Tag Archives: migration
Film Review: The Swissmakers (Die Schweizermacher)
Posted in conjunction with the course Multicultural Germany in fall semester 2015. Author: Karla Palos The 1978 film Die Schweizermacher (The Swissmakers) is a good cop/bad cop comedy directed by Rolf Lyssy which dramatizes the bureaucratic exchanges between immigration officials and … Continue reading
Book Review: Along a Dangerous Road
Posted in conjunction with the course Multicultural Germany in fall semester 2015. Author: Evelyn Roth Along a Dangerous Road – “Der Schlaf in der Ténéré hinterlässt eine unzerstörbare Spur im Körper. Eine Erinnerung für das ganze Leben“ (Sleeping in the Ténéré leaves its mark … Continue reading
Multicultural Germany Course: Week 5 Summary (Sept. 28 & 30)
This last week in class, we discussed the idea of German collective memory and screened the film Almanya – Welcome to Germany. The week’s discussions started with how the term “melting pot” was used to describe US culture in the … Continue reading
Multicultural Germany Course: Week 4 Summary (Sept. 21 & 23)
Who defines identity? Germany’s struggle with inclusivity. This last week in class, we discussed the limits of Germany’s capacity to take in immigrants and what it means to be German. Proponents of reducing the number of foreigners in Germany believe … Continue reading
True Stories of Being Black in Germany, Lakshmi Sarah
Lakshmi Sarah, one of the participants in the course Multicultural Germany, produced an article published in KQED entitled “True Stories of Being Black in Germany” in which she introduces a traveling exhibit from the Goethe Institut and its curator Victoria … Continue reading
Multicultural Germany Course: Summary of the First Two Weeks
To summarize the first two weeks of the seminar “Multicultural Germany” (fall 2015) it is best to start off with the participants: One third of the class is exchange students, mostly from Germany. Due to this the class can benefit … Continue reading
Multicultural Germany Course, Fall Semester 2015
This course addresses questions of mobility and borders in our increasingly connected and disjointed world. We will approach the history of post-World War II Germany through the lens of migration, reading a variety of texts critically and relating them to … Continue reading
Multicultural Germany Class Final Paper: Staged Realities
At the end of the past semester, students in the Multicultural Germany class at UC Berkeley wrote final papers on topics of their choosing. To conclude our series of posts from this class, we are delighted to share several of their papers … Continue reading
Film Rezension: “Gegen die Wand”
As part of their work in the Multicultural Germany undergraduate seminar at UC Berkeley, students in the course have reviewed recent German films relating in various ways to topics of migration, multiculturalism, and contemporary German identity. Julia Schroeder reviewed Fatih Akin’s 2004 … Continue reading
“Gegen die Wand” Rezension von Julia Schroeder
Der Film “Gegen die Wand” von Fatih Akin ist eine dramatische und brutale Tragikomödie und gleichzeitig eine zärtliche Liebesgeschichte über zwei verzweifelte, leidenschaftliche Menschen, die sich nach ihrem Selbstmordversuch, (er fährt gegen die Wand und sie schneidet sich die Pulsadern … Continue reading
“Gegen die Wand” Film Review by Inga Keller
Within an initially hyperbolic narrative, farfetched in its extreme situations, Gegen die Wand (Head-On) manages to insert many small insights into the Turkish community living in Germany, characterizing the difficulty immigrants have in defining themselves when they no longer feel … Continue reading
Film Review: “Born in Absurdistan”
As part of the Multicultural Germany undergraduate seminar at UC Berkeley, students reviewed recent German films relating in various ways to topics of migration, multiculturalism, and contemporary German identity. Tanja Mehlo reviewed the 1999 film “Geboren in Absurdistan” (Born in Absurdistan): … Continue reading
Film Review: “Brudermord” (Fratricide)
As part of the Multicultural Germany undergraduate seminar at UC Berkeley, students reviewed recent German films relating in various ways to topics of migration, multiculturalism, and contemporary German identity. Melissa Carlson reviewed Yilmaz Arslan’s 2005 film “Brudermord”: Fratricide is a drama with … Continue reading
Film Reviews: “Auf der anderen Seite” (The Edge of Heaven)
As part of their work in the Multicultural Germany undergraduate seminar at UC Berkeley, students in the course have reviewed recent German films relating in various ways to topics of migration, multiculturalism, and contemporary German identity. Ying Ruan and Ann Huang both reviewed Fatih Akin’s … Continue reading
Book Review: “Why the Child is Cooking the Polenta”
As part of their work for the Multicultural Germany undergraduate seminar at UC Berkeley, students in the course have reviewed recent German books relating in various ways to topics of migration, multiculturalism, and contemporary German identity. Ying Ruan reviewed Aglaja … Continue reading
Warum das Kind das Polenta kocht
English translation: Why the Child is Cooking the Polenta, translated by Vincent King, Champaign: Dalkey Archive Press , 2012. Book review by UC Berkeley undergraduate Ying Ruan: Why the Child is Cooking in the Polenta is a semi-autobiographical novel written by … Continue reading
Book Review: “The Passport”
UC Berkeley undergraduate Preethi Kandhalu reviewed Herta Müller’s 1986 novel “Der Mensch ist ein grosser Fasan auf der Welt” (The Passport): The Passport presents the story of Windisch, a miller who lives in the Socialist Republic of Romania with his wife and … Continue reading
Der Mensch ist ein grosser Fasan auf der Welt (The Passport)
English translation: The Passport, translated by Martin Chalmers, London: Serpent’s Tail, 1989 Book review by UC Berkeley undergraduate Preethi Kandhalu: The Passport is a novel by Herta Müller that was published in 1986; Müller was the winner of the Nobel Prize for … Continue reading
Book Review: “Transit”
UC Berkeley undergraduate Victoria Brinkerhoff reviewed Anna Seghers’ novel Transit: Transit describes the encounters and emotional turmoil of an anonymous twenty-seven-year-old German refugee in the early 1940s. The novel is written from the refugee’s perspective; in his narration, he documents his new … Continue reading