve access to credit. The last decade has witnessed an unprecedented increase in the outreach of micro lending institutions and the development of financial products suited to the needs of the economically active poor, who often, are unable to obtain credit from mainstream financial institutions. This book analyzes the law and economics theories on access to credit and enterprise finance and based on case studies in Uganda, presents empirical findings of the promise and limits of contractual innovations in micro credit.
On 30th December 2008, the President of Kenya, His Excellency Mwai Kibaki, assented to the controversial Kenya Communications (Amendment) Act 2008 which commenced on 2nd January 2009. This Presidential move had a deep impact on the long discussions, arguments and negotiations that were already in high gear by October 2006, when the Fourth Annual Ethics Conference on Media and the Common Good was held at Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya. The essays in this book make a case for media freedom as well as media responsibility. Let the media create a culture of truth. Let the media not forsake the citizens; let them seek and disseminate the truth; let them not destroy the education, virtues and faith for which so many have shed their blood in Kenya, Africa and elsewhere. May reason prevail, guided by wisdom towards Truth.
One of the critical questions that Kenyans have continuously asked is what went wrong in January and February 2008 with the 'peace' they had hitherto enjoyed. There have not been readily available answers to this fundamental question. The collection of papers presented in this book attempt to provide, as a starting point, possible explanations for the events of early 2008 including key background issues in Kenyan history since pre-independence times. Based on a series of public lectures titled (Re)membering Kenya organized by the volume editors together with Twaweza Communications and sponsored by the Goethe-Institut Kenya, the Institute for International Education and The Ford Foundation the lecture series became a way of trying to get scholars to engage meaningfully with the Kenyan public on critical matters pertaining to their nationhood - even if this entailed first calling to question the 'lie' about the very ideas and practices upon which that nationhood is assumed to stand. A key lesson drawn from the unfolding discussions at the Goethe-Institut Kenya was that the 2007 elections' debacle was merely the cusp of momentous crises to do with among other issues, governance, law and order, Parliament's abdication of its role in ensuring accountability from the Executive, dilemmas of identity and socio-economic marginality. The book is the first of three volumes under the (Re)membering Kenya series whose overall objective is to cast some new light on the various trajectories that informed the happenings of January 2008. The present volume brings together some of the best interpretative writing and suggestions on pertinent questions, past and present, ranging from the architecture of Kenya's ethnicity, Kenyanness, generational competition, socialization and violence, iconic representations of identity to the ongoing debate on the efficacy of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC). It is hoped that the issues debated during the public lectures and documented herein will spur further discussions in other spaces within civil society organizations, among activists and in newspapers where the public might continue to expand their thinking on the complex task of (Re)membering Kenya.
Leading the Night
(2010)
Deprived of being heard, people still have a voice. They make it heard in ways that disturb the status quo. This book is an engagement with such voices. Can Deni, Wairi, Yaadi, matatu people, militia people and taxi drivers in Kenya also ask 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' as Nelson Mandela did. Why do two men wearing bling bling turn into two snakes dancing in Rika's imagination? The web of corruption is intricate. No-one can lead this night alone. It takes many constellations, each one twinkling in its own radius. Many rays of light dispel darkness. The peoples' good leadership alone can check politicians' terrible ways. Philo Ikonya is the author of two poetry anthologies, This Bread of Peace and Out if Prison.
In most of Africa, there is evidence of politicised inter-ethnic rivalry and ethnic mobilisation to acquire, maintain or monopolise power as competition for resources intensify. This volume demonstrates how ethnic diversity can be managed at a number of levels in order to improve the lives of citizens. As the contributors show, ethnicity as an identity is fluid and malleable. It can be deconstructed in order to reduce its saliency. Evidently, strong ethnic affliation has also been viewed as a major barrier to human and economic development although ethnically bound welfare organisations do influence the economic and social life of citizens especially in the rural areas, In most of Africa, it is through ethnic identification that competition for influence in the state and in the allocation of resources becomes apparent. Occasionally, governments have sought to address this challenge through ethnic and regional balancing in political appointments. But this does not always work. Drawing on experiences from Eastern Africa and beyond, the contributors discuss how ethnic diversity can be a resource for the region.
The history of the subalterns, also known as the history of the voiceless, took currency in the early 1980s in South East Asia and has been dominated by scholars from that region. Despite its popularity, the history of the voiceless has not gained the attention it deserves in Cameroon historiography. In other parts of Africa and beyond this type of history has already taken root and animated scholarly production and debate. Cameroon history has been replete with studies that focus mostly on political history and the actions and intentions of top politicians of the day, with scant regard for the historical importance of the everyday life of ordinary Cameroonians as makers and breakers. This book takes a bold step in the direction of subaltern studies in Cameroon, and makes a clarion call for the institutionalization of voicing the voiceless. Nkwi - innovative and stimulating in his blend of history and ethnography of the everyday - offers fresh insights into the contextual understandings of subaltern Cameroon between 1958 and 2009. This is a welcome contribution to closing gaps in social history, from a leader amongst a budding new generation of historians of Cameroon and Africa.