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Self‐Assertion, Intervention and Achievement. Black German Writing in Postcolonial Perspective
Author(s) -
Göttsche Dirk
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
orbis litterarum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.109
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 1600-0730
pISSN - 0105-7510
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0730.2011.01042.x
Subject(s) - german , sociology , gender studies , politics , history , literature , political science , law , art , archaeology
Drawing on postcolonial theory as well as research into the African diaspora, this article offers an overview of Black German writing since its beginnings during the 1980s. Considering a wide range of sources and moving beyond pioneering works such as Farbe bekennen and May Ayim’s poetry, the study discusses defining themes in Black German literature as well as the growth of the field and the post‐millennium diversification of Black German discourse. Recent developments, which demonstrate new confidence in Afro‐German identity while also continuing now established traditions of cultural critique and diasporic politics, combine self‐assertion and critical intervention in German national discourses with narratives of achievement and performative normality. This article also cross‐references Black German literature with African migrants’ writing in German and highlights the literary cross‐mapping of memory discourses relating to Black German history, German colonialism, National Socialism and the demise of the German Democratic Republic.