As the first in-person event of the Germanistische Institutspartnerschaft (GIP): Diversifiying German Studies, funded by the DAAD, Dr. Obenewaa Oduro-Opuni organized a workshop on "Kulturelle Identität(en): Perspektiven einer postkolonialen Literaturwissenschaft." From September 18-23, the UA German Department was hosting friends and colleagues from the University of California Berkeley and from the University of Cologne in Germany.
After being provided with a reader that brought together select primary sources and research literature, the participants entered lively discussions on concepts of postcolonial studies, critical race theory, and gender theory. The goal was to examine how German-language literature depicts various forms of discrimination against people of color, refugees, and “foreign”-constructed “others.” Theoretical approaches by Edward W. Said, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, and Ta-Nehisis Coates as well as literary texts by May Ayim, August von Kotzebue, and Sharon Dodua Otoo were discussed in detail.
We're also looking forward to the next GIP workshop on plurilingualism from November 7-11, organized by Dr. Peter Ecke and Dr. Nicole Marx.