Table Of ContentG G
“From Goethe to Seghers, from German-Jewish photography e e
to contemporary museum practices, this volume offers an r r
intriguing overview of the current state of German studies.
m m
It demonstrates that, while language and literature remain
central to the enterprise, German studies in North America
resonates with the questions faced by the humanities today.” a a
M Marc Silberman (ed.)
—Stephen Brockmann,
n a n
Professor of German, Carnegie Mellon University, r
c
former President of the German Studies Association
L S L
i
“In 1969, the W isconsin Workshop introduced lb
i e i
interdisciplinarity to the study of Ger man literature, f rm f
inaugurating what we know as German studies. In 2017,
e a e
the Workshop celebrated its 50th year with a conference that n
honored this transformative project. This volume demonstrates (
a e a
that the project continues at the cutting edge of our profession.” d
.
—Helen Fehervary, n ) n
•
Emerita Professor of German, Ohio State University B
d d
a
In the course of the 1970s, interdisciplinary German studies c
k
emerged in North America, breaking with what many in the C t C
o
field saw as a suffocating and politically tainted tradition
i th
of canon-based philology by broadening both the corpus of v e i
texts and the framing concept of culture. In the meantime the F v
innovative impulses that characterized this response to the i ut i
l u
legacy of Germanistik have themselves become traditions. r l
i e
The essays in this volume critically examine a selection of i
z
z
those past attempts at renewal to gauge where we are now
a
and how we move into the future: exile and forced migration, a
race and identity, humanism and utopian thought, solidarity t
t
and global inequality. A younger generation of scholars i i
o
demonstrates how reviving and refining the questions o
of yore leads to new insights into literary and theatrical n Back to the Future n
texts, fundamental philosophical and political ideas, and GLC
the structure of memory in ethnographic performance and
photography. Looking back into the future is a self-reflexive Tradition and Innovation in German Studies
gesture that asks how tradition inspires innovation, and
it displays compelling evidence for the importance of
historically informed cultural research in the field of German
studies.
Marc Silberman is Emeritus Professor of German, film studies,
and interdisciplinary theater studies at the University of
Wisconsin, Madison.
ISBN 978-1-78874-303-7
Peter Lang
www.peterlang.com
G G
“From Goethe to Seghers, from German-Jewish photography e e
to contemporary museum practices, this volume offers an r r
intriguing overview of the current state of German studies.
m m
It demonstrates that, while language and literature remain
central to the enterprise, German studies in North America
resonates with the questions faced by the humanities today.” a a
M Marc Silberman (ed.)
—Stephen Brockmann,
n a n
Professor of German, Carnegie Mellon University, r
c
former President of the German Studies Association
L S L
i
“In 1969, the W isconsin Workshop introduced lb
i e i
interdisciplinarity to the study of Ger man literature, f rm f
inaugurating what we know as German studies. In 2017,
e a e
the Workshop celebrated its 50th year with a conference that n
honored this transformative project. This volume demonstrates (
a e a
that the project continues at the cutting edge of our profession.” d
.
—Helen Fehervary, n ) n
•
Emerita Professor of German, Ohio State University B
d d
a
In the course of the 1970s, interdisciplinary German studies c
k
emerged in North America, breaking with what many in the C t C
o
field saw as a suffocating and politically tainted tradition
i th
of canon-based philology by broadening both the corpus of v e i
texts and the framing concept of culture. In the meantime the F v
innovative impulses that characterized this response to the i ut i
l u
legacy of Germanistik have themselves become traditions. r l
i e
The essays in this volume critically examine a selection of i
z
z
those past attempts at renewal to gauge where we are now
a
and how we move into the future: exile and forced migration, a
race and identity, humanism and utopian thought, solidarity t
t
and global inequality. A younger generation of scholars i i
o
demonstrates how reviving and refining the questions o
of yore leads to new insights into literary and theatrical n Back to the Future n
texts, fundamental philosophical and political ideas, and GLC
the structure of memory in ethnographic performance and
photography. Looking back into the future is a self-reflexive Tradition and Innovation in German Studies
gesture that asks how tradition inspires innovation, and
it displays compelling evidence for the importance of
historically informed cultural research in the field of German
studies.
Marc Silberman is Emeritus Professor of German, film studies,
and interdisciplinary theater studies at the University of
Wisconsin, Madison.
ISBN 978-1-78874-303-7
Peter Lang
www.peterlang.com
Back to the Future
German Life and Civilization
Vol. 68
Jost Hermand
General Editor
Advisory Board
Helen Fehervary
Ohio State University
Peter Uwe Hohendahl
Cornell University
Robert C. Holub
Ohio State University
Klaus Scherpe
Humboldt University, Berlin
Frank Trommler
University of Pennsylvania
PETER LANG
Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • New York • Wien
Marc Silberman (ed.)
Back to the Future
Tradition and Innovation in German Studies
PETER LANG
Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • New York • Wien
Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche National-
bibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at
http://dnb.d-nb.de.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Wisconsin Workshop (50th : 2017 Madison, Wisconsin) | Silberman,
Marc,
1948- editor.
Title: Back to the future : tradition and innovation in German studies / Marc
Silberman.
Description: Oxford ; New York : Peter Lang, 2018. | Series: German life and
civilization, ISSN 0899-9899 ; v. 68 | Proceedings of the 50th Wisconsin
Workshop held at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, September 14-16,
2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018003196 | ISBN 9781788743037 (alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: German philology--Study and teaching (Higher)--United
States--Congresses.
Classification: LCC PF3068.U6 W58 2018 | DDC 430.71/173--dc23 LC record
available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018003196
Cover design by Peter Lang Ltd.
ISSN 0899-9899
ISBN 978-1-78874-303-7 (print) • ISBN 978-1-78874-304-4 (ePDF)
ISBN 978-1-78874-305-1 (ePub) • ISBN 978-1-78874-306-8 (mobi)
© Peter Lang AG 2018
Published by Peter Lang Ltd, International Academic Publishers,
52 St Giles, Oxford, OX1 3LU, United Kingdom
[email protected], www.peterlang.com
Marc Silberman has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act, 1988, to be identified as Editor of this Work.
All rights reserved.
All parts of this publication are protected by copyright.
Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without
the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution.
This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming,
and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems.
This publication has been peer reviewed.
Printed in Germany
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Preface ix
Marc Silberman
Introduction: Back to the Future 1
John K. Noyes
1 Goethe’s Future: Nature, Technology, and Interpretation 9
Johan Siebers
2 E rnst Bloch’s Geist der Utopie after a Century:
A Janus-Faced Reading on the Trail of Hope 37
Mona Körte
3 Pass pro toto: European-Jewish Responses to State
Narratives of Personhood 63
Ofer Ashkenazi
4 Strategies of Exile Photography: Helmar Lerski and Hans
Casparius in Palestine 87
David D. Kim
5 What Is Solidarity? Reading Hannah Arendt between
Innovation and Tradition 121
Hunter Bivens
6 Affective Labors of Socialist Construction in Early
East German Literature 147
vi
Ela Gezen
7 Brecht and Turkish Political Theater: Sermet Çağan’s
Savaş Oyunu (1964) 173
Katrin Sieg
8 Exhibiting Blackness: Blacks and German Culture Revisited 195
Crister S. Garrett
9 Last Liberals Standing? German Politics and Transcultural
Readings of Populism 227
Frank Trommler
10 Back to the Future of German Studies: Which Future?
Which Past? 251
Notes on Contributors 263
Index 267
Illustrations
Figure 4.1: Hans Casparius, “A View of the Kwuzah
Hachugim.” Source: Das Palästina
Bilderbuch (Leipzig and Vienna: E. P. Tal
& Co., 1934). 100
Figure 4.2: Hans Casparius, “Palästina, Tel Aviv, 1934 –
Strand am Schabbath-Morgen.” Source:
Album “Palästina Reise,” 20. Reproduced
with permission of Stiftung deutsche
Kinemathek, Berlin. 102
Figure 4.3: Hans Casparius, “Palästina, Tel Aviv, 1934 –
Strand am Schabbath-Morgen.” Source:
Album “Palästina Reise,” 22. Reproduced
with permission of Stiftung deutsche
Kinemathek, Berlin. 103
Figure 4.4: Hans Casparius, [untitled]. Source: Album
“Reise Fotos,” 1932/296. Reproduced with
permission of Stiftung deutsche Kinemathek,
Berlin. 104
Figures 4.5–4.8: Helmar Lerski, digital screenshots from
a documentary on the building of the Tel
Aviv Harbor. Reproduced with permission
of the Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive,
Jerusalem (original 16mm copy). 110–11
Figure 4.9: Helmar Lerski, “Nahalal 25.” Reproduced
with permission of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. 114
Figure 8.1: Brett Bailey, Exhibit B (2010). Photographer:
Anke Schüttler, with permission. 205
viii Illustrations
Figure 8.2: Jackal Room, Squat Monument (2017).
Photographer: Nathalie Mba Bikoro, with
permission. 216
Figure 8.3: Kites Room, Squat Monument (2017).
Photographer: Nathalie Mba Bikoro, with
permission. 217
Figure 8.4: Parachute Room, Squat Monument (2017).
Photographer: Nathalie Mba Bikoro, with
permission. 221
