Identidade, memória e esquecimento no romance "Ohnehin" de Doron Rabinovici

O romance em apreço poderá […] ser compreendido com o resultado desta duplicidade identitária e interpretado como uma metáfora da amnésia social generalizada que o autor observa na sociedade onde actua. Neste texto é sua intenção criticar a ausência de altruísmo, a indiferença, o preconceito e as generalizações a que muitas das personagens do romance são sujeitas. Enquanto algumas destas figuras, especialmente as que pertencem a minorias negligenciadas, aspiram à sua integridade pessoal e ao reconhecimento social, as restantes figuras personificam a incapacidade de relembrar da qual a sociedade civil genericamente parece sofrer. Na visão de Rabinovici, devido a este esquecimento colectivo a sociedade incorre nos mesmos erros do passado, do passado nacional-socialista, na medida em que, adoptando o papel de mera espectadora, continua passivamente a ignorar a necessidade de legitimação e de aceitação de um conjunto de indivíduos

The myth of the first victim: the impact of Austria’s official narrative on Jewish identity reconstruction

After the constitution of the Second Republic, on April 27, 1945 (at the same time as Germany was being held responsible for crimes of genocide) Austria adopted the role of victim of the nazi regime – which was actually an attribute formally stated in the Moscow Declaration of November 1, 1943 that considered Austria the first free country to be stricken by Adolf Hitler’s hegemonic policy when it was annexed in March 1938. This perception, this imagined national narrative would last four decades. It would only be in 1986, as a consequence of the “Waldheim affair”, that the crystallized official narrative that Austria was Hitler’s first victim started to be questioned. The acknowledgement that elected President Kurt Waldheim had been an SS Officer during the national-socialist regime generated a major political scandal. This confrontation with the past and the assumption that Waldheim had only “fulfilled his duty” led to an in-depth reflection about Austria’s co-participation in the nazi crimes and moved a group of young Austrian intellectuals towards political and social participation. Amongst others, Robert Schindel, Robert Menasse, Ruth Beckermann and Doron Rabinovici are some prominent intellectuals who have intervened by breaking the silence about anti-Semitism and deconstructing the self-victimizing myth of the nation. The question of the Austrian myth is particularly relevant when linked with the topic of Jewish self-reconstruction in the aftermath of the war. For the majority of the Jewish Diaspora the Holocaust became the central aspect of Jewish self-perception; it was the event that provided them with a sense of belonging to a wide community of victims. This wasn’t the case of Austrian Jews though; Austria denied Jews their especial status of victims of the NS regime, having therefore denied them the affirmative definition of the subject as a member of a specific community

It is not yet resolved. Post-memories of the Third Reich

This essay offers a reflection on the concepts of identity and personal narrative, a line of argument that is closely interlaced with a subject’s capacity to self-representation. As self-representation is necessarily composed upon remembrance processes, the question of memory as a collective phenomenon that directly influences identitary mechanisms becomes an emergent topic. Bearing this objective in mind, I shall point at the different types of memory and will argue that not only experienced memories play a key role in this process; intermediated, received narratives from the past, memories transmitted either symbolically or by elder members of the group or, what has been meanwhile termed “postmemory”, also influence the development of an individual’s identitary map. I shall link these issues to the generations of individuals that were born in the aftermath of Germany’s National-Socialist dictatorship, particularly by focusing on the literary representations and personal perspectives of contemporary German and Austrian writers, whose texts represent the concepts of trauma, identity and (post)memory in central Europe’s historical, political and social context

Fazer uma história da própria vida. Narrativa pessoal e memória comunicativa em Paul Schatz im Uhrenkasten, de Jan Koneffke

O presente trabalho propõe uma reflexão sobre as noções de identidade e narrativa pessoal, tópicos que se encontram estreitamente relacionados com a capacidade de auto-representação de um sujeito. Tendo em conta que a auto-representação é necessariamente elaborada a partir de processos de rememoração, a questão da memória enquanto elemento que directamente influencia a formação identitária torna-se num tópico emergente. Com este objectivo em mente, sublinharei a importância da noção de continuidade biográfica, da capacidade de elaboração de uma narrativa pessoal, enquanto prerrogativa essencial para que o sujeito alcance um sentido de coerência e coesão identitárias. Por outro lado, argumentarei que não serão apenas as memórias resultantes da experiência do sujeito a contribuir para o processo da sua formação identitária; no caso concreto das gerações pós-Holocausto, as narrativas recebidas do passado, memórias transmitidas quer de forma simbólica, quer através dos elementos mais velhos do grupo – o que entretanto designamos de “pós-memória” – também influenciam o mapa identitário de um sujeito. Este enquadramento teórico será ilustrado com base no romance Paul Schatz im Uhrenkasten, do escritor alemão de segunda-geração Jan Koneffke

Memória e pertença identitária no romance "Andernorts" (2010) de Doron Rabinovici

Nas eleições legislativas de 3 de Outubro de 1999, a Österreichische Volkspartei liderada por Wolfgang Schüssel forma governo com a terceira força partidária do país, a Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, dirigida pelo controverso governador da Caríntia Jörg Haider que, com os seus discursos de cariz claramente xenófobo, lançou o olhar da Europa sobre a Áustria pelas piores razões. No rescaldo desta coligação, mediante um cenário que, em larga escala, parecia representar um retrocesso no passado, o escritor e ativista político austríaco de origem judaica Doron Rabinovici publica um texto no jornal israelita HaGalil, ao qual dá o curioso título “Doron R. und D. Rabinovici. Der nationale Doppler”. Trata-se, na verdade, de uma espécie de diálogo assumidamente esquizofrénico no qual Doron R., o israelita, interpela D. Rabinovici, o austríaco, e o desafia a repensarem a sua relação [...]. Em 2010, uma década após ter publicado este texto, Rabinovici regressa ao registo literário com Andernorts, romance onde parece retomar esse diálogo. Se, no final da década de noventa, D. Rabinovici, o austríaco, reconhece que se sente simultaneamente parte integrante da cidade de Viena, porém também um estranho, porque, no fundo, o seu país é responsável pela morte de milhões de membros do seu povo, o protagonista do romance aqui em apreço, Ethan Rosen, também ele um israelita que vive em Viena, tece considerações semelhantes, mas desta feita relativamente a Israel: “Er wusste sich zu Hause, fühlte sich so heimisch und fremd zugleich, da ihn die Sehnsucht erfaßte sofort wiederfortzufliegen”. (Rabinovici 2010, 80

Language learning during a pandemic: student engagement and communicative competence development through technology-based activities

In its Employment Outlook 2019 report, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) acknowledged that the world was changing at lightning speed, projecting that one-third of all jobs worldwide would likely be transformed by technology by 2030 [1]. In January 2020, the World Economic Forum reinforced that, consequently, the world was facing a reskilling emergency: due to the inevitable rise of technology, and to ensure the future of our economy, more than 1 billion would need to drive an important reskilling effort – not only in terms of high-tech skills but also specialised interpersonal skills would also be in high demand [2]. Little did we know, that the future would arrive sooner than expected. Digitalisation and globalisation had already been transforming how we lived and worked, but the coronavirus crisis has accelerated changes in a way we could not have imagined before. The current pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to many sectors. In the field of education, it has led to the largest disruption in history, affecting more than 95% of the world’s student population [3]. Simultaneously, it also forced us to readjust our sails and think of new approaches to lessen the negative impacts. As a result, education has changed dramatically, with the distinctive rise of e-Learning, whereby teaching is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms [4]. Above all, and despite the potential of these technological tools, it has also reminded us of why face-to-face interaction is a fundamental and most effective form of communication, especially in language learning environments. This paper aims to describe a project-based assignment developed within one of the Business English courses held at the School of Technology and Management of the University of Aveiro, during the 2nd semester of the academic year 2020/2021 and amidst the worldwide outbreak of coronavirus disease. This group activity – a documentary on the impact of technology on life and work – aimed, on the one hand, at contributing to the improvement of students’ communicative competence in English and, on the other hand, at the development of key transferable skills, such as i) Digital competence and ii) Personal, social and learning to learn competence (as set out in the Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning). In addition to the detailed description of the assignment, this paper also aims to present the results of a survey on students’ perception of the carried out activities. The gathered data indicate that students perceived the proposed tasks as highly rewarding and that both technical and interpersonal competencies were successfully addressed.publishe

Developing multilingual competence and cultural awareness through forms of non-formal learning: a contribution to sustainable employability, active citizenship and social inclusion

We live in a fast-changing world, where breakthrough technological advances have not just disrupted industries but also changed the way we live, work and learn to a degree humankind has never experienced before. As the modern workplace becomes ever more global and interconnected, proficiency in foreign languages (FL) assumes a fundamental role in international business relations. Simultaneously, being able to navigate culturally diverse environments, i.e., understanding how international stakeholders think, work, and express themselves through their attitudes and behaviours is of paramount importance as well. These challenges also raise pressing questions: How can we prepare learners for a global world in constant evaluation? How can we help them develop 21st-century skills as important as critical thinking, creativity, communication, adaptability, digital literacy and cross-cultural understanding? In May 2018, the Council of the European Union (CEU) adopted a Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning, a framework that attempts to establish a common understanding of competences needed in the present moment and the future, by emphasising the inter-relatedness of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values. An important reference tool for education and training stakeholders, this recommendation identifies the following key competences: 1) Literacy competence; 2) Multilingual competence; 3) Mathematical competence and competence in science, technology and engineering; 4) Digital competence; 5) Personal, social and learning to learn competence; 6) Civic competence; 7) Entrepreneurship competence; and 8) Cultural awareness and expression competence. The EU Member States are, thus, encouraged to prepare their citizens for changing labour markets and active citizenship in more diverse, mobile, digital, and global societies, and to develop learning at all stages of life. While teacher-guided approaches will remain an important pedagogical practice, the main approach to teaching key competences is through providing learning environments that facilitate active learning, i.e., student-centred settings where open-ended problems and challenges can be solved through debate, experimentation, exploration, and creativity. This paper aims to narrate a non-formal activity carried out within a Business English Communication course taught at the Higher School of Technology and Management of the University of Aveiro (Portugal), in collaboration with an international group of volunteers from the European Solidarity Corps. This initiative sought to contribute to the development of some of the key competences for lifelong learning, especially multilingual skills and cultural sensitivity and expression, but also digital skills and personal and social skills of the participants.publishe

Reshaping collective memories: Trauma and guilt in the filmic adaptation of Gebürtig

The present essay aims at discussing the topic of post-memory of World War II by individuals who formed their identity after the end of this historical landmark. Bearing this objective in mind, a reflection upon the influence of the different types of memory in the process of identity formation shall be proposed and it will be contended that both memories formed upon the subject’s experiences as well as second-hand, intermediated, inherited memories from the past –memories transmitted either symbolically or by elder members of the group –, deeply influence the elaboration of a subject’s identitary map. This theoretical framework will be subsequently illustrated with examples taken from the cinematographic adaptation of Gebürtig, a novel written by the Jewish Austrian author Robert Schindel.O presente artigo procura discutir a pós-memória da II Guerra Mundial junto de indivíduos que formaram a sua identidade após o final deste marco histórico. Propõe-se, para tal, uma reflexão sobre a influência dos diferentes tipos de memória no processo de formação identitária e afirmar-se-á que, a par das memórias resultantes de experiências vividas pelo próprio sujeito, também as memórias indiretas, intermediadas e herdadas do passado – memórias transmitidas quer de forma simbólica, quer através do testemunho de elementos mais velhos do grupo –, influenciam profundamente a elaboração do mapa identitário de cada sujeito. Este enquadramento teórico será posteriormente ilustrado com exemplos retirados da adaptação cinematográfica de Gebürtig, um romance do autor austríaco de origem judaica Robert Schindel.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Developing multilingual competence and cultural awareness through forms of non-formal learning: a contribution to sustainable employability, active citizenship and social inclusion

We live in a fast-changing world, where breakthrough technological advances have not just disrupted industries but also changed the way we live, work and learn to a degree humankind has never experienced before. As the modern workplace becomes ever more global and interconnected, proficiency in foreign languages (FL) assumes a fundamental role in international business relations. Simultaneously, being able to navigate culturally diverse environments, i.e., understanding how international stakeholders think, work, and express themselves through their attitudes and behaviours is of paramount importance as well. These challenges also raise pressing questions: How can we prepare learners for a global world in constant evaluation? How can we help them develop 21st-century skills as important as critical thinking, creativity, communication, adaptability, digital literacy and cross-cultural understanding? In May 2018, the Council of the European Union (CEU) adopted a Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning, a framework that attempts to establish a common understanding of competences needed in the present moment and the future, by emphasising the inter-relatedness of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values. An important reference tool for education and training stakeholders, this recommendation identifies the following key competences: 1) Literacy competence; 2) Multilingual competence; 3) Mathematical competence and competence in science, technology and engineering; 4) Digital competence; 5) Personal, social and learning to learn competence; 6) Civic competence; 7) Entrepreneurship competence; and 8) Cultural awareness and expression competence. The EU Member States are, thus, encouraged to prepare their citizens for changing labour markets and active citizenship in more diverse, mobile, digital, and global societies, and to develop learning at all stages of life. While teacher-guided approaches will remain an important pedagogical practice, the main approach to teaching key competences is through providing learning environments that facilitate active learning, i.e., student-centred settings where open-ended problems and challenges can be solved through debate, experimentation, exploration, and creativity. This paper aims to narrate a non-formal activity carried out within a Business English Communication course taught at the Higher School of Technology and Management of the University of Aveiro (Portugal), in collaboration with an international group of volunteers from the European Solidarity Corps. This initiative sought to contribute to the development of some of the key competences for lifelong learning, especially multilingual skills and cultural sensitivity and expression, but also digital skills and personal and social skills of the participants.publishe

Internationalization at home: enhancing global competencies in the EFL classroom through international online collaboration

Higher education institutions today are expected to not only equip students with the skills and qualifications required to succeed professionally, but also to prepare them to develop active learning strategies, build successful interpersonal relations—both at local and global levels—and be active citizens who are able to handle change and uncertainty. Synonymous with the notions of “virtual mobility” or “internationalization at home”, Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is an educational approach with the potential to enhance the development of this broader skillset while providing students with an opportunity to interact with peers from across the globe. The purpose of this paper is to present a cross-cultural pedagogical activity implemented within a class of Business Communication undergraduate students from the University of Aveiro (UA), in Portugal, together with volunteer students from the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, in Thailand. In this exploratory study, the authors sought to gauge the effectiveness of such virtual global learning approaches and understand how UA students self-perceived their own skillset development. Based on qualitative and quantitative information, it was possible to conclude that students’ perceptions were generally positive and that cognitive, social, and intercultural competencies, as well as other critical 21st-century skills, were successfully addressed.publishe