Overcoming nationhood? The Turkish-German axis in recent German cinema and literature

R A Rechtien

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaper

Abstract

This paper explores representations of Turkish
-
German identity constructions in recent
German cinema and literature. Drawing on a number of films by Fatih
Akin (Head On,
The Edge of Heaven, Soul Kitchen) as well as on Yadé Kara’s text Selam Berlin (2003),
the paper explores whether hybrid identity constructions and complex identifications
by individuals with a multiplicity of places and spaces are able to pr
ovide credible
alternatives to notions of belonging associated with national or sub
-
national spaces
and processes of’ home
-
making’. Given that even discourses about multiculturalism in
Germany which aim to foster inclusion, tend instead, especially where T
urkish
-
German
minorities are concerned, to re
-
inscribe bipolar notions of ‘self’ and ‘other’(Yildiz
2012), the paper explores the degree to which Turkish
-
German cinema and writing
may be said to have moved beyond such polarities. Investigating in particula
r potential
tensions between what Pierre Bourdieu has captured theoretically with his notion of
‘habitus’ on the one hand and individual’s desire for agency and self
-
definition in a
globalised world on the other, the paper will ask what kind of Germany sec
ond and
third generation migrants are constructing and whether this Germany to them is
envisioned as (at least potential) home or as a lost Germany.
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusUnpublished - 14 Dec 2012
EventShifting German and Central and East European Landscapes: Cultural Hybridity and Place - Bath, UK United Kingdom
Duration: 14 Dec 2012 → …

Conference

ConferenceShifting German and Central and East European Landscapes: Cultural Hybridity and Place
Country/TerritoryUK United Kingdom
CityBath
Period14/12/12 → …

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