Heimat, “Ostalgie” and the Stasi: The GDR in German cinema, 1999-2006

German cinema is experiencing something of a renaissance, with an assortment of remarkable films having appeared in recent years. Some, such as Gegen die Wand (‘Against the Wall’), focus on the experience of immigrants. Others are set in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Of the latter, Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) and Good Bye Lenin! are the best known, both domestically and abroad, although Sonnenallee also received a mass audience in Germany. This article reviews Das Leben der Anderen and asks why it is so often presented as a fearlessly critical response to Good Bye Lenin! It explores the claim that Good Bye Lenin! and Sonnenallee are exemplars of ‘Ostalgie’ (nostalgia for the former GDR), before presenting a critical analysis of that phenomenon itself

The Lives of the Other(s): The Instability of Foreignness in Deutschland 83

Set in Germany at a hot moment in the Cold War, with the Able Archer exercises and downing of Korean Airlines Flight 007 etched in sharp relief, Deutschland 83 is an entertaining spy drama—and considerably more. The critical viewer will find surprises in the first Germanophone series on American television. The hero is an East German spy who goes undercover on a West German military base, and his crossings over the iconic border are not the only traversals as he forms relationships and acculturates to a “foreign” land. Deutschland 83 performs a neat trick: while the series powerfully reconstructs a world starkly split between West and East, it simultaneously challenges this separation, as well as divisions between domestic and foreign, capitalist and communist, hero and villain, and family and outsider. Through the interweaving of actual media coverage of the historic events of 1983 with the fictional plot, the television narrative also chips away at the difference between reality and fiction. This paper will draw on Milica Bakić-Hayden’s theory of “nesting orientalisms” and the work of Anikó Imre and others to explore how this popular drama, among some enjoyable thrills and testosterone, deserves scholarly scrutiny. As it undercuts a clear Other and destabilizes foreignness, this German drama could be a valuable lesson in an increasingly nativist world

Antike dramen Heiner Müllers. Adaption der mythen oder eine neue theaterästhetik?

Der Artikel analysiert die Tragödienkonzeption Heiner Müllers im Kontext seiner Antike-Ad- aptionen. Interpretiert werden drei Stücke, die aus formaler Perspektive verschiedene Wege der Antike-Rezeption präsentieren. Der kurze Text Der Horatier übernimmt den Stoff aus Livius Ab urbe condita und erzählt die Geschichte der Horatier in einer Form, die man auch als Verserzäh- lung bezeichnen könnte. Das Drama Philoktet stützt sich vor allem auf die Vorlage von Sophokles. Verkommenes Ufer Medeamaterial Landschaft mit Argonauten ist eine sehr freie Adaption des Me- dea-Mythos und nur in Grundzügen ist sie dem antiken Stoff treu. Trotz dieser formalen Unter- schiede zeigen die drei Texte – offensichtlich gegen die Intention ihres Autors, der nach grossen, tragischen Problemen in der kommunistischen Gesellschaft der DDR suchte – Züge einer Poetik, die die Nähe zur Mitleidsästhetik des bürgerlichen Trauerspiels offenbart. Die nähere Analyse deckt Widersprüche auf, die das Individuum, das persönliche Leiden zum Hauptproblem machen. Die private Tragödie der Protagonisten scheint die Tragödie zu verdrängen, die im öffentlichen Raum angesiedelt ist. Dies ist ein überraschendes Ergebnis, bedenkt man Müllers Selbstdeutung sowie seine Rolle im DDR-Kulturbetrieb

Survey Essay 1. Periodizing and Historicizing German Afro-Americanophilia: From Antebellum to Postwar (1850-1965)

In this first essay, we delve into significant moments in the history (and pre-history) of twentieth century Afro-Americanophilia in Germany. We establish a periodisation stretching from the nineteenth century until the mid-1960s (from which point our second essay will continue), and take in the pre-colonial, the colonial, the Weimar, the Nazi; and the post-war eras.  We draw out some of the particularly significant moments, ruptures, and continuities within that time frame. We also identify some of the salient ways scholars have interpreted ‘Afro-Americanophilia’ during the period.  Focusing on a variety of practices of appropriation, communicative media, actors and forms of agency, power differentials, and sociocultural contexts, we discuss positive images of and affirmative approaches to black people in German culture and in its imaginaries. We attend to who was active in Afro-Americanophilia, in what ways, and what the effects of that agency were. Our main focus is on white German Afro-Americanophiles, but—without attempting to write a history of African Americans, black people in Germany, or Black Germans— we also inquire into the ways that the latter reacted to, suffered under the expectations levied upon them, or were able to engage with the demand for ‘black cultural traffic.’ 

Als wär’ es ein Stuck von uns . . . German Politics and Society Traverses Twenty Years of United Germany

This essay looks at postunification Germany through the pages of German Politics and Society. The articles published during this period reveal the evolution of intellectuals' understanding of the unified country—concerns that mirrored changes in social, political, and cultural reality. Of course, academics are beholden to their own histories and Weltanschauung, a fact that produced, at times, prescient, sometimes fragmentary, and sometimes alarmist interpretations and analyses of the country in an attempt to provide orientation. Nevertheless, this review shows how German watchers have slowly up-dated their paradigms and are now not worrying as much about a mellowed, less German country that has fascinated them over the decades.Histor

Whither Hungary and the European communities?

Recent political changes in Eastern Europe will help to cement improving economic relations with the European Communities (EC). Hungary has little alternative but to seek to continue strengthing these ties. It faces important supply constraints and needs injections of fresh capital to help it gear up to seize market opportunities. In the past, Hungary has been somewhere near the bottom of the EC's pyramid of privileges as far as tariff and non-tariff barrier (NTB) treatment are concerned. Hungary has been examining the options of applying for EC membership, European Free Trade Association (EFTA) membership, and examining other forms of association such as those the EC has with a number of Mediterranean countries. From a simulation exercise, the authors conclude that membership of the EC could lead to an expansion of Hungarian exports to the Communities of some 48 percent, with meats, iron and steel, fruit and vegetables, textiles, and clothing being the main sectors to gain. This results from setting tariffs to zero and eliminating non-tariff barriers. If EC or EFTA membership is ruled out, Hungary must seek a closer relationship with the EC, encompassing agriculture as well as manufactures, and covering tariffs and non-tariff barriers.Trade Policy,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Agribusiness&Markets,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT