calls for papers - Coalition of Women in German

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The Coalition of Women in German, an allied organization of the MLA, invites
students, teachers, and all others interested in feminism and German studies to submit
relevant material to the newsletter. Subscription and membership information is on the
last page of this issue.
Women In German Steering Committee:
Linda Feldman, U. of Windsor (1991-1994)
Margaret Hampton, Earlham College (1992-1995)
Anna Kuhn, UC-Davis (1991-1994)
Ursula Mahlendorf, UC-Santa Barbara (1990-93)
Leslie Morris, Bard College (1990-93)
Helga Thorson, U of MN (1992-1995)
Treasurer: Jeanette Clausen, IU/PU-Ft. Wayne
Yearbook: Jeanette Clausen and Sara Friedrichsmeyer, U. of Cincinnati
The Women in German Newsletter is published three times each year. Deadlines
for submissions are as follows: March 1; July 1; November 15. Send newsletter items
to Julie Klassen, Newsletter Coordinator at:
Women in German
Dept. of German and Russian
Carleton College
Northfield, MN 55057-4001
(507) 663-4249
FAX (507) 663-4209
Contact person in Austria:
Jan Murray
Eberpromenade 9
A-2325 Himberg
Tel. (02235) 88419
Austria
Editorial Staff: Britt Abel, Martina Anderson, Hester Baer, Karin Baumgartner,
Angelica Fenner, Pauline Hubbel, Jana Jakub, Beth Kautz, Maggie Malloy, Rick
McCormick, Isolde MOiler, Syd Norton, Rebecca Raham, Ginny Steinhagen, Michelle
Szymkowiak, Birgit Tautz,Helga Thorson, Christine White, Gesa Zinn
Graphics: Lisa Roetzel, Gabi StOtzer
Printed by Westside Printing, Northfield, MN, on recycled paper.
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WOMEN IN GERMAN
NUMBER 59
EDITORIAL
NOVEMBER1992
About ten days after the recent Women in German conference, the WiG newsletter
collective had a party in Minneapolis. We took advantage of the moment to introduce new
University of Minnesota graduate students to our work and to recap the 1992 Minnesota
conference for those who couldn't go. It was also a welcome chance to reflect on the four
days in Great Barrington which were so packed with excellent papers, lively
discussions, and opportunity to make and renew friendships. As usual, the conference
was more like a retreat, a real respite from our hectic schedules and a recharging of our
personal and professional batteries. In trying to convey such diverse aspects as the
substance of the meetings, the hilarity of the cabaret, and beautiful surroundings, we
participants waxed truly enthusiastic.
Inevitably, however, our reflections focused on the quality of participant
interactions in those conference sessions that most aroused the greatest divergence of
opinion. How much can we rely on the implicit WiG ethos (which I understand as the
commitment to intellectual integrity in an atmosphere of mutual respect and support for
feminist concerns) to guarantee optimal communication of divergent opinions? To be
sure, our sophistication regarding the role of the reader/listener in construction of
meaning should prepare us to expect and even relish a spectrum of reactions. Yet as a
conference body we occasionally seemed unprepared to deal with potentially divisive
reactions/misunderstandings in mid-stream, in time to prevent the quality of
interactions from being affected, and we did not always resolve such issues even at the
conclusion of a session. Some people felt they had not really been heard.
What changes in structure and format would have been more conducive for
intersection of feminist and racial concerns? We wondered if a discussion moderator and
lor small, follow-up discussion groups for the Saturday night presentation wouldn't
have provided a more appropriate atmosphere than the large forum, to allow greater
individual response to complex issues. These or similar improvements will have
occurred to others, no doubt. Which goes to prove that while we cherish our annual
gatherings and draw from them throughout the year, we can never afford the comfortable
delusion that we've got it all right. And maybe that's what keeps us coming back.
No musings on the annual conference would be complete without heartfelt thanks
to those who made it possible: Leslie Morris, Karin Obermeier, Mareike Herrmann,
Christiana Brohaugh, Rena Jaques, Ute Bamberger, Sigrid Brauner, Sara Lennox, Susan
Cocalis, Sigrid Bauschinger, Marilyn Webster, Angelika FOhrich, Shanta Rao, and the
proverbial Kastov Thousands. Although we did not ever have all the members of the
Conference Coordinating Collective before us at one time, the effects of their hard work
were noticeable in the extremely successful arrangements for transportation,
accommodations, and program details. We are grateful for all you did and look forward to
one more year in Great Barrington, before the WiG portable feast moves on to Florida in
1994.
WiG would also like to thank our guests. Dagmar Schultz and Ike HOgel, for their
moving presentation on "Women and Racism in the United Germany," the videos of
interviews with Afro-Germans they showed, and their stimulating participation in our
other sessions. For those of you who could not attend the conference, you can gain some
notion of this timely aspect of German culture from the interview collection .Ear.t:l.a
Bekennen, from Orlanda-Frauenverlag, and/or in translation (Showing our Colors.
Amherst: Univ. of Mass. Press). Thanks also to poet and artist Gabi StOtzer for her
poetry reading and the video of her women's art in movement project in Erfurt. It was
1
fascinating to watch her pen and ink drawings emerge in our session, and we appreciate
the permission to include some of them in this issue.
Out of the creative chaos of the annual "WiG business meeting emerged various
items to be found in this issue's "WiG Bulletins" and "Calls for Papers." However,
notably absent from the paper solicitations are any sessions for the 1993 AATG
conference in San Antonio, Texas. Unfortunately, the AATG organizers have set a
December 1 deadline, in effect precluding any timely announcements through traditional
WiG channels (sprich: in the WiG Newsletter). The business meeting participants
therefore agreed that anyone desiring to organize an MTG panel for next year should
announce the topic and solicit proposals through any means of communication available,
including E-mail. This also implicates the next step for us as an organization: We urge
you to help us compile electronic mail addresses by sending yours to Jeanette Claussen
(address inside back cover) by February 1. These will be added to the directory in the
spring issue of the newsletter. Next year they will not catch us unpreparedl
Another important issue discussed at the business meeting concerns the increase
in dues which the Steering Committee announced. Rising costs leave us no alternatives,
but participants agreed that WiG membership is still a bargain. You will find the new
table of dues on the membership form on the inside back cover of this issue. At the
meeting we also elected two new members to the Steering Committee, Margaret Hampton
and Helga Thorson. Finally, please note the WiG bulletin concerning the designation of
the Bunny Weiss Memorial Fund as a travel support fund. As we thought of Bunny and
her untimely death one year ago, we felt that this use of contributions would help
promote the WiG spirit she embodied.
I look forward to seeing some of you at the MLA, where many WiG members will
be giving papers in session other than the WiG-sponsored ones, thus implementing
already the call to "mainstream" our efforts that you will find in the request for course
syllabi in the WiG Bulletins. In the meantime, best wishes for the conclusion of 1992,
and all the best in 19931
Julie Klassen
Carleton College
2
WIG BULLETINS
Moving?
Send us your new address!
(Don't feed the shredders!)
Did you know that bulk mail not deliverable as addressed is destroyed? Bulk mail is
neither forwarded nor returned to the sender, but is fed to the U.S. Post Office's
shredders--hardly the final resting place we had in mind for the WiG Newsletters and
Yearbooks!
So, to keep your WiG mail from the shredders, please send us your new address
several weeks before you move, and at least 6 weeks before publication of each
newsletter (March, August, November).
If you have missed any issues of the WiG Newsletter or Yearbook because your address
change didn't reach us in time, please send $2 for postage per missed item when
requesting a replacement (third class is ~ more expensive for us than the original
bulk mailing!). Send address changes to: Jeanette Clausen, Modern Languages, IPFW,
Fort Wayne, IN 46805.
Does your department belong to WiG???
If not, please try to convince them that they should! Institutional memberships
make WiG more accessible both to students and non-WiG faculty. The Newsletters and
Yearbook are an indispensable part of any up-to-date, hip, with-it, happening German
or Foreign Language department in this country todayl Please use the subscription form
on the inside back cover of this issue. Thanksl
Women in German Yearbook 9
CALL FOR PAPERS
Contributions are invited for volume 9 (1993) of the Women in German
Yearbook. The editors welcome feminist articles in either English or German on any
aspect of the German literary, cultural, or language study.
Beginning with volume 7 (December 1991), the Women in German Yearbook
will be published by the University of Nebraska Press. Our agreement with Nebraska
calls for submission of a complete, camera-ready manuscript each year in time for
December publication. To meet this commitment, we have established the following
deadlines for volume 9:
March 1, 1993:
receipt of manuscripts to be sent out for review.
July 1, 1993:
receipt of final, corrected manuscripts of articles
accepted for inclusion in volume 9.
September 1, 1992:
camera-ready manuscript sent to Nebraska.
Early submission is encouraged! If you can't meet the March 1 deadline, call usmaybe an extension can be worked out. However, we cannont change the July 1 and Sept.
1 deadlines. Prepare manuscripts for anonymous review. We prefer that manuscripts
not exceed 25 pages (typed, double-spaced), including notes. Follow the second edition
(1984) of the MLA Handbook (separate notes from works cited). Send one copy of your
manuscript to each coeditor. Failure to do this will delay the processing of your
manuscript by several weeks.
3
Besides articles, the editors would like to receive suggestions for review essays
and topics around which a special focus section might be organized. We also invite
comments on articles published in the Yearbook or on topics of general interest.
Comments (ca. 1000 words) for publication in volume 9 must be received by May 1,
1993.
Sara Friedrichsmeyer
Foreign Languages
University of Cincinnati, RWC
Cincinnati, OH 45236
Office: 513 745-5679
Home: 513 931-5843
FAX: 513 745-5767
Jeanette Clausen
Modern Foreign Languages
Indiana U. - Purdue U.
Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499
Office: 219 481-6836
Home: 219 485-1096
FAX: 219 481-6985
BACK ISSUES: For volumes 3, 4, 5, and 6 order directly from Jeanette Claussen at
the above address.
E-Mail Addresses, etc.,. Neededl
Increasingly early deadlines for conference paper proposals, as well as the need to
communicate some WiG information rapidly, leads us to the conclusion that WiG should
go electronic. Please send your E-Mail address, or other computer-based mail
connection by February 1 to: Jeanette Clausen, Women in German, Department of
Modern Foreign Languages, Indiana U. - Purdue U., Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499.
We will include these addresses in the March issue directory.
Lets' have dinner together at the MLA
WiG member Joan Reutershan has agreed to make reservations for dinner on Sunday
evening, Dec. 27. Meet in Sheraton Towers lobby at 8:30PM, from where we will leave
for an as yet undisclosed destination. (WatCh MLA bulletin board for up-dated
information). This is a chance for WiG members to get together at the MLA conference,
rave over the fantastic WiG sessions, and share experiences. If you want to come, please
contact Joan by December 26: Tel: 212 998-8650 (NYU office), or 718 624-1516
(home).
Calls for
Project
Assistance
Integrating Gender and Cultural Diversity in the "Mainstream" German
Curriculum
We want to compile a collection of exemplary syllabi, texts and classroom materials that
integrate an awareness of cultural diversity within the setting of German language,
literature and culture.
The result of this project will be a resource booklet designed to enrich and diversify
German curricula at all levels. Please send your suggestions and materials to:
Brigitte Rossbacher
Department of Germanic Languages & Literature
Campus Box 1104
Washington University
St. Louis, MO 63130
4
Letter to German Government Officials
Here is the draft of the letter composed by WiG members at the recent WiG conference,
to be sent to President Richard Weizsacker, as well as to other German government
officials. We urge you to send similar messages to the President's Office and to the other
addresses listed below.
Sehr geehrter Herr Bundesprasident:
Ais nordamerikanische Hochschulgermanistinnen, die sich intensiv mit den politischen
Ereignissen in Deutschland bescMftigen und sie mit wachsender Beunruhigung
beobachten, wenden wir uns an Sie als die moralische Instanz im heutigen Deutschland.
Von unserer Warte aus als Mitbetroffene und engagierte Beobachterinnen aus dem
Ausland sehen wir mit ErschOtterung, daB die demokratischen Werte des
Nachkriegsdeutschland, die wir als fest verankert erachtet haben, zusehends von
Politikern und Teilen der Bevolkerung in Frage gestellt oder miBachtet werden.
Unsere Beunruhigung leitet sich vor allem aus der neulichen Aussage des Kanzlers her,
daB Deutschland kein Einwanderungsland und die deutsche keine multikulturelle
Gesellschaft seL Damit bestatigt der Kanzler die Schlagworte der Rechten: Deutschland
den Deutschen. Wir konnen uns nicht wundern, wenn Teile der Bevolkerung die
Ausschreitungen gegen Auslander und Auslanderinnen und ihren Rassismus durch solche
Worte bestatigt finden. Selbst gut gemeinte Verurteilungen der Gewalt gegen Auslander
und Menschen anderer Rassen oder Ethnizitat werden abgeschwacht durch gleichzeitige
Forderungen nach Einschrankung des Asylrechts. Wir sind wie Sie der Meinung, daB
eine Veranderung des Asylrechts keine der dringenden Probleme Deutschlands losen
wird. Wir halten die jetzige Parteipolitik in der Asylfrage fOr ein Manover, das die
Bevolkerung in Ost und West von den grundlegenden okonomischen und sozialen
Problemen der deutschen Vereinigung ablenken 5011.
Sie haben es bisher als Ihr Amt angesehen, die Bevolkerung von der
Oberparteilichen, demokratischen Warte des Prasidenten anzusprechen. Deshalb bitten
wir Sie, Herr Bundesprasident, Ihre Autoritat dafOr einzusetzen, die Politiker und die
Bevolkerung von diesem gefahrlichen Kurs abzubringen. Wir glauben nicht, daB die
Geschichte sich wiederholt. Aber der bewuBte, kurzsichtige politische Versuch,
SOndenbocke fOr okonomische Instabilitat aus rassisch-ethnisch-religiosen
Minderheiten zu machen, erinnert das Ausland zunehmend an die frOhen dreiBiger Jahre
in Deutschland. Wir haben unseren Studenten und Studentinnen gegenober immer
behauptet, daB das Nachkriegsdeutschland aus seiner Vergangenheit gelernt hat. Sie,
sehr geehrter Herr Bundesprasident, mOssen wissen, daB wir das nicht mehr tun
kennen, es sei denn, daB Sie sich an der Spitze einer Gegenbewegung stellen. Was not
tut, ist eine offene und Offentliche Auseinandersetzung mit der wirklichen ekonomischen
Lage im vereinten Deutschland, eine sozial gerechte Industrie- und Wirtschaftsplanung
fOr das vereinte Deutschland, sowie eine effentliche Entschuldigung bei den Betroffenen
und die Anerkennung der wichtigen Rolle der auslandischen MitbOrger und
MitbOrgerinnen in diesem Land. Weil wir wissen, wie sehr Ihnen der demokratische
Rechtsstaat am Herzen liegt, glauben wir, daB Sie in Deutschland eine Prasident
Mitterand vergleichbare Tat vollbringen kennen. Er hat auf der ganzen Welt Aufsehen
erregt, als er in Paris nach antisemitischen Ausschreitungen eine der machtvollsten
Demonstrationen ausgefOhrt und damit ein unObersehbares Zeichen gegeben hat.
Wir verbleiben mit groBer Hochachtung
5
Schicken Sie die Erklarung auch an:
Frau Edelgard BrOlmann
Frak. SPD (Frauen)
Bundeshaus
5300 Bonn 1
Frau Kristina Schenk
BOndnis 90/GrOne
Bundeshaus
5300 Bonn 1
Arbeitskreis wissenschaftlich und kOnstierisch tatiger Frauen e.V.
c/o / via Jo Kootz
Zentraleinrichtung Frauenstudium & Frauenforschung der Freien Universitat
Konigin-Luise-Str. 34
1000 Berlin 33
"Freitag"
Oranienburger Strasse
1000 Berlin 36
Sybil! Kloty
Abgeordnete UFV
BOndnis 90/GrOne im Abgeordnetenhaus
John-F. Kennedy-Platz
1000 Berlin 30
Dorothy Rosenberg has suggested that German departments could also write to the
German universities or programs to which they send exchange students to express their
concern about the current wave of racism and violence against foreigners. Each
department will want to find their own wording, but you might consider the following as
a sample:
"We are writing to express our dismay at the rapid increase in incidents of antiforeigner violence in eastern and western Germany. Given the current situation, we are
no longer confident that the physical safety of our students, especially students of color,
can be guaranteed while participating in your progaram. We are now considering
whether we will be able to continue to send students to a program located in what appears
to be an increasingly hostile environment .... "
Dagmar Schultz and Ike HOgel
6
CALLS FOR PAPERS
Women in German Conference, Oct. 28-31, 1993
Great Barrington, Massachusetts
Homogeneity/Heterogeneity in WiG (Thursday evening session)
Each person who comes to WiG comes not only as a feminist, but also as a person marked by
race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, class, professional status, etc. These factors help to shape the
many different feminisms we bring to WiG. How do we, both as individuals and as a group,
negotiate this maze of difference? Is it possible or even desirable for us to reconcile the
competing concerns that are manifested in our multiple layers of identity? HowlWhere can we
come together as feminists?
We welcome your reflections--personal, theoretical, political--upon these questions as a
springboard for wide-ranging discussion. Please send proposals for brief (ten-minute), informal
presentations to both of us by April 1, 1993.
Liz Mittman
Lisa Roetzel
Dept. of German Studies
283 Laburnam Crescent
Emory University
Rochester, NY 14620
Atlanta, GA 30322
(716) 256-1297 [h]
(404) 727-2006 [h]
(716) 274-1610 [0]
(404) 727-0833 [0]
AddreSsing Cultural Diversity in the German Classroom
Changing demographics of the student body in the US and German society are calling for
developing teaching methods and strategies which respond to a greater ethnic and
cultural diversity in the German classroom, as well as for presenting Germany as a
multicultural society.
We are interested in exploring how cultural differences and diversity affect classroom
dynamics; how teachers can develop effective techniques for encouraging the
participation and learning of all students and in developing teaching materials and
methods that adequately reflect these goals. We would like to focus on practical
applications, but we welcome theoretical discussion as well. Proposals for 15 minute
presentations are due by March 1. 1993. Completed papers are due by Sept. 1. 1993.
Send proposals to each of the co-organizers:
Margaret Hampton
Gabriele Strauch
Langs.Dept.
Dept. of Germanic & Slavic Langs.
Earlham College
U of Maryland
Richmond, IN 47374
College Park, MD 20742
(317) 962-7023
(301) 405-5646
Film: Representation and Exploration of Xenophobia
We are particularly interested in a textual and theoretical analysis of films by SOCially
and politically marginalized filmmakers in German speaking countries. The papers
should focus on issues like gender, race, class and sexuality. Please send two-page
abstracts by Feb. 1. 1993 to:
Sandy Frieden
German Dept.
U of Houston
Houston, Texas 77204-3786
(713) 749-4260 (h)
Beth Kautz and Gesa Zinn
University of Minnesota
German Dept.
231 Folwell Hall
9 Pleasant St. S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
(612) 625-2080 (w)
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Oberlebenl weiter leben: Women's Experiences of political persecution and Exile
In recognition of WiG's intended guests for the 1993 conference (see conference
announcement), we solicit papers that address the physical and psychological aspects of
persecution and displacement caused by deportation, interment/imprisonment, or exile.
Papers could, for example, treat a specific text, a specific person or group of people, or
a particular time period (not limited to the twentieth century). Send papers or
abstracts for a 15 minute presentation by April 1. 1993 to ~ of the co-organizers:
Carmen Janssen
Julie Klassen
Anne Marie Stokes
3908 Longfellow St.
Dept. of Ger. & Russ.
27 Tyler St.
Hyattsville, MD 20781
Carleton College
Troy, NY 12180
(301) 699-1591
Northfield, MN 55057
(518) 270-1970
(507) 663-4249
Lesbian Literature and Theory
All WiG members are invited to submit proposals for a panel at the November 1993
Conference. We are looking for presentations on lesbian authors, themes and topics in
literature from all periods. We especially welcome discussions of the new Queer theory
and politics as it relates to German literature and culture.
Please send a proposal by March 30. 1993 to both:
Miriam Frank
Barbara Mennel
217 Haven Ave. #3C
176 Pearsall Place
New York, NY 10033
Ithaca, NY 14850
(212) 923-8690
(607) 272-3503
GSA 1993
San AntoniO, Texas
Women and Narratlyes of the Nation
Narratives of the nation, whether written by women or men, have inscribed women into
heterosexual roles of various configurations. Submissions are welcome to this GSA
session which examine the element of gender which is often marginalized in discussions
of what Benedict Andersen calls "imagined communities." Abstracts should address 19th
or 20th century topiCS including the nation in colonial literature and possible
provocations to gender relations in texts by authors of Afro-German, Austrian, Czech,
German(FRG/GDR), Iranian, Rumanian, Swiss etc. heritage writing in the German
language. Send abstracts to both session coordinators. Deadline for submission is
January 1. 1993.
Christina White
Karen Jankowsky
Department of German
German Department
231 Folwell Hall
818 Van Hise
Univeristy of Minnesota
University of Wisconsin
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Madison, WI 53706
Women and Ausl3nderfeindlichkeit
While women have been both the victims and the perpetrators of violence against
foreigners in Germany, their relationship to Auslanderfeindlichkeit has not been well
documented. We seek contributions that explore the role that gender plays both in the
construction of the "foreigner" and in the recent wave of violence against refugees,
immigrants, and people of color in the unified Germany. We are also interested in
papers concerning the roles that women have played in finding solutions to this problem.
Please send a one-page abstract by February 15. 1992 to both:
Lisa Roetzel
Maggie Malloy
Dept. of German
Eastman School of Music
231 Folwell Hall, U. of MN
26 Gibbs Street
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Rochester, NY 14604
8
MLA 1993
Toronto, Ontario
Body/ Language and Gender in German Dance and Theater
Please send one-page abstracts by March 1, 1993 to both:
Susan Cocalis
Christina White
Dept of Germanic Langs & Uts
Dept of German, U of M
University of Massachusetts
231 Folwell Hall
Amherst, MA 01003
Minneapolis, MN 55455
FAX:
413-586-3884
E-Mail: [email protected]
Feminism/New Historicism/German Studies
We welcome papers that address the connections, problems, and contributions of New
Historicism to German Studies and feminism. Please send one-page abstracts by March
1, 1993 to both:
Brigitte Jirku
Lorely French
German Department
Foreign Languages
Mount Holyoke College
Pacific University
South Hadley, MA 01075-1461
Forest Grove, OR 97116.
(413) 538-2717 (wk)
(503) 357-6151, ext. 2396 (wk)
(413) 532-0394 (h)
(503) 357-6818 (h)
Women in German Studies Conference:
"Wende"
Women and the
9-11 September at the University of Nottingham/England
Papers are invited for an international and interdisciplinary conference on women and
German unification. The Conference will explore the role played by women in the events
leading up to unification, the effects of unification on women and the contribution of
women to cultural and literary reflection on the process of unification and its aftermath.
We invite contributions from the social and political sciences as well as literary and
cultural studies.
Synopses should be sent to the Conference organizer by January 1993:
Dr. Elizabeth Boa
Department of German/The University
University Park
Nottingham NG7 2RG/England
Attending to Women in the Early Modern Period
April 21-23, 1994. Interdisciplinary conference on Renaissance women sponsored by
the Center for Renaissance and Baroque Studies, University of Maryland.
We encourage you to submit workshop proposals to follow one of the four plenary
sessions: Our Subjects, Our Selves; Women's Places; Placing Women; Teaching a
Gendered Renaissance. For further information about plenary content and the format of
workshops and workshop proposals, write to Center for Renaissance and Baroque
Studies, 1120L Francis Scott Key, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 207427311, Attn: Attending to Women. Deadline for proposals is March 31. 1993.
9
Nineteenth New Hampshire Symposium:
June 23-30 1993 , World Fellowship Center, Conway, NH
THE GDR REVISITED: A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF THE GDR WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE
PRESENT
The 1993 New Hampshire Symposium will be devoted to a critical review of the
GDR state, its politics, society and culture. It will concern itself with the double
question: what was the GDR? and what significance does this past state have for the
society now emerging in the five new Llinder'?
Economists, political SCientists, sociologists, historians, and other social
scientists, as well as Germanists and specialists in the arts and media are invited to
participate. As in the past, the seminars are intended to be multidisciplinary. Ideally, all
topics will be treated from a variety of points of view, including their representation in
literature and other art forms.
Papers are being solicited for the following topics:
SEMINAR I: POUTICAL AND ECONOMIC SYSTEMS
Gero Neugebauer (Zentralinstitut fOr sozialwissenschaftliche Forschung der FU Berlin,
Malteserstr. 74-100, 1000 Berlin 46), Arthur A. Stahnke (Department of Political
Science, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, IL 62026)
Political issues such as the transformation from authoritarianism to
parliamentary democracy, practice and legacy of socialist democracy, development of
political culture. Transition from planned market economy, from state/collective to
private/corporate ownership, environmental Altlasten. Political and economic reasons
for the 'implosion' of the GDR and for the difficulty of the 'new beginning:
SEMINAR II: INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF EXPERIENCE
Michael Hofmann (Sonderforschungsbereich 333, Universitat Leipzig, Ritterstr. 16B,
0-7010 Leipzig), Margy Gerber (Hanseatenweg 6, 1000 Berlin 21)
The encounter between the new institutional system and the enduring or
transforming "life worlds" and value orientations of the East Germans based on their
GDR experience. The various institutional contexts include the work place, education, the
church, the role of the intelligentsia, family, housing, medical care, social attitudes and
practices.
SEMINAR III: VARYING PERSPECTIVES ON THE GDR
Roger Woods, Department of Modern Languages, Aston University, Aston Triangle,
Birmingham, GB B47ET), Volker Gransow (Centre for International Studies, 18
Madison Ave., Toronto, Ontario, CN M5R 2S1)
The GDR as seen by West and East Germans, European neighbors, in former East
block states, USA, etc. From the revival of totalitarianism theory to claims of the 'zweite
Objektwerdung' in the new FRG. The era of the Round Table in the GOA. Lost communities
and GDR nostalgia. Judging the GDR: from Commission of Enquiry to Tribunal to
'contradictory culture: The East German legacy: empirical reasearch on a 'distinctive
socio-cultural profile' of East Germans.
SEMINAR IV: GDR CULTURAL POUCY AND PRACTICE
Margy Gerber (Hanseatenweg 6, 1000 Berlin 21); Theodor Langenbruch (Department
of Foreign Languages, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY 40475)
Review of GDR cultural policy and practice such as state support of culture,
centralized cultural management, censorship, Betriebskultur, Alltagskultur, role of the
Kulturschaffenden - GDR reality and its relevance for present cultural life in the FNL.
10
SEMINAR V: GDR LITERATURE AND CULTURE - NEW PERSPECTIVES
Christiane Zehl Romero (Department of German, Russian and E. Asian Languages, Tufts
University, Medford, MA 02155); Nancy A. Lauckner (Department of Germanic and
Slavic Languages, University of Tenessee, Knoxville, TN 37996)
New insights into GDR literature and the arts, reevaluation, and reclassification;
present developments in East German letters and arts, memory work, and issues of
integration.
WORKSHOPS:
New focuses and methodologies for research (neue Wege der Forschung).
COOCLUDING PANEL:
A concluding panel discussion with plenum participation will sum up the findings
of the seminars and look for common threads in the research presented at the conference.
Papers may be given either in English or German. All participants are asked to
provide a summary of their papers in both languages. Papers should not exceed 30
minutes.
Detailed proposals (title plus 1-2 pages) must be submitted to the appropriate
seminar organizers - one copy to each - by December 14. 1992. Completed papers are
due by April 15 1993.
For more information on the program, contact Margy Gerber (Hanseatenweg 6,
1000 Berlin 21). For information on the Symposium location, travel arrangements and
registration, contact Christoph Schmauch, World Fellowship Center, NH 03818, tel.
(603) 356-5208, fax (603) 356-5252.
11
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Publisher's
Address
Thanks to our 1992 WiG guests, Dagmar Schultz and Ike HOgel, some of the conference
participants could pick up a copy of the Orlanda-Frauenverlag catalogue. If you did not
get one or need another, please write: Orlanda-Frauenverlag, GroBgOrschenstr. 40, W1000 Berlin 62, Germany.
Book Import Service
International Book Import Service
2295 Wall Triana Highway, Suite B4
Huntsville, AL 35824-1532
Tel: (205) 464-0040 or 1-800-277-4247
Fax: (205) 464-0071 FEIN: 63-1004724
Proprietor Barbara Kerce is a knowledgeable and helpful resourcel
She has German Books jn prjnt on CD-Rom, updated quarterly.
Verzeichnis der Frauenbibliotheken und Frauenarchive 1992
The "Koordinationsstelle Frauenstudien/Frauenforschung" in Hamburg has put together
a list of archives and libraries which have material on feminist issues and women's
history. The list includes archives and libraries mostly in Germany but also has several
listings from France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Austria, and Switzerland. If you
are interested in a copy, please write either directly to the Koordjnatjonsstelle
Frauenstudjen/Frauenforschung, Allendeplatz 1, 2000 Hamburg 13, Germany, or to
Helga Thorson, 231 Folwell Hall, U of MN, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (Helga can provide
you with a copy of her copy).
Conference on Modern Germany: Berlin - A City of Change
"Berlin - A City of Change" will be a conference focusing on recent cultural
developments in Berlin especially, but not exclusively, in the aftermath of
reunification. A series of lectures with responses, one or two films and a concluding
panel will address the following topics:
*The "Wall in People's Heads" (new and old barriers between "East" and
"West")
*Reconstructing Educational Institutions (Freie UniversiUU; Humboldt
Universitat)
*Berlin High Culture, Tradition and Change (Film Festival; Akademie der
KOnste)
*Counter-Culture in Berlin (die "Szene", its cultural, social and political reformation and impact)
*Multi-cultural Berlin (foreign worker communities; new wave of
immigration, asylum seekers)
Date: March 5+6, 1993. Place: Ohio State University, Ramada-University Inn,
Columbus, Ohio
Address inquiries to: Professor Barbara Becker-Cantarino, Ohio State University Dept.
of German, 314 Cunz Hall, 1841 Millkin Rd., Columbus, OH 43210.
12
Workshop: Gender, Class, Race
Women's Studies Department at Memphis State University announces a workshop
entitled: Workshop: Gender, Class, Race at the Center for Research on Women.
Contact for Workshop information: Barbara Mabee, 313-370-2099 Voice Mail.
MLA-related
Information
WiG members attending the 1992 MLA conference in New York should note that Henry
Schmidt's translation of BOchner's Woyzeck will be performed at the New York
Shakespeare Festival during this time.
Look for these sessions at the MLA
#27 BREAKING GENDER BOUNDARIES IN GENRES AND DISCIPLINES (Coordinator: Anne
Leblans)
1. "Marieluise Fleissers Weimarer Dramatik in der Kontroverse urn weibliche Asthetik
und Avantgarde," Elke Segelcke
2. "Ricarda Huch's Response to Modernity in Her Historical Fiction," Susan C. Anderson
3. "'Girl-Maschinen': Geschlecht und Technologie in weiblichen Angestelltenromanen
der Zwanziger Jahre," Angelika Fuehrich
#38 AFRICAN FICTIONS AND FEMINISMS (Coordinator: Eileen Julien)
1. "'The Horror! The Horror!': Going Native in Bugul's Brussels," Eileen Julien
2. "The Joys of Daughterhood: I(g)bo Women's Traditions and the Anxiety of Influence," Susan
Andrade
3. "Traveling with Sissie; or, The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader," Uzo Esonwanne
4. "Interrogating Theory and African Women's Fiction," Carole Boyce Davies
#40 THE DEFINITION OF DIFFERENCE AND THE CREATION OF A NATIONAL IDENTITY
(Coordinator: Donna Hoffmeister)
1. "The New Woman, the Third Sex, and the German Family," Biddy Martin
2. "A Jewish Nationalist CuHural Review in Imperial Germany: How 'German' Was Ost unci West
(1901 -- 1923)?" David Brenner
3. 'Wagner and Heine: Geographical Margins of the Musical German Heimat," Susan Bernstein
# 57 "DER KRIEG MIT ANDEREN MITTELN": VIOLENCE AND THE CRITIQUE OF VIOLENCE IN
ELFRIEDE JELINEK'S WRITINGS (Coordinator: Beatrice Hanssen)
1. ''Vampirism in Elfriede Jelinek's Krankheit oder moderne Frauen," Sigrid Berka
2. "Body Language as Expression of Repression: Leathal Reverbarations of War in Die
Ausgesperrten," Sylivia
M. Schmitz-Burgard
3. "On Perpetual War: Reading Bachmann through Jelinek," Beatrice Hanssen
4. "A Marriage of OPPOSites? Brutality and Farcicality in Burgtheater," Gayle Finney
# 58 BAKHTIN AND FEMINIST THEORY (Coordinator: Sandy Norton)
1. "Bakhtin and Feminism: Way Is It So Problematic?" Caryl Emerson
2. "George Eliot and Bakhtin: Polyphony as Feminist Strategy," Sandy Norton
3. "Is There a Feminist Dialogics?" Amy Mandelker
#72 LESBIAN TONGUES UNTIED (Coordinator: Chris Holmlund)
1. "'Cruisin' for a Bruisin': Hollywood's Deadly Lesbian Dolls," Chris Holmlund
2. '''Ghetto Hopping': The Perilous Pleasures of Being a Lesbian Experimental Feminist
Filmmaker," Su Friedrich
3. "Are Faux Confessions Fun? Lip-Synching Lesbianism with Madonna," Laurie Schulze
4. ''The Ins and Outs of Lesbian Sex: Bi-morphic Re-presentations of Desire," ChriS Straayer
13
#129 FEMINIST RESPONSES TO RACISM AND XENOPHBIA IN THE NEW EUROPE
(Coordinator: Sara Lennox)
1. "French Feminist Responses to Racism and Xenophobia," Laurie Edson
2. "Does Racism Make a Difference? The Discourse of Ethnic Difference(s) in German Feminism,"
Sabine BrOck
3. "Celie, Sissy, and Sethe at the Kaffeeklatsch: German Readings of Black Women Writers,"
Anne V. Adams
#164 OUTING GOETHE AND HIS AGE (Coordinator: Alice Kuzniar)
1. "Winckelmann's Progeny: Homosocial Networking in the Eighteenth Century," Simon Richter
2. "Homophil and Nekrophil: Jung-Stillings patriarchalische Idylle," Stephan Spindler
3. "The Homosexual, the Prostitute, and the Castrati: A Closet of Male Homosocial Desires in J. M.
R. Lenz," Roman Graf
4. "In and against Nature: Goethe on Homosexuality and Heterotexuality," Robert Tobin
#183 TEACHING THE MULTICULTURAL TEXT (Coordinator: John Clifford)
1. "Ambivalence and Coloniality in Teaching the Politics of Identity, " Lindsay PentoHe-Aegerter
2. 'When the Subaltem Speaks, Who Listens?" Angelyn Mitchell
3. "Reaiming the Nineteenth-Century Canon," Keith Newlin
4. 'When the Subaltem Accuses, Who Listens?" Janet Mason Ellerby
5. "Locating the Reader in the Intercultural Text," William D. Atwill
6. "Starting from Scratch: Diving into Carribean Literature," Jo Ann Seiple,
#216 OUTSIDERS AND DISSENTERS IN MEDIVAL GERMAN LITERATURE (Coordinator:
James A. Schultz)
1. "Female Authority in Masculine Terms? Mechthild von Magdeburg's Version of Courtly Love,"
Sara S. Poor
2. ''The Adulteress as Hero and Moral Arbiter: Dietrich von der Glezze's Der Borte," Valerie R.
Hotchkiss
#242 KRIEMHILD'S REVENGE: WOMEN, VIOLNCE, AND CRIME IN GERMAN LITERATURE
AND FILM (Coordinator:Waltraud Maierhofer)
1. "Can Kriemhild Really Take Revenge? Helene BOhlau's Halbtier," Alyth Grant
2. "Death Overheard: Revenge Beyond Prosecution in Die Judenbuche," Sylvia M. SchmitzBurgard
3. 'Women Victims or 'Angry Women'? Crime and Violence in The Lost Honor of Katherina Blum,"
Anke Gleber
4. "Psychologizing Kriemhild: Franz FOhmann's Nibelungenlied Adaption," N. Ann Rider
#281 AMERICAN WRITERS TALK ABOUT CHRISTA WOLF'S WORK (Coordinators: Helen
Fehervary and Karen Jankowsky)
Speakers: Karen Malpede, Tillie Olson, Grace Paley
#391 MAPPING THE POSTMODERN IN GERMAN CULTURE (Coordinator: Ingeborg Hoesterey)
1. "Postmodern Aspects of Contemporary German Literature," Michael LOtzeler
2. "Alexander Kluge's 'Impure Cinema' and the Aesthetics of Postmodernism," Anton Kaes
3. "Postmodern Hybrid in German Visual Art," Ingeborg Hoesterey
#423 CONSTRUCTING THE OTHER: MAJORITY IMAGES OF ETHNIC MINORITIES IN
CONTEMPORARY GERMANY (Coordinator: Michelle Mattson)
1. "Representing Jewish Ethnicity in German Culture," Johannes von Moltke
2. "'Keine Fantasie-Geschichte': Novak'S Ballads of Two Minority Women," Amy Kepple Strawser
3. "West Meets East: Postrnodem Orientalism in Sten Nacolny's Selim oder die Gabe der Rede,"
Sabine von Dirke
14
#604 AUSTRIA'S FEMINIST AVANT-GARDE (Coordinator: Jorun B. Johns)
1. ''The Influence of the Historic Avant-Garde on Contemporary Art Forms (Literature and Film) by
Women," Margret Eifler
2. "Deconstructing the Canon: Valie Export's and Elfriede Jelinek's Subversive Anagrams,"
Margarete B. Lamb-Faffelberger
3. "Pop Avant-Garde: The Films of Kitty Kino," Jutta Landa
#708 INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO GOETHE'S REPRESENTATION OF THE
FEMININE
(Coordinator: Jill Anne Kowalik)
1. 'Wilhelm Meister's Women," Martha B. Helfer
2. "Die Frau als lebende Tote: Goethes MOtter," Stephan Schindler
3. "Eugenie als 'Kunstwerk': The Daughter and the Law of the Father in Goethe's NatUrliche
Tochter," Susan E. Gustafson
#715 WOMEN WRITERS AND GERMAN DRAMA: A CONTRADICTION IN TERMS? (Coordinator:
Ferrel Rose)
1. "In Our Own Words: Dramatizing History in Luise Adelgunde Gottsched's Pietisterey im
Fischbeinrocke," Nancy Kaiser
2. "Not in Goethe's Image: The Playwright Charlotte von Stein," Susanne Kord
3. 'Women Playwrights and the 'Trivial' Tradition in Eighteenth-Century German, Karin Wurst
15
Search
Committees
GERMAN: Tenured Associate or tenure-track advanced Assistant Professor.
Concentrations in German Studies and German literature of the 16th/17th centuries.
Rank depends on qualifications and experience. Must be able to teach graduate and
undergraduate German Studies courses and be familiar with current theories of culture
studies. Publications should give evidence of interdisciplinary work. Must have Ph.D.
in German or closely related field and at least three years college-level teaching
experience. Preference given to candidates with knowledge of Dutch and 16thl17thcentury Dutch literature. Full-time, nine-month pOSition, available 9/16/93.
Deadline 1211/92 for receipt of: application letter, CV, names and addresses of three
references. Send to Prof. Jack Zipes, Chair, Search Committee, 231 Folwell Hall,
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455. The U of MN is committed to the
policy that all persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital
status, disablility, public assistance status, veteran status, or sexual orientation.
GERMAN: Three-year, renewable (non-tenure track) lectureship in German, in a
joint Bryn Mawr-Haverford German Department, to teach and coordinate language
courses and contribute to a cultural studies program. Training in language pedagogy
desirable. Please send letter of application, vita, and three letters of reference by
December 4, 1992 to Azade Seyhan, Chair, German Search Committee, Bryn Mawr
College, 101 N. Merion Ave., Bryn Mawr, PA 19010-2899. Bryn Mawr College is an
equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. The College particularly wishes to
encourage applications from individuals interested in joining a multicultural and international academic community. Minority candidates and women are encouraged to apply.
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: The Family Violence Prevention Fund has been in the
forefront of the domestic violence movement with its creation of pioneering approaches
to reducing and preventing family violence. Since its inception as a national
demonstration project in 1980, this San Francisco-based national organization develops
public policy initiatives in the fields of health, law reform, services, and media, while
simultaneously providing direct advocacy support to victims of domestic violence.
In 1991, the Fund initiated a National Domestic Violence Media Campaign, whose
foundation has been carefully prepared in three ways: a broad-based, prestigious
National Advisory Committee has been formed; funding has been secured; and in-depth
market research has been completed. Actual implementation of the Media Campaign is
the next step. Therefore, a search has been launched for an individual to assume a new
full-time position as Communications Director for the Fund. Salary: Competitive,
commensurate with experience. Benefits: Health, Dental and Vacation & Sick Leave.
Responsibilities: National Media Campaign, Press Relations, Leadership & Media
Advocacy Training Program, Staff Role. Requirements: Experience in design and/or
management of a national multi-media effort to change public policy or public behavior;
Sophisticated understanding of and experience with electronic and print media; Excellent
writing/public speaking skills; Extensive professional contacts within fields of
advertising, public relations and journalism; Proven organizational and administrative
skills, 'including database and fiscal management; Commitment to eradication of domestic
violence. References to:
Esta Soler, Executive Director
Family Violence Prevention Fund
Building One, Suite 200
1001 Potrero Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94110
Tel. (415) 821-4553
FAX (415) 824-3873
16
WOMEN IN GERMAN STUDIES (WIGS)
WIGS was established in 1988 with the aim of bringing together female
Germanists in Great Britain and Ireland and supporting them in all aspects of their
professional lives. Full membership is open to any woman who is currently teaching,
studying or working in any area of German Studies, or who has done so in the past.
Associate membership is open to other Germanists and institutions: associate members
do not have voting rights.
The main event organised by WIGS is the annual conference, which takes place in
November. A newsletter and membership list is issued early in the year.
Members who are looking for employment may join the Freelance Register. For
further details, contact the relevant Committee member (Ms. Sue Lawson, see below).
WIGS COMMITTEE
Chair: Dr. Elizabeth Boa, Department of German, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2rd.
Treasurer: Dr. Brigid Haines, Department of German, University College of Swansea,
Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP.
Secretary: Dr. Georgina Paul, Department of German Studies, University of Warwick,
Coventry CV4 7AL.
Elected members: Linda Holt, 5 Chester Street, Oxford OX4 1SL (postgraduate
representative). Ms. Sue Lawson,Department of Modern Languages, Lipman Building,
Newcastle Polytechnic, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST (responsible for Freelance
Register). Dr. Sally Johnson, Department of Languages, Manchester Polytechnic, Aytoun
Building, Aytoun Street, Manchester M 3GH (next conference organiser).
Co-opted members: Dr. Susan Beardmore, 33 Beaumont Street, Oxford, OX1 2NP
(representing part-timers). Margaret Vallance, 27 Burlington Road, Chiswick, London,
W4 4BQ (polytechnic representative).
Membership and Subscriptions:
To join, send a note of your name, address and telephone number together with
your subscription to the Treasurer, Dr Brigid Haines, Department of German,
University College of Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP.
Subscription rates are:
Full membership: individuals, fully employed
£8
£4
students, unwaged and part-time employed
£8
Associate members: institutions
others
£4
Cheques should be made payable to Women in German Studies.
You might find it easier to pay by standing order. To do this, you should ask your
own bank for a form, fill in the details of the WIGS account and return it to your own
bank.
WIGS ACCOUNT
Bank: Lloyds Bank pic, Romford Branch, 1 Market Place, Romford, Essex RM1 3AA.
Sort Code: 30-97-13
Account Number: 7194296
Beneficiary's name: WIGS/Women in German Studies
(Membership is due on 1st of January each year, and only those who have paid their
subscriptions are entitled to attend the conference)
17
ANNOUNCEMENT OF MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION
PRIZES FOR BOOKS PUBLISHED IN 1992
The Modern Language Association has deadlines coming up concerning the association's
seven book prizes, including the MLA Prize for Independent Scholars and two recently
established prizes, the Katherine Singer Kovacs Prize for a book in English in the field
of Latin American or Spanish literatures and cultures and the Morton N. Cohen Award for
a distinguished edition of letters. The deadline for the Lowell Prize is March 1; for the
others, it is MaW. MLA prizes are announced and presented at the association's annual
Convention in December. Each prize consists of a cash award and an engrossed certificate.
The address for sending books, applications, and letters of nomination is:
MLA Prizes, 10 Astor Place, New York, NY 10003; telephone (212) 614-6406.
Prizes for Literature,
Bibliographies
Linguistics,
Critical
Editions,
and
1992 JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL PRIZE
Definition: For an outstanding literary or linguistic study, a critical edition of an
important work, or a critical biography. Studies dealing with literary theory, media,
cultural history, and interdisciplinary topics are eligible; books that are primarily
translations are not.
Eligibility: 1992 publications; authors of nominated books must be current members of
the MLA. Requirements: Six copies and a letter of nomination indicating title, author,
and date of publication and affirming author's membership in the MLA. Awarded
annually; deadline: 1 March 1993.
19~2 MLA PRIZE FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOLARS
Definition: For a distinguished scholarly book in the fields of English and other modern
languages and literatures. Eligibility: 1992 publications; author must, at the time of
publication of the work submitted, (1) have received a terminal academic degree no
fewer than four years earlier, and (2) not hold a tenured, tenure-accruing, or
"tenure-track" position in a postsecondary educational institution. Authors need not be
members of the MLA. Requirements: Request an application form by writing to
Independent Scholars Prize, MLA; send completed application with six copies of the
work. Awarded annually; deadline: 1 May 1993.
Prizes in
Specific Categories of Literature
1992 KATHERINE SINGER KOVACS PRIZE
Definition: For the best book published in English in the field of Latin American and
Spanish literatures and cultures. Nominated books should be broadly interpretive works
that enhance understanding of the interrelations among literature, the other arts, and
society. Eligibility: 1992 publications; authors need not be members of the MLA.
Requirements: Six copies and a letter indicating title, author, and date of publication.
Awarded annually; deadline: 1 May 1993.
1992-93 HOWARD B. MARRARO PRIZE
Definition: For an outstanding scholarly study of book or essay length on any phase of
Italian literature or comparative literature involving Italian. Eligibility: Works
published in 1992 or 1993; authors of nominated books must be current members of
the MLA. Requirements: Four copies and a letter of nomination indicating title, author,
and date of publication and affirming author's membership in the MLA. Awarded
biennially; next deadline: 1 May 1994.
18
1991-92 MORTON N. COHEN AWARD
Definition: For a distinguished edition of letters. Eligibility: Collections of letters, of
which at least one volume was published in 1991-1992. Editors of important
collections of letters are eligible to apply for the award, regardless of the fields the
editors and the authors of the letters represent. Eligibility does not depend on
membership in the MLA. Requirements: Four copies and a letter indicating titles,
editors, and dates of publication. Awarded biennially; next deadline: 1 May 1993.
Prizes for Research Publications on Teaching (Foreign
Languages or English)
1992 KENNETH W. MILDENBERGER PRIZE
Definition: For an outstanding research publication (or book or article) in the field of
teaching foreign languages and literatures. Eligibility: 1992 publications; authors need
not be members of the MLA. Requirements: Six copies and a letter indicating title,
author, and date of publication. Awarded annually; deadline: 1 May 1993.
1992 MINA p. SHAUGHNESSY PRIZE
Definition: For an outstanding research publication (book or article) in the field of
teaching English language and literature. Eligibility: 1992 publications; authors need
not be members of the MLA. Requirements: Six copies and a letter indicating title,
author, and date of publication. Awarded annually; deadline: 1 May 1993.
Charles Phleps Taft Postdoctoral Fellowships at the
University of Cincinnati
Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures
Applications are invited. The award carries an annual stipend of $ 25,000, plus
moving expenses up to $ 500, and a research allowance of $ 1,000. Health insurance,
single coverage, is included. Deadline is February 1. Additional information may be
obtained from: Taft Postdoctoral Fellowships, University of Cincinnati, ML 627,
CinCinnati, OH 45221-0627.
Please send applications to:
Nancy Tucker Assistant to the Taft Faculty Board
University of Cincinnati
ML #627
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0627.
Personals
EDDA HODNETT (Professor, Dept. of European Languages and Literature, University of
Hawaii) writes, "It might be of interest to Women in German that I received a tenure
track position at Hawaii, which is encouraging for other 'late entry' or non-traditional
women students."
SIMONE NOVAK has moved to Erfurt to complete her doctorate at the padagogische
Hochschule. She will be there for approximately three years and invites any Wiggie
coming through Erfurt or Weimar to visit. Her address is: padagogische Hochschule
Erfurt, Fachbereich Germanistik, Nordhauser Str. 63, 0-5064 Erfurt, Germany.
19
NEWS FROM WiG MEMBERS ABROAD
"Feindbilder abbauen, neue Kontakte knOpfen: Literaturkreuzfahrt auf der 'Konstantin
Simonov' quer durch die Ostsee." Von Christa Hein. (Reprinted with permission of the
author from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, March 22, 1992.)
"Handwerker tagen im Sitzungssaal, Schriftsteller treffen sich in einem Kurort oder auf
einem Kreuzfahrtschiff." Mikhail Chernenko, Moskauer Verleger und Herausgeber der
groBen neuen Literaturzeitschrift "Morgen," lachelt wie eine der Matruschkas, die im
Zwischendeck am russischen Stand neben dem "Duty free shop" verkauft werden. Auch
er ist einer der Sponsoren von "Baltic Waves," der Ersten Internationalen
Literaturkreuzfahrt rund urn die Ostsee. Es ist ein waghalsiges Unternehmen, 400
Schriftsteller aus den Verbanden von zehn Nationen auf eine Schiffsreise zu schicken.
"Und man kann diese ridikOlen Begleitumstande, dieses Zwischending aus KDF-Dampfer
nach Madeira und Narrenschiff, das wir auch sind, nicht leugnen. Aber all das wiegt
nichts gegen die MOglichkeit, hier frei miteinander reden zu kOnnen, Feindbilder
abzubauen, zu entscharfen und neue Kontakte zu knOpfen." Graf Einsiedel, einst bei
Stalingrad als deutscher Jagdflieger abgeschossen, sagt, was die Mehrheit der
Delegationen aus Ru Bland, Polen, Estland, Lettland, Litauen, Deutschland und
Skandinavien empfindet.
Aufregender Aufbruch
Die Idee fOr diese Kreuzfahrt "Iandete" gleichzeitig in den Kopfen aller Nationen, wird
Peter Curman, Vorsitzender des Schwedischen Schriftstellerverbandes, nicht mOde zu
erzahlen. Die Schweden und die Petersburger setzten den Traum in die Wirklichkeit urn.
Bei den Ostlichen Delegationen herrscht in jedem Faile Begeisterung: "Wir kOnnten uns
das sonst nie leisten. Und auBerdem--endlich einmal sattessen." Das lOst auf
westlicher Seite eher Betretenheit aus. Man kommt nicht umhin, zwei Klassen an Bord
wahrzunehmen, die sich zunachst auch voneinander getrennt halten. In der
Kommunikationsbereitschaft oder -unfahigkeit der baltischen und russischen
Teilnehmer zeigt sich die jahrelange Abschottung vom Westen.
Unter den Deutschen finden sich kaum medienbekannte Namen. Die Schweden aber
haben einen ihrer groBen Dichter, Tobias Berggreen, dabei. Beim Auslaufen gemahnt er
an die Millionen ermordeter Juden. Die Ausfahrt in der Nacht, in einer gerade vom
Eisbrecher geschlagenen Rinne, ist ein aufregendes Bild. Zu beiden Seiten des Schiffs
viele kleine Lampchen, wo wagemutige Russen auf dem Eis sitzen und fischen. Nach etwa
15 Kilometern taucht die Festung Kronstadt in der EiswOste auf. In der kleinen Gruppe
an Deck ein Historiker, der eben ein Buch Ober Kronstadt geschrieben hat. "Von dort,"
zeigt er im Dunkeln, "kam die Rote Armee." Er erzahlt von Trotzki und davon, wie die
Matrosen kampften.
Tallinn wird zum Ort der Machtdemonstration zwischen Russen und Esten. Sechs
blutjunge, schOchtern wirkende russische Soldaten verwandeln den Music Saloon fOr
zwei Stunden in eine Grenzstation, stempeln "Tallinn" in die passe. Nur 50 Meter
weiter, im Schlauch des Terminals auf estnischem Hoheitsgebiet, werden diese gegen
Ersatzpasse eingetauscht. Deutlich anders ist die Ankunft in Polen, wo nicht nur zwei
Kapellen, Marine und Miliz, zur kindlichen Freude aller spielen, sondern auch die
Grenzkontrolle fast ganz entfallt. Der polnische FOhrer in Gdynia witzelt: "Die Statue
dahinten, Sie denken, das ist Lenin. Nein, nein. Den werden Sie hier nicht mehr finden.
Es ist Joseph Conrad." Wie die Esten demonstrieren auch die Polen Unabhangigkeit von
RuBland durch die Sprache. Erst wird ins Englische, dann von einem Dolmetscher ins
Russische Obersetzt.
20
In LObeck wandelt sich alles: frOhmorgens sind die 150 Russen von Bord, schleppen
Pakete, TOten und Autoreifen auf Fahrradern heran, verladen Autos im Bauch von
"Konstantin Simonov." Das Eigentliche dieser Fahrt, deren Tage auf See in den gleichen
lichten Dunst gehOIlt sind wie schon die Tage Herders im Jahre 1769, liegt--wie bei
ihm--im Entdecken der Innenwelten. Seminare zu Copyright, Obersetzung, Okologie,
Computertechnik. (Die schwedischen Gerate an Bord werden den ostlichen Delegationen
geschenkt.) Wichtiger: ganz lang sam bricht das Eis, entstehen die Gesprache, die die
Veranstalter sich erhofft haben mogen.
In der White Nights Bar (den Petersburger wei Ben Nachten nachempfunden und 1988
von einer Bremerhavener Werft ausgebaut) und der Ladoga-Bar (nach dem groBen See
bei Petersburg) werden im babylonischen Sprachgewirr einzelne Stimmen vernehmbar:
der Dichter Antanas Jonynas, von seinen Landsleuten "die Seele Litauens" genannt. Ewa
Szumanska, Romanautorin und Essayistin. Sie zeigt, welche Satze und Texte von der
Zensur "weggeworfen" wurden, "so wie auch ich." Aagot Vinterbo-Hohr, einzige Samin
an Bord, erzahlt, daB die Norweger um ein Haar vergaBen, einen samischen
Schriftsteller einzuladen. "Wir sind in Norwegen eine Minderheit--aber als
verneinter Konflikt."
Resjgnjerte Djchterjn
Der Verleger Chernenko wOnscht Zusammenarbeit mit dem Westen. Wirbt mit der um
dreiviertel billigeren Herstellung von BOchern im Osten. Sein perfektes Deutsch hat er
aus der Gefangenschaft. "Ich wurde als 16jahriger nach Deutschland verschleppt. Aber
das ist nicht wichtig." Er sprOht vor Unternehmungsgeist angesichts der neuen
Moglichkeiten. Oberhaupt wird man den Eindruck nicht los, es seien die
Siebzigjahrigen, die am lebendigsten sind. Wie anders klingt die 35jahrige lettische
Dichterin Amanda Aizpuriete. Mutter von vier Kindern: "Das Leben in unseren Landern
ist ein biBchen zu schwer geworden. Jeden Morgen stehe ich zwei Stunden in der Reihe,
um Milch fOr meine Kinder zu holen. Ich fOhle mich tot: Dieser Teil meiner Seele, der
Gedichte schrieb, ist gestorben, so meine ich. Ich kann funktionieren, aber nicht
lebendig sein." Dabei muB sie eine Frau von ungeheuren Energien sein, die sich
Deutsch, Englisch und Ukrainisch durch Lesen beigebracht hat: "Ich wollte einfach diese
BOcher lesen, so habe ich die Sprachen gelernt." Ihre Nachdichtungen von Rilke, Trakl,
Mandelstam und anderen verkauften sich 10 OOOmal kurz nach Erscheinen.
Mika Larsson, schwedische Journalistin und frischgebackener Kulturattache fOr
Polen, ist Heraugeberin eines Buches Ober diese Fahrt mit Beitragen von allen Nationen.
Aile wOnschen, die neuen Kontakte fortzusetzen, auszubauen. So konnte diese Fahrt sich
gelohnt haben. So vielleicht auch laBt sich etwas tun fOr dieses, in den Worten Ewa
Szumankas, "traurige, graue vergiftete kleine Meer, das wir so lieben." Zum Abschied
stellt Mikhail Chernenko die Quizfrage: Wer war Konstantin Simonov? Immerhin, Sie
wissen, er schrieb, trostet er. Und zwar wunderschOne Texte! Lieder! Jeder Russe
kennt ihn, aile Soldaten haben seine Lieder gesungen ...
21
CONFERENCE REPORTS
WiG Conference (1992)
THE POLITICS OF "PC;" HOW DO WE DEAL WITH IT?
Coordinators; Helen Cafferty (Bowdoin College), Helga Thorson (University of
Minnesota/Minneapolis)
Panelists for this session were Hester Baer, Ruth-Ellen Joeres, Margaret Hampton and
Vibs Peterson. The panelists addressed what kind of impact the "political-correctness"
controversy had had on them personally and professionally. They presented different
strategies for dealing with "the politics of PC." Among the issues discussed were the
term's history and use in contemporary cultural and academic politics, reappropriation
of the term as an affirmation of the inclusiveness of feminist and minority politics,
strategies for the classroom and for coping with traditional discriminatory practices in
the academy. After brief presentations by the panelists, the audience and panel broke
into small groups to continue the discussion in individual contexts.
BRIDGING THE GAP; CONTEMPORARY CRITICISM AND EARLY UTERATURE
Coordinators; Carla Love (University of Wisconsin, Madison); Sigrid Brauner
(University of Mass., Amherst)
OppreSSion and Rebel!jon in Wernher's Helmbrecht (Gabriele Strauch, U. of MO)
A superficial reading of Wernher der Gartenare's Helmbrecht would tend to support the
traditional understanding of the work as a portrayal of aristocratic decline in 13th
century Germany, a satire on peasant pretentions to a higher place in the ordenunge, and
a criticism of youthful hybris. My reading of the text departs from conventional ones in
that traditional readings lack an adequate analysis of how power operates or of how
violence and relations of rule or power interact. As a consequence they reproduce the
medieval world's own view of itself and run the risk of moral, rather than critical,
political analysis. In the exploration of power and power relations I draw on social
science studies on crime and violence, in particular Black on Black crime, to reflect on
what often gets read as random or nonsensical violence, or gets individualized, as if there
weren't systematic causes. As a result, the violence which characterizes Helmbrecht's
behavior is seen as a reflection of and the result of institutionalized violence of the
larger society in which he finds himself.
The Search For Comfort In Mechthild yon Magdeburg (Marilyn Webster UMassAmherst)
In the 'prologue' to her book, Oas flieBende Licht der Gottheit, Mechthild of
Magdeburg writes; "In diesem Buch werden aile BetrObten und Verwirrten Trost finden"
(I, 53). However, when I first read excerpts from the book it was not comfort that I
found. Instead the pain and contradictions, the division between body and soul disturbed
and perplexed me. Some of her descriptions--of the soul soaring to find oneness with
God versus the earthbound body--reminded me too much of what I have read about the
experiences of women who have been abused. I also saw someone who seeks perfection
while simultaneously being convinced of her own unworthiness. Yet the depth of
Mechthild's faith moved me and it seemed that she must have journeyed beyond these
conflicts, that she found a way of (re)solving them for herself at least.
My search for the comfort in Oas f1ieBende Licht der Gottheit takes the
form of a dialogue. Mechthild herself incorporates this form into her book(s), which I
see as an effective way to give room to different voices. I think a dialogue is also
22
representative of the interaction between a reader and the text. With each reading
work, the interpretation changes, influenced by whatever has happened in
intervening period. While the ongoing dialogue is between Mechthild and me--is my
Auseinandersetzung
with the text--the voices of other mystics, medieval
contemporary, can be heard as we discuss images of God, the relationship between
and Self/Soul, the ecstacy and pain of love, sensuality and the erotic, creativity
personal expression, silence and struggles with language.
of a
the
own
and
God
and
EVERY BODY HAS ATEX! AND EVERY TEXT A BODY
Coordinators: Marjanne Gooze (University of Georgia), Karen Jankowsky (University of
Wisconsin/Madison), Amy Kepple Strawser (Ohio State University)
The Body as Author: A Study of the Lyrical Voice in Mechthild yon Magdeburg's Das
Elie8ende Licht der Gottheit (Leslie Batchelder, University of Wisconsin/Madison)
Mechthild von Magdeburg's Das Elie8ende Licht der Gottheit was both well known
and widely acclaimed in the Middle Ages exerting a powerful influence on later "great"
mystics from Meister Eckhart to S1. Teresa de Avila. However, with the re-discovery of
Reason which heralded the end of the "Dark Ages" and the beginning of the so-called
"Enlightenment," Elie8ende Licht was marginalized as the incomprehensible writing of
an eccentric mystic and was therefore virtually forgotten until quite recently. If the
significance and originality of Mechthild's writing has been largely ignored in the
centuries which have intervened between medieval and modern times it is because of the
intensity with which Mechthild insists on the anti-rational and subjective experiences
of a profoundly feminized body as the ultimate authority in this text.
French psychoanalyst and literary critic Luce Irigaray poses an interesting
question concerning what we think of as concise, "rational" language, that is, language
which is able to deliver well formed "coherent" ideas. Irigaray's reading of classical
works of the western philosophical tradition from Plato to Freud discloses the presence
of a male economy in these texts which she links fairly convincingly to a male
body/sexual experience. The argument goes something like this: the male body has been
naturalized as both the linguistic and the experiential norm and following the needs of its
own linguistic/experiential economy has positioned itself as Authority (with a capital A)
in opposition to any possible feminine discourse which it constructs as the "Other."
This male language with its economy of containment, definition and categorization is
designated by Irigary as "phallocentric discourse." In contrast to this discourse,
Irigaray writes an essay entitled "La Mysterique," in which she posits the existence of a
possible alternative discourse and which has been pathologized as "hysterical" and
marginalized as "incoherent," whose very difference may well be the key to a new
understanding of the uses and limitations of language itself. Following Irigaray, I hope to
delineate the way in which Mechthild's writing offers a resistance to traditional readings
of her work because of the overwhelming significance which is accorded to a feminized
sensual/sexual experience in Elie8ende Licht.
The appearance of the body in Elie8ende Licht signals the undoing of coherent
discourse. Indeed, Mechthild's mystical experiences, mediated and illiterated through an
apparently female body, are themselves a resistance to conventional Authority (by
Authority I mean both the institutionalized authority of the church fathers and the
language with which they shored up their dominance of social, political, and even
spiritual hierarchies). Mechthild's ultimate ambition is to encourage the knowledge of
an internal and highly personal authority, an authority which finds itself at odds with
language itself and desires nothing more than silence. The authorial voice in Elie8ende
Licht deeply embedded as it is in what Freud would later call the dread "dark
continent," wreaks havoc with the phallocentric dichotomy between subject and object
which allows for the primacy of the Father/PriesV Psychoanalyst. Where "He"--God,
23
Father, the subject of all sentences--is found, he is under erasure or rather consumed
in a dis-orienting blending of the subject and object or "We." No longer can any One be
designated as master or authority unless it is the One in which all being is united, and in
the face of which the very idea of hierarchy is doomed.
Revisiting Sigrid Weigel's "Die nahe Fremde;" The Body in the Discourse of "Wilde" and
"Frauen" in the Enlightenment. (Imke Lode, New York University)
In her essay "Die nahe Fremde - das Territorium des 'Weiblichen'. Zum
Verh:!ltnis von 'Wilden' und 'Frauen' im Diskurs der Aufkl:!rung," (1987), Sigrid
Weigel comes to the conclusion that the European Woman/Femininity at home became the
substitute for the colonized OtherI"Savage(s)" abroad for the purpose of the
Enlightenment's establishment of the European male subject. While I agree with
Weigel's observation of similarities in both discourses, I insist upon the term
"contiguities" ("BerOhrungspunkte") rather than "analogies"
("Verwandtschaftsgrade"), thus defying her claim of a substitution process between
both discourses. The term "contiguities" revives the possibility of differentiation and
prevents both discourses of bourgeois Woman at home and the one of the "Savage" abroad
to be (once again) subsumed under one common concept of "nature to be subjugated and
conquered."
Yet, it is precisely this "new" Enlightenment concept of nature in which Weigel
roots her argument when she points out that visual representations show foreign
territory and nature being identified with Woman's body and vice versa. Weigel's
reasoning is especially problematic since she undermines her own temporal grounding of
the "neuer Typ Frau" in the Enightenment by dissolving it in almost 'timeless space'
when she provides visual examples from da Vinci to Vogeler, bridging several centuries
of different concepts of "nature" and Woman.
However, the most controversial aspect might be Weigel'S dismissal of any
differentiation within the concept of "Wilde;" "der/die/das Wilde/n," "Wildheit" are
easily substituted for each other under the premise of all being part of "nature."
Thereby, the discourse of the "body" is disregarded and Weigel's discussion of the
"savage" lacks e.g. any debate of "race." Especially in her understanding of the concept
of the Dark Continent it becomes apparent that she reduces multiple discourses of the
colonized native, the undiscovered foreign continenVland, the body of the European
Woman and the sexualization of all the above to one discourse of territorial
representation as Woman - a highly problematic reduction for several reasons; 1. She
neglects the historical changes in colonialism (e.g. the triangular slave trade) which, 2.
entail shifting concepts of the "savage" and the colonized land to which she had related
the discourse of the domesticated European Woman in the first place. 3. She proposes the
discourse of "Fremde"/Otherness as sufficient to understand the patriarchal
construction of a sexualized, submitted image of Woman's body.
Consequently, it is my hypothesis that to neglect the two--Woman's and the
"savage's"--discourses' shared anchor in the body means to collapse their material and
discursive differences into one undifferentiated concept of supposed identity, thus
robbing both "real" objects of these patriarchal European debates of their distinct
histories, their possibilities of interference in their discourses, and ultimately of their
(reclaiming of) subject-identity.
Thanks again to all the Wiggies for their wonderful and positive feedback to my
presentation on Sigrid Weigel's essay "Die nahe Fremde"l Whoever still wants to have a
copy of it, please contact me at the following address; Imke Lode, 59 East 7th St., #9,
New York, NY 10003 (not 77th S1. as written on the WiG participants listl) A longer
version of the paper is in preparation for publication.
24
Frauenfejnd Goethe. 'HaBliehe Wejber'. 'liebliehe Knaben". wOrdjge MOtter". 'tatjgfreje Manner': zur gesehleehtsspezjfjsehen Attrjbujerung yon HaBliehkeit und Alter
versus SehOnhejt und Jugend jn Faust II. (Waltraud Maierhofer, University of Iowa)
Das "Ewig-Weibliehe", in dem alles Vergangliehe aufgehoben ist, hat die
Forsehungsgesehiehte zu Faust bestimmt. Daneben konzentrieren sieh Interpretationen
der weibliehen Gestalten in Faust /I meist auf Helena, Galatea oder die "MOtter". Gerade
in den Nebenfiguren und allegorisehen Gestalten findet sieh jedoeh eine FOlie von
Charakteristiken und Ansiehten der Frau, besonders der alten Frau. Goethe verwendet
das Wort "Weib" nur zusammen mit negativen Charakteristika.
Meine These: Der Kult der SehOnheit und der Erde in Faust /I ist subversiv zu
lesen. Darin sind versehiedene Formen von Angst vor Frauen ausgedrOekt. Das Lob der
sehOnen Frau ist ein wiehtiger Teil davon und entsprieht nieht nur der gesellsehaftliehen
Konvention, sondern bestatigt traditionelle Sozialisationsmuster und setzt die
Rollenverteilung der feudalen und bOrgerliehen Gesellsehaft fort. Es gibt kein Modell
fOr Solidaritat unter Frauen, sondeen gegenseitige Kritik, Eifersueht und Intrigen
werden als "natOrliehes" Verhalten dargestellt. Eine besonders groBe Rolle spielt die
negative Darstellung des Alters, sofern es nieht dureh Muttersehaft "gereehtfertigt" und
verklart ist. Alte Frauen, die nieht fOr die Reproduktion verfOgbar waren, werden
leieht zu Hexen. Nur die domestizierte Frau hat positive Eigensehaften. Dies gilt aueh
fOr Helena.
Goethe bedient sich der antiken Mythologie, die viele negative Frauenfiguren
kennt und so Archetypen beschreibt, und setzt sie fort. Mit dem greichischen "Inventar"
verbindet er zusatzliche fundamentale Traditionen der abendlandlichen Kultur, namlich
christliche Vorstellungen und volkstOmliche Sagen und Marchen, wie sie im Volksbuch
von Faust ebenfalls eine wichtige Komponente bilden.
Es handelt sich zweifellos um einen patriarchalischen Text. Das 18. Jahrhundert
hat den Begriff des Geschlechtscharakters gepragt. Ich habe Faust 1/ daraufhin gelesen
und konzentrierte mich auf die Attribute der Frauen. leh habe zehn Formen davon
unterschieden und zur Diskussion gestellt:
1. Die Frau ist entweder schOn und jung oder
2. haBlich; mittelmaB gibt es nicht.
3. Die Frau ist IOstern.
4. Die Frau ist kauflich.
5. Die Frau soli gehorsam sein.
6. Die Frau ist tOckisch.
7. Frauen sind neidisch und eifersOchtig.
8. Frauen sind oberflachlich.
9. Alte Frauen sind besonders negativ.
10. Frauen sind also gefahrlich.
Die Archetypen und Allegorien drOcken patriarchalisch bestimmte Rollen der
Frau aus, die in der Antike festgeschrieben sind und sich in der abendlandlichen Kultur
noch im 19. Jahrhundert fortsetzen. Die Angst vor der Frau nimmt in Faust 1/ eine
wichtige Rolle ein. Eine machtige Frau impliziert Identitatsverlust. Es stellt sich die
Frage, ob Mephistos Prinzip, abfallig Ober das zu sprechen, worOber er keine Macht hat
(Helena), auch fOr Goethe und seine Aussagen in Faust /I Ober Frauen gilt.
WiG MEMBERS SPEAK OlIT
Moderated by Karen Remmler (Mt. Holyokd) and Sigrid Brauner (Univ. of Mass.)
Three major topics were the focus of discussion at this year's speak-out. First,
we exchanged ideas on how to welcome newcomers to our annual conferences. Although
some newcomers felt very comfortable at the conference, others felt they had very little
opportunity to get to know one another, much less more seasoned Wiggies. We talked
25
about continuing the practice of having newcomer and/or interest tables at meals and of
developing programs to acknowledge and to get to know new WiG members or those who
are attending their first WiG conference. We also talked about how all of us at one time
or another may have felt excluded and that the process of becoming part of a group takes
time.
Next, we discussed the importance of welcoming our guests and including them in
our discussion early on in the conference, instead of waiting until their session with our
guest(s) be moderated to a greater extent to insure that our guests are not left with the
task of moderating their own session. In addition, we discussed ways of including guests
by asking participants to speak in German when possible and to have volunteers
translate for our guests, should the discussion be in English. In conjunction, a number
of WiG members expressed their concern and dismay with the way the discussion
proceeded at the Saturday evening session. Instead of a productive and sensitive dialogue
about issues of racism, the discussion broke down at times creating a tense, and conflictridden atmosphere .. The presence of conflict itself is to be welcomed, especially when it
leads to a deeper understanding of the experience of others. Some of the participants in
the speak-out, however, felt that the discussion on Saturday evening demonstrated the
difficulty of talking with one another about differences perpetuated by experiences of
discrimination or, conversely, celebrated through self-identity. In order to learn to
talk with one another in a more productive and sensitive manner, some participants
suggested having a WiG conference without guests in order to give us a chance to talk
through issues of competition, discrimination, power relations, etc. and/or inviting a
professional to conduct workshops designed to increase awareness about racist and
homophobic behavior, as well as practice productive modes of group interaction. In
addition, we look forward to next year's conference where issues of cultural diversity
will be addressed in a number of sessions, thus giving us a chance to continue this year's
discussions.
Thirdly, we discussed organizational matters and the practical matters of food,
accommodations, transportation, and conference costs. Although most people were very
happy with the site, the organizing committee reminded us of the impossibility of
accommodating early arrivals. In order to minimize cost and hassle, we decided to have
three designated arrival and departure times for next year's conference. Accordingly,
WiG members will be asked to book their flights to coincide with one of the three pickups. The other major issue is, of course, the rising cost of the conference due to
increased expenses, a higher number of subsidized participants, and the burden upon
those who travel long distances. In keeping with suggestions by the steering committee,
and in the spirit of Bunny Weiss's support for graduate student participation at WiG
conferences, we established a Bunny Weiss travel fund. When registering for
conferences, WiG members will now have the option of contributing to the fund, that will
be set aside for reimbursing partial travel costs for those
underemployed/graduate/undergraduate student members travelling longer distances
and, thus, having to spend more money on travel.
As usual, the conference program did not allow for enough free time. This
continues to be a problem, although it was pointed out that having more free time would
mean reducing the number of sessions and/or speakers. Any ideas?
Karen Remmler/Sigrid Brauner
Cabaret report (WiG 1992, Saturday evening)
ap/upi/wig/reuters/dpa. all of the major presidential and vice-presidential candidates
made a surprise campaign stop last saturday evening, october 17 1992, at the women in
german conference in great barrington, mass. this unexpected development is a clear
sign that all six candidates recognize the importance of the female vote in this year's
election. the presence of four of the candidates' wives underscored this fact: hillary
26
clinton, mary elizabeth "tipper" gore, barbara pusch and marilyn quayle took positions
directly behind their husbands on the stage. (in the absence of the wives of the
independent ticket, ret. adm. stockdale took up his post behind mr. perot.)
mrs. pusch, mrs. quayle, and mr. stockdale maintained a high level of decorum
throughout the debate: the republican wives deferred to their husbands consistently,
while mr. stockdale stooped with a certain amount of grace at regular intervals to kiss
his boss's posterior. by contrast, the democratic wives--perhaps egged on by the
somewhat irregular audience in attendance--at times seemed unable to refrain from
tempestuous outbursts of personality. when governor clinton entered the room with his
wife, hillary attempted, quite inexplicably, to sit down in his chair, while senator gore
was hard put to keep his lovely wife from speaking her mind about the controversial
issue of rock lyrics. she was, in the end, successfully muzzled, and no one could
overlook the charm of a wife who trotted dutifully behind her husband with his trousers
and shoes in hand when he took to the stage in jogging shorts, apparently
misunderstanding his introduction as bill clinton's "running mate."
the debate was moderated by veteran reporter nina tittenberg (famous for breaking the
story of anita hOgelchen during last year's thomas von klarenz hearings) and moral
security guard phyllis shapely, both of whom fired a steady stream of pointed questions
at the candidates. topics ranged from abortion and the effect of menopausal hot flashes on
global warming, to favorite tv shows and the death penalty. the responses were
indicative of what we have witnessed in previous encounters between the candidates this
year: president bush replied, if at all, in confused half-sentences; governor clinton
hammered away at the tough issues--as soon as he could safely determine who was in his
audience; billionaire perot made a point of thanking his wonderful volunteers (indicating
the audience with a sweep of his hand), and illustrated many a point with the aid of flowcharts from a women in german business meeting. meanwhile, vice-presidential
candidates quayle and gore descended quickly into a shouting match and food fight. v-p
contender stockdale avoided the flying chickens and chocolate chip cookies by remaining
in "kissing position."
the proceedings were broadcast live on local radio station wwig, 99.999999 fm, and
hosted by an extraordinarily competent local commentator whose name we unfortunately
failed to catch, as she spoke for the most part in a muted voice, filled with what was
undoubtedly reverential awe at the spectacle of power to which she was bearing witness.
27
Crossing
Germany
Borders--Contemporary Women
Artists in
The 23rd Annual Wisconsin Workshop held from October 8-10, 1992 at the University
of Wisconsin-Madison brought together five artists working in Germany with scholars
working in the United States. Papers addressed border crossing in narratives of the
nation by Czechoslovakian writers (Katie Trumpener), in the translation of identity
between Turkey and Germany as an aesthetic process (Olker GOkberk, Margrit
FrOhlich), between different "Easts" in guest writer Libuse Monikova's writing (Karen
Jankowsky), between different German audiences for the experimental writing of
invited author Gabriela StOtzer (Kathrin Bower, Thomas Jung), and between Germany,
France, and Argentina in Jeanine Meerapfel's mother-daughter movie "Malou" (Janice
Mouton). Other borders under discussion concerned the representation of a range of
sexual roles which are implicated in power relationships in Iran and in Germany (Leslie
Adelson) and played out in lesbian and heterosexual relationships and between Germans
and Americans in an Elfi Mikesch film (Sue Ellen Case). Barbara Buenger, Susan
Cocalis, and Carla Love mediated the language barrier between scholarly commentators
and the guest artists who focused on how they produce their conceptual art (Eva-Maria
ScMn), dances (Regina Baumgart), and films (Elfi Mikesch). Angelika Bammer
reminded us of the importance of respecting and identifying barriers as well as of
crossing borders. Nancy Kaiser, Susan Friedman, and Virginia Sapiro reflected on the
recognition of differences between feminists in America as the basis for a dialogue on
German-American Feminisms.
Karen Jankowsky
AATG
AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN ENGENDERINGS OF THE NEW GERMAN IDENTITY
Baden-Baden, July 1992, organized by Susan G. Figge and Jenifer K. Ward, the College
of Wooster, Wooster, OH
When we first proposed this session our working title was: "The Married States:
Gendered Representations of the Two Germanys and of German Unification." At that time,
actually beginning in early 1990, we were struck by the many portrayals in German
and American journalism, advertising, political cartoons and literature of unification as
a marriage, as two partners entering into a heterosexual relationship with significant
legal and erotic dimensions.
The use of this set of visual and verbal metaphors, this marriage discourse,
seemed to us to have implications for a broad public understanding of the meaning and
complexities of German unification. At the same time it seemed to us that these
representations continued to inform the construction of a framework in which real
policy decisions were being made.
Two years after the unification event, we still found that the evolving new
German identity had strong gendered components. The panelists in this session addressed
various aspects of this identity in papers that spanned a broad chronological and national
range.
Ingrid Sharp, University of Leeds, Great Britain, presented a paper entitled
"Vaterlicher Rat fOr die DDR: Female Virture and Male Privilege." Beginning with
roles of the sexes within marriage as set forth at the end of the 18th Century by Adolf
Freiherr von Knigge and Joachim Heinrich Campe, Sharp's paper traced the connections
between legal and social understandings of marriage in German culture and their
deployment in discourses surrounding the unification process and debate. Sharp argued
that the construction of the GDR as the female and unequal marriage partner is reflected
in current popular psychological literature which treats the GDR as the sick, hysterical
28
patient. She further argued that assigning the female role to the GDR does more than
simply describe the power relations between the two states, but in fact constructs
expectations and assumptions which potentially normalize inequity in the effects of
policy making. Sharp also included discussion of British engenderings of the GDR as
female, pointing out that while such representations were frequent, they rarely
constructed unification as a marriage.
Deborah Janson, University of West Virginia, presented "Patriarchy Preserved:
Unification as False Liberation," in which she discussed the resistance to the new
German identity among those GDR writers most associated with the rediscovery and reevaluation of romanticism. She argued that this resistance stems from the particular
social, cultural, and political location of those authors (Wolf, Kunert, Braun) who saw
the move from communism to capitalism as a continuation of a politics of patriarchal
domination, and understanding shaped by their identification with the Romantic
movement. She argued further that the positions taken by Wolf et al. connect to current
thinking in American and European futurist (Riane Eisler) discourse, which in her view
offers a helpful paradigm for thinking about global community.
The final paper was offered by Susan Signe Morrison, English and Comparative
Literature, California State University at Fullerton, and was entitled "The Feminization
of the German Democratic Republic in Political Cartoons, 1989 - 1990." Her paper
looked at political cartoons from Germany and America and their use of marriage and
sexual metaphors to depict German unification. She argued that recent political cartoons
anthropomorphize the GDR as female and the FRG as male, fulfilling a semiotic code of
genderfication in which the GDR is naturalized as a "woman"--a move which carries
numerous political implications. She also showed that the cartoons which deal with
inner East German concerns represent East German figures as men. Genderfication of
the GDR as female only occurs in depictions of East-West politics, in which the relations
between the two states are made parallel to the gender dynamics in a patriarchal society.
GSA Conference (1992)
CONSTRUCTIONS OF "FEMININITY" IN SOCIALIST/COMMUNIST WRITING
Coordinators: Gudrun Tabbert-Jones (Santa Clara University), Helga Thorson
(University of Minnesota/Minneapolis)
"Rabenmutter oder Superfrau?" Motherhood-Ideology in the GDR
(Katharina von Ankum, Scripps College)
The paper discusses the ceremonial structure and ideological function of
International Women's Day in the GDR. Based on an analYSis of the media coverage of the
event as well as specially prepared propaganda and advertising materials I showed how a
government-promoted ideology of motherhood expressed particularly during this event
exploited women's productive and reproductive abilities and limited the potential for
women's emancipation in socialist East Germany.
Constructions and Constrictions of Femininity: A Critical Discussion of Gender Ideology
in Friedrich Wolf's Cyankali § 218 (Christine E. Groeppner)
The first section of this paper records the contents of Friedrich Wolf's play
Cyankali § 218. which shows how women (espeCially proletarians suffered from § 218
of the German Law which restricted abortion sllPjecting individuals to criminal
prosecution if they sought to terminate a pregnancy. It is clear from Wolf's text that
conditions for the working class during the Weimar Republic were poor. Like workingclass men, working women were not able to provide adequately for themselves or their
families due to the exploitative work structures. The interpretation of § 218 was in the
hands of the medical profeSSion, which had to work closely with the legal authorities in
society. Hence, bourgeois women received preferential treatment by the bourgeois
medics, whereas proletarian women were left to fend for themselves. But Friedrich
29
Wolf criticizes not only bourgeois, economically exploitative society insensitive to
women's special needs but those close to women in need: he shows men's failure to share
equally in family planning and to sustain their families' needs. Another way in which he
dramatizes the constrictions of womanhood is through the high suicide rate among
pregnant women.
Cyankali §218 enjoyed tremendous success for many decades throughout Europe,
as several hundred pages of critical reception in several studies have attested. It also led
many to take a stand for or against § 218. In the opinion of Groeppner, Cyankali 218
should be staged again in present-day Germany, a land in which women of the former
GDR will lose their rights to abortion by 1993. On August 4, 1992, the Federal
Constitutional Court voted unanimously to block the newall-German law decriminalizing
abortion which would have gone into effect on August 5 of this year. The law, passed by
the Bundestag with a vote of 357-284 and signed by President von Weizsacker, would
have given women the right to abortion on demand within the first trimester, provided
that we undergo obligatory counseling and the abortion is performed by a physician.
Along with Wolf's play Cyankali § 218. Groeppner recommends the works of Susanne
von Paczensky and Ingrid Zwerenz.
Brecht's Female Characters: S1. Joan
(Gudrun Tabbert-Jones, Santa Clara University)
Bertold Brecht's dramatic portrayal of women changed during the course of his
life. In his early years, he had depicted them mostly as victims, objects of male desire
and contempt. When Brecht "converted" to communism his female figures reflected his
changed position. Joan is Brecht's first female heroine in the title role. However, she
has not been designed as a real character with whom the audience could identify but a
"type" demonstrating different and often contradictory attitudes characteristic of the
petty bourgeoise, the social class whom the communists regarded as likely yet unreliable
party members. Joan's development into a disillusioned revolutionary serves as a model
for teaching new attitudes and overcoming traditional views. Rather than demonstrating
"right" attitudes, Brecht's first female protagonist has been designed to represent
"incorrect" behavior. Does Brecht confirm rather than undermine traditional
prejudice against women by drawing on familiar notions about female weakness and
gUllibility to alienate the notorious unreliability of the petty bourgeoisie? The opposite
seems true. The relationship between Joan and Mauler shows how women are taught to
perceive themselves as naturally subserviant and weak. The relationship between
Joan and Slift, on the other hand, shows that Joan is capable of remaining strong and
unyielding in spite of her opponents special efforts to change her position. By showing
that Joan behaves differently at different occasions, Brecht makes us aware that female
gullibility is not natural but "constructed" through personal relationships in
bourgeoisie capitalist society. Inconsistencies and contradictions in Joan's behavior
point out that female conduct is not fixed but may change and be changed. Brecht,
however, was not primarily concerned with the relationship between genders but
between social classes. He used gender to metaphorically describe and alienate the
relationship between social classes.
30
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
WIG Members
Bammer, Angelika. Partial Visions: Feminism and Utopianism in the 1970s. New York:
Routledge, 1992.. Utopianism is one of the most vital impulses of feminist
politics. Partial Visions traces the articulation of this impulse in literary texts
produced within the context of the American, French and German women's
movements between 1969 and 1979. Through analytical readings of these texts,
Angelika Bammer examines this radical movement's transformative potential as
well as its ideological blindspots. She argues that, in terms of a radical
utopianism, Western feminism not only continued where the Left foundered, but
went a decisive step further by reconceptualizing the possible meanings of both
"political" and "utopian." Feminist utopianism, Bammer concludes, is not just
visionary, but bound by time and culture as well.
Bock, Gisela, Ed. Maternity and Gender Policies: Women and the Rise of the European
Welfare State. New York: Routledge, 1991.
Duda, Sybille und Luise F. Pusch (Hrsg.). Wahnsinnsfrauen. Suhrkamp: FrankfurVM.
1992.
Flanagan, Sabina. Hildegard of Bingen, 1098-1179: A Visionary Life. New York:
Routledge, 1991.
Frieden, Sandra, Richard McCormick, Vibeke Petersen, Laurie Melissa Vogelsang, Eds.
Gender and German Cinema: Feminist Interventions. Volume 1: Gender and
Representation in New German Cinema. Volume 2: German Film History/German
History on Film. Providence, RI: Berg Publishers, 1992. International film has
received some of its most original impulses from German filmmakers. However,
the works by women directors in German-speaking countries have been largely
ignored in spite of the imprtant social, political and historical issues they have
raised. This is the first work to consider the broad spectrum of German Cinema
through the category of gender and to present feminist interventions in the
current lively discussion of German film and film criticism. From Lubitsch's
The Doll (1919) to von Trotta's Rosa Luxemburg (1985), films are drawn from
a number of historical periods and both female and male directors. From a
variety of feminist approaches, contributors analyze cinematic techniques,
narrative discourse, production, reception and the politics of representation.
Accompanied by a chronology, filmography, bibliography and illustrations, these
volumes will represent one of the standard handbooks in film studies for some
time to come.
Hausen,Karin, Heide Wunder, Gisela Bock (Hg.) .. FrauengeschichteGeschlechtergeschichte . Reihe »Geschichte und Geschlechter» Band I.
Frankfurt am Main, Campus, 1992.
Wie in zahlreichen anderen U!ndern, so ist auch in Deutschland bereits
seit Jahren daran gearbeitet worden, Frauengeschichte zu erforschen und im
Kanon der geschichtswissenschaftlich relevanten Themen durchzusetzen. Dieser
Band bietet einen eindrucksvollen Oberblick Ober diese historische Forschung,
31
die in der Geschichte nicht, den Menschen allgemein sondern Frauen und M~nner
als Handelnde wahrnimmt.
Entlang der drei Themenfelder »Frauenraume«, »Offentlichkeit und
Privatheit« und »Geschlechtsidentit~ten« vermitteln die Autorinnen mit ihren
ebenso anschaulich geschriebenen wie detailliert erforschten Erkundungen
weiblicher Lebenswelten faszinierende Einblicke in das Leben von Frauen und
M~nnern der letzten Jahrhunderte. Was bedeutete Vater- und Muttersein im
Mittelalter? Was heiB m~nnliche und weibliche Ehre in der FrOhen Neuzeit? Wie
Offentlich war im 19. Jahrhunderte das Private? Was zeichnete das Leben
jOdischer Frauen in Deutschland aus?
So verschieden die Themen und Blickpunkte auch sein mOgen, stets
Oberrascht die Experimentierfreudigkeit, mit der die Autorinnen herkOmmliche
Erklarungsans~tze verlassen, um vorzufOhren, wie lohnend es ist, die
facettenreiche Geschichte der Geschlechterverh~ltnisse genauer kennenzulernen
und historisch angemessener zu bewerten.
KIOger, Ruth. weiter leben: eine Jugend. GOttingen: Wallstein, 1992.
Knight, Julia. Women and the New German Cinema. New York: Verso, 1992.
Neiman, Susan. Slow Fire: Jewish Notes from Berlin. New York: Schocken
Books/Random House, 1992.
Nevin, Thomas R. Simone Weil: Portrait of a Self-Exiled Jew. Chapel Hill: University
of North Carolina Press, 1992.
Witenburg, Joy. Disorderly Women and Female Power in the Street Literature of Early
Modern England and Germany. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press,
1992.
Other Publications of Interest
Farbe Bekennen: Afro-deutsche Frauen auf den Spuren ihrer Geschichte. Eds. Katharina
Oguntoye, May Opitz, Dagmar Schultz. Berlin: Orlanda-Frauenverlag, 1986.
Recently translated as Showing our Colors: Afro-German Women Speak Out.
Translated by Anne V. Adams, et. al. Amherst: University of Massachusetts
Press, 1992.
Lixl-Purcell, Andreas Herausgeber. Erinnerungen deutsch-jOdischer Frauen 19001990. Leipzig: Reclam, 1992.
33 Frauen deutsch-jOdischer Herkunft : Nelly Sachs und Anna Seghers. Else
Gerstel - Studentin im Kaiserreich; Rahel Straus - Arztin in MOnchen bis 1910;
Alice Salomon - Frauenrechtlerin in den 20ern; Klara Caro - H~ftling in
Theresienstadt.
32
Selo, Laura. Three Lives in Transit.. London: Excalibur Press, 1992.
The author, sister of WIG member Liselotte Gumpel, recounts her family's
persecution in Nazi Germany. She and her sisters escaped Germany and were on
the last children's transport from Czechoslovakia to London, but her parents died
in Auschwitz.
....•• f
Weil, Grete. The Bride Price. Trans. John Barrett. Boston: Godine, 1992.
In this strikingly original novel, the celebrated German writer Grete
Weil masterfully interweaves two separate texts to produce a haunting testament
and memorable plea for humanity. The first, the story of King David, is told by
his wife Michal. In direct and pungent language, Michal tells of her first
infatuation with the flute-playing shepherd who killed GOliath, and then of her
growing awareness of David's keenly focused ambitions. In simple, affecting
prose she relates the pain of witnessing her husband's violent acts and the
bitterness of losing him to Bathsheba's cunning ploys. In brilliant counterpoint,
Weil inserts her own story, that of a survivor of the Holocaust who must
continue to confront death and aging - in insistent present-day terms, as well as
in memory, and in the more permanent record of history and literature. The
painful contradictions she must address each day between her Jewish identity and
her German cultural heritage are searingly vivid, as is her stark refusal to hide
from the claims of the one behind the evasions of the other. In the end, both
stories, both voices - one ancient, one modern - unite in the single tale of a
brave and relentless witness to power's inevitable aftermath, and the tragedy of
human history - a tale as old as womankind.
Wiesenthal, Simon. KRYSTYNA: The Tragedy of the Po/ish Resistance. Riverside, CA:
Ariadne Press, 1992.
Simon Wiesenthal tells the authentic story of a young Polish woman who joined
the Polish resistance movement. While carrying out an assignment in Lvov, she
33
was caught and soon after shot by the Germans under the mistaken assumption
that she was Jewish. In prison, the night before her execution, she told her story
to a fellow prisoner, Anya, who survived: Krystyna was dying as a Jew to avoid
being tortured and revealing her comrades' names. Years later Anya met
Wiesenthal, told him Krystyna's story, and asked him to bring the guilty ones to
justice. In his research the author uncovered many details about the workings of
the Polish resistance. In alternating chapters, therefore, the author
intersperses the tales of his true-to-life characters with a factual account that
provides the background for Krystyna's fate. This makes the book an historical
text as well: it shows Poland's foreign policy immediately before and after the
war; Stalin's change from Hitler's enemy to his ally; life in the Generalgouvernement, full of arbitrariness, crime, and corruption; the structure and
mode of operation of the Polish resistance and the underground struggle led from
England; and the massacre of Katyn, and the murder of 4000 Polish officers by
the Soviets. Simon Wiesenthal was born in Buczacz, Galicia, in 1908. He studied
architecture in Lvov and Prague. The Nazis arrested him in 1941 and, until his
liberation in 1945, he spent the intervening years in several concentration
camps. In 1947 he opened a documentation center in Linz , Austria, to collect
data on the fate of Jews and their persecutors. His life's goal has been to keep the
memory of the victims alive and to bring the criminals to justice. Wiesenthal is
founder and director of the Jewish Documentation Center in Vienna.
Deutschsprachlge Tltel zur Frauenforschung:
Becher, Ursula A.J. "LektOrpraferenzen und Lesepraktiken von Frauen im 18.
Jahrhundert." In: Aufkllirung 6/1, 1991.
Bennholdt-Thomsen, Anke und Anita Runge (Hrsg.). Anna Lousa Karsch (1722-1791):
Von schlesischer Dichtkunst und Berliner "natur". Ergebnisse eines
Symposiums zum 200. Todestag der Dichterin .. Ge>ttingen, Wallenstein Verlag,
1992.
Brentzel, Marianne. Nesthlickchen kommt ins KZ. Das Leben der Else Ury. 18771943. ZOrich, Dortmund: eFeF, 1992.
Domoradzki, Eva. Und al/e Fremdheit ist verschwunden: Status und Funktion des
Weiblichen im Werk F. Schlegels. Innsbruck, Institut fOr Sprachwissenschaft
Verlag. 1991.
Geitner, Ursula: Die Sprache der Verstel/ung: Studien zum rhetorischen und
anthropologischen Wissen im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert. TObingen, Niemeyer
Verlag, 1992.
Kammler, Eva. Zwischen Professionalisierung und Dilettantismus. Romane und ihre
Autorinnen um 1800. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag, 1992.
Klein, Gabriele. FrauenKorperTanz. Die Zivilisationsgeschichte des Tanzes. Weinheim,
Beltz Verlag, 1992.
Lewald, Fanny. Italienisches Bilderbuch. FrankfurtlM.: Ulrike Helmer. 1992.
(Neuauflage)
Lundt, Bea (Hrsg.). Auf der Suche nach Frauen im Mittelalter. Fragen, Quel/en,
Antworten. MOnchen: Wilhelm Fink, 1992.
34
Malzer, Marion. Die Isolde-Gestalten in den mittelalterlichen Tristan-Dichtungen. Ein
Beitrag zum diachronischen Wandel. Heidelberg: Carl Winter Verlag, 1991.
Meise, Helga. Die Unschuld und die Schrift. Deutsche Frauenromane im 18. Jh.
Frankfurt/M.: Ulrike Helmer. 1992. (Neuauflage)
Mertins, Silke. Zwischentone. JDdische Frauenstimmen aus Israel.
Frauenverlag, 1992.
Berlin: Orlanda
SchlUter, Anne (Hrsg.). Arbeitertochter und ihr sozia/er Aufstieg. Weinheim:
Deutscher Studien Verlag, 1992.
Schwarz, Gisela. Literarisches Leben und Sozialstrukturen um 1800. Zur Situation von
Schriftstellerinnen am Beispiel von Sophie Brentano-Mereau geb. Schubart.
Frankfurt/M., Berlin, Bern New York, Paris, Wien: Peter Lang, 1991.
Stemmler, Theo (Hrsg.). Homoerotische Lyrik. Vortrl1ge eines interdisziplinl1ren
Kolloquims. TObingen: GOnter Narr, 1992.
Walter Buchebner Gesellschaft (hrsg.). Das Schreiben der Frauen in Osterreich seit
1950. K01n: Bohlau Verlag, 1992.
Widdig, Bernd. Ml1nnerbDnde und Massen. Zur Krise der ml1nnnlicher Identitl1t in der
Literatur der Moderne. Wiesbaden: Westdeutscher Verlag, 1992.
Englischsprachige Tltel zur Frauenforschung:
Anderson, Harriet. Utopian Feminism. Women's Movement in Fin-de-Siec/e Vienna.
New Haven: Yale University Press 1992.
Fehn, Ann, Ingeborg Hoesterey, Maria Tatar (eds.). Neverending Stories. Toward a
Critical Narrato/gy. Oxford: Princeton University Press, 1992.
Foster, Shirley. Across New Worlds. Nineteeth Century Women Travellers and their
Writings. Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1990.
Levy, Anita. Other Women. The Writing of Class, Race and Gender, 1832-1898.
Oxford: Princeton University Press, 1991.
Munt, Sally. New Lesbian Criticism. Literary and Cultural Readings. Hemel Hempstead:
Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1992.
O'Connor, Pat. Friendship between Women. Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf,
1991.
Roof, JUdith. A Lure of Knowledge. Lesbian Sexuality and Know/edge. New York:
Columbia University Press, 1992.
Straub, Kristina. Sexual Suspects. Eighteenth-Century Players and Sexual Ideology.
Oxford: Princeton University Press, 1992.
35
Amy Keppler-Strawser (Ohio State U.): Book on imaging the body in contemporary
women's poetry (Helga Novak, Ursula Krechel, Carolyn Forche, Nikki Giovanni).
Katharina von Ankum (Scripps College): History of Abortion legislation in the GDR;
Women in the Metropolis (anthology).
Gisela Moffit (Central Michigan Univ.): Jugendliteratur in the undergraduate classroom;
FL anxiety; new approaches to German Studies; Book: Bonds and Bondages: FatherDaughter Relationships.
Mary Strand (U. of Minnesota): Diss: Gender in Early German Romantic Philosophy and
Prose. Book: co-editor and co-translator of Poesy in Practice: Selections from Early
German Romanticism (to be published by U. of Minnesota Press in the Theory and
History of Literature series).
Ginny Steinhagen (U. of Minnesota): Diss.: "Educating Rita ... and Christa and Karin and
Franziska ... : the Female Bildungsroman in the German Democratic Republic; co-editing
(with Jack Zipes) The Literary Fairy Tale: An Annotated Bibliography.
Gesa Zinn (U. of Minnesota): Work on German Women Filmmakers.
Karen Remmler (Mt. Holyoke College): Jewish women writers in contemporary Berlin
and Vienna; Remembrance of the Holocaust; Ingeborg Bachmann and other Austrian
women writers.
Leslie Morris (Bard College): Questions of Jewish cultural and national identity in
Germany today; Arnold Zweig; Bachmann; Translation of Lexicon of Yiddish Women
Writers.
Julie Klassen (Carlton College): Women incarcerated in the Third Reich; Women's
biographies and biographical fiction about women.
Katharina von Hammerstein (U-Conn): Freiheit-Liebe-Weiblichkeit. Trikolore sozialer
und indiv. Selbstbestimmung in Werken von Sophie Mereau-Brentano. (Heidelberg: Carl
Winter, forthcoming); Sophie Mereau-Brentano. Sammlung und Neuausgabe ihrer
ErzAhlungen u. Ggf. TagebOcher/Betrachtungen; Louise Aston. Ego-Texte.
Margaret Ward (Wellesley College): Several articles on Ingeborg Drewitz and Fanny
Lewald. Finishing (yes, reallyl) book on Lewald.
Gabriele Wittig Davis (Mt. Holyoke College): Literary reception through film: Theodor
Fontane.
Martha Wallach (Central Conn. State U.): project on Therese Albertine Luise von Jacob
Robinson (TALVJ); article for DLB and monograph; mother-daughter relationships in
German lit. with Helga Kraft and Elke Liebs (Metzler, Feb. 1993); Frischmuth
translation of short stories.
Ruth Mendum (Cornell U.): Diss.: Violence, the Erotic and Gender on H. A. von Zigler and
Kliphausen's Asiatische Banise (1689). Particular interest in Asian "Age of Discovery"
i.e., Pinto.
37
Kristie Foell (Vassar College): Revising my diss: "Blind Reflections: the Portrayal of
Gender in Elias Canetti's Auto-da-Fe; developing courses on German film (early and New
German Cinema); co-editing volume on abortion in Germany with Katharina von Ankum.
Sue Kassouf (Cornell U.): Looking at gender and crime in early 19th cent. Germany:
especially Woyzeck and domestic violence, and child murderesses (Gretchen from Faust I
or Evchen in Wagner's Die Kindermtirderin.)
Lisa Roetzel (Eastman Sch. of Music): Semiotics of fashion in Germany from late 18th late 19th century.
K. Gerstenberger (Cornell U.): Diss. on women's autobiographies.
--...,___--4
38
BOOK REVIEWS
Ruth Kluger, weiter leben. Eine Jugend (Gottingen: Wallstein, 1992), pp.286.
Not without irony Ruth Kluger dedicated her autobiography to her friends in
GOttingen, calling it "a German book". This designation is correct in two ways: Kluger
wrote her memoirs in GOttingen as the director of the GOttingen program of the
University of California discussing them with her German friends and colleagues. More
importantly, however, despite the fact that Kluger did not live in Gemany until recently,
no other country had a greater impact on her life than Germany which invaded her native
Vienna when she was seven years of age.
Kluger's autobiography is the highly literary account of an Auschwitz survivor,
an immigrant to the United States and a professor of German literature. The book is also
a meta-discourse on earlier accounts and assessments of the Holocaust and the exile
experience. In reflexive passages, but also in allusions and conceit-like associations,
Kluger's knowledge of international Holocaust literature and Fascism theory comes to the
fore. weiter leben combines a multi-dimensional critical distance with the subjective
immediacy of an eye-witness account, offering a greater variety of insights than a closeup description of concentration camp life or a scholarly study could. Kluger examines
the horrors which she experienced as a girl, the transformation she underwent as a
young adult in the United States, the country which offered her the best chances to
recover from her ordeal and realize her potential, as well as her responses to Germany
and Germans today: her own sensitivity and distrust along with the realization that
fascist views and sensibilities are "innocently" perpetuated by those who are least
aware of them: well-intentioned, educated German middle-class intellectuals. Kluger
approaches her experience from different narrative perspectives and time frames in
the context of the cultures and histories of two continents, blending her Austrian,
American and an ever so tentatively emerging German identity. Her book can best be
compared with Jeanette Lander's probing into her family's past in search of a disrupted
Jewish tradition, Ruth Beckermann's search of her father's roots in Eastern Europe and
Lea Fleischmann's retrospective in the beginning of Dies ist nicht mein Land and the
ensuing criticism of German culture. Unlike these Jewish authors of retrospective
semi-literary, semi-documentary accounts, who can only speculate about reality beyond
the Nazi era as a reality which they did not experience, Kluger, who remembers this
past, looks forward confronting the present with her own personal recollections and the
collective memory of her generation. This is what makes her "German" book so
neGessary and so timely.
Dagmar Lorenz
Ohio State University
Ute Brandes (Hrsg.). 'Zwischen Gestern und Morgen" Schriftstellerinnen der DDR aus
amerikanischer Sicht. (Peter Lang, 1992). 288 Seiten.
"Dadurch, daB diese Frauen die geschichtliche Misere ... deutlich beschreiben, ...
daB sie eine Alternative hervorbringen, ... kOnnten sie ...dazu beitragen, das Schlimmste
zu verhindern. Oder vielleicht auch nicht," heiBt es in Christa Wolfs Buchner-PreisRede. Sara Lennox laBt in ihrem Wolf/Bachmann-Beitrag 'Ober die Schwierigkeiten
beim Schreiben der Wahrheit' Wolf sich selbst kommentieren: "Die Literatur des
Abendlandes, lese ich, sei eine Reflexion des wei Ben Mannes auf sich selbst. Soli nun die
Reflexion der weiBen Frau auf sich selbst dazukommen? Und we iter nichts?" (VE, 84).
Dieser 'Dialog' verweist auf zwei Aspekte, die als paradigmatisch fOr die Literatur von
DDR-Schriftstellerinnen angenommen werden kOnnen und die durchgangig das im Band
ausgewiesene Interesse amerikanischer feministischer Literaturwissenschaft an DDRLiteratur mitbestimmten. Impliziert wird zudem die VerknOpfung der Beitrage des
Bandes mit einer im ProzeB der Positionsbestimmung feministischer Wissenschaften
39
I
zentralen Fragestellung, die sich ergibt aus dem postmodernen Theorem des
Verschwindens des Autors aus der Literatur, des Subjekts aus der Geschichte einerseits
und dem Versuch der kritischen Wissenschaft, die Kulturgeschichte des Weiblichen zu
rekonstruieren und zu fragen nach der Existenz und Spezifik 'weiblichen Schreibens'
andererseits. Inwieweit die in den Beitr:1gen gefOhrte Debatte die zentrale Fragestellung
spezifiziert, wird noch gezeigt.
Ute Brandes betont in der Einleitung den konzeptionellen Anspruch des nach dem
Zusammenbruch der DDR entstandenen Bandes, als 'Kontrast' zur 'westdeutschen
Pauschalabgrenzung von der formaligen DDR-Kultur' zu fungieren. 1m Kontext der von
Andreas Huyssen ('After the Wall. The Failure of German Intellectuals,' NGC 52/91)
beschriebenen Christa Wolf-Debatte als Beginn eines Versuches, die gesamte deutsche
(links)liberale Kultur nach 1945 zu demontieren, halte ich das engagierte Ausstellen
amerikanischen Intresses am mOglichen Fortwirken und Neu-Bedenken der
humanistischen Utopien von DDR-Autorinnen fOr auBerordentlich bedeutsam.
Der Band enth:1lt Oberblicksartikel zur DDR-Protokoll-Literatur (Monika
Tollen) und zum Schaffen 'JOngerer Autorinnen vor und nach der Wende' (Nancy
Lukens), theorieorientierte Beitr:1ge zur 'Neudefinition des Offentlichen und Privaten'
(Dorothy Rosenberg) und zur 'Feministischen Wissenschaftskritik in der Literatur der
DDR' (Patricia Herminghouse) sowie Studien zum Schaffen einzelner Autorinnen, ihrer
Verflechtung/Abgrenzung bezOglich Themen und Schreibstrategien.
Christa Wolfs zentralen Ort in der amerikanischen feministischen
Literaturwissenschaft (der Band enth:1lt vier Wolf-Aufs:1tzel) begrOndet Marilyn S.
Fries u.a. mit dem gewaltigen EinfluB von Wolfs Schaffen auf den Selbstbestimmungsund SelbstbefragungsprozeB amerikanischer feministischer Wissenschaftlerinnen.
Es kOnnen hier nicht aile Beitr:1ge gewOrdigt werden.
Wesentlich scheint mir besonders die interdisziplin:1re Praxis des Gesamtbandes
wie der Einzelbeitr:1ge. Durch einen meines Erachtens spezifisch amerikanischen
Umgang mit Literatur vermittels Methoden der Germanistik und Komparatistik,
Filmtheorie, Women's Studies auf der Basis eines Feminismusverst:1ndnisses, das
Gender, Class, Race zusammendenkt, liegen mit diesem Band Essays vor, die der ost- und
westdeutschen Rezeption von DDR-Literatur wichtige neue Momente und Erkenntnisse
hinzufOgen.
So verweist Ute Brandes in der Einleitung auf die in der Literatur von DDRAutorinnen und der amerikanischen Sozialwissenschaften seit den 70er Jahren z.T.
parallel und unabhangig voneinander entwickelten kulturkritischen Ans:1tze.
Patricia Herminghouse fOhrt in ihrem Beitrag vor, daB diese zeitgleiche
Entwicklung einer Kritik der paternalistisch gepr:1gten Herrschaftsstruktur der
Gesellschaft bei gleichzeitiger kultureller Verschiedenheit und politischer Differenzen
amerikanische Leserinnen verschiedenster Feminismen fragen lieB nach den
spezifischen Erfahrungen, die DDR-Autorinnen als Frauen im Sozialismus in die Debatte
einbringen. Herminghouses Beitrag endet mit der ottenen Frage, ob und wie sich diese
kulturkritischen Sentenzen im vereinten Deutschland GehOr verschafen kOnnen.
Gerade daB die Beitr:1ge immanent insistieren auf das Spezifische der Erfahrung
von Frauen im Sozialismus, coloriert die oben erw:1hnte Fragestellung feministischer
Wissenschaft auf besondere Weise und ist offenbar bedingt durch die jOngste Geschichte
des amerikanischen Feminismus (vergleiche dazu Angelika Bammers Beitrag in diesem
Band). DaB das in der DDR existierende Paradoxon von gesetzlich fixierter
Gleichberechtigung der Frau und Ersatz des vormundschaftlichen Mannes durch den
vormundschaftlichen 'Vater Staat' in der Literatur besonders von Wolf und Morgner seit
mindestens Mitte der 70er Jahre thematisiert wurde, zeigt Dorothy Rosenbergs Beitrag.
D. Rosenberg verweist auf die in den literarischen Texten signalisierten 'Symptome
sch:1dlicher Sozialstruktur,' z.B. die Nichtakzeptanz der Reproduktion als Arbeit und die
dadurch im sozialistischen Alltag fortgeschriebene Trennung von Privatem und
Offentlichem. Die dabei in der Literatur aufgespOrte 'Entmythologisierung der Rolle der
40
Familie' als wichtige Voraussetzung weiblicher Emanzipation scheint mir auch und
gerade unter den veranderten beschaftigungspolitischen Bedingungen fOr Frauen im
vereinten Deutschland eine brisante und provozierende Beobachtung.
Ein GroBteil des innovativen Potentials der Beitrage resultieren meines
Erachtens aus folgendem Umstand: Utopien, geschaffen in Werken einer 'Welt von
Gestern' werden befragt auf ihr Potential fOr Reform und Veranderung, fOr eine 'Welt
von Morgen.'
Und wenn Alexander Stephan in seiner spannend zu lesenden Neu-LektOre von
Anna Seghers 'Das siebte Kreuz' eine "neue, radikaldemokratische Sicht von Geschichte"
fordert und mit Heer/Ullrich Geschichte als "Produkt einer Neubewertung von DDRLiteratur eine wichtige Verantwortung zugesprochen zu werden.
Der vorliegende Band ist als erster Schritt in diese Richtung ein sehr
beachtlicher Anfang.
Annette Meusinger, Davis, CA
Stuecher, Dorothea Diver. Twice Removed: The Experience of German-American
Women Wirters in the Nineteenth Century. New York: Lang, 1990.
As the first volume in Peter Lang's new monographic series, New GermanAmerican Studies, Dorothea Stuecher's book makes a significant contributions to recent
research that concerns itself with literature by women who are writing in a country,
and perhaps language, that is not native to them. The designation "twice removed" in the
title refers to the fact that the German-American writers under consideration were
twice removed from the Anglo-American dominant culture in the U.S. by virtue of their
being both "foreign" and women. The author explains in the introduction that her task is
that of the literary historian who tries to illuminate the "reality of being a professional
woman writer in 19th century German-America" (xii) without making any aesthetic
value judgements. After considering the very basic question of who was supposed to be a
bona fide German-American author, she decided that, for her purposes, it was not
relevant whether these authors wrote in English or German. She also decided to be both
eclectic and deductive in her methodology by using information from a variety of
disciplines.
The main part of Stuecher's book deals with three middle class women who,
having emigrated from Germany, spent most of ;their adult lives in America, considered
themselves professional writers, and left a body of work behind them which was
accessible for research purposes. These women, writing between 1850 and 1890, are:
Therese Robinson (ps. Talvj) , Mathilde Franziska Anneke, and Kathinka SutroSchOcking. Chapter 1 examines the cultural context in which they wrote. The GermanAmerican community of the time, in which women were assigned the role of cultural
missionaries, is described in some detail. Stuecher has been able to find only 32 women
writers among them, however, which attests to the fact that among so many unemployed
German male immigrants with literary ambitions, women did not have much of a chance.
An examination of the lives of Robinson, Annecke, and Sutro-SchOcking reveals why they
were better suited to establish writing careers in that climate. It seems that all three
had had previous literary connections and interests, if not careers, before coming to
America, and also had husbands who were active in literary and journalistic occupations.
In Chapter 2, the fiction of these three women, only a part of which deals with
the theme of immigration, is analyzed with emphasis on plot and especially female
characterization. A synopsis of these works is also included in Appendix I. It strikes
this reviewer that, conSidering some of the melodramatic plots employed, especially by
Robinson and Sutro-SchOcking, and the interesting, adventurous, and often courageous
lives these three women led themselves, they might have done better, if they had written
their autobiographies instead. But, as Stuecher remarks, each deliberately chose to
distance herself from her own personal immigrant experience and that of the characters
41
of her fiction. Stuecher observes that, nevertheless, the characters that people this
fiction are motivated by the goals and ideals of the respective author's immigrant
generation and thus mirror those of the German-American community, albeit sometimes
anachronistically. Furthermore, although Robinson, Anneke, and Sutro-SchOcking
might all together form a composite picture of the immigrant woman writer, they are
quite distinct from each other. They belong to three successive German immigration
waves to America and they consequently interpret the theme of immigrant struggle in the
New World differently. Robinson sees the struggle as one of the survival of her
community in the conflict of cultures, Anneke is concerned with political survival and
joining the battle for the emancipation of slaves and women, while Sutro-SchOcking
concentrates on personal economic and social survival. These different interpretations
are also reflected in the portrayal of the female characters, as we move from Robinson's
passive, self-sacrificing heroines, whose lives are propelled by men, to the more
independent and strong minded "new women" of Anneke and Sutro-SchOcking.
From a feminist viewpoint, the most interesting of these three immigrant
American authors is, undoubtedly, Mathilde Anneke to whose biography Stuecher devotes
her third and last chapter. Through Anneke's extensive correspondence with her
husband and from other archival materials housed in the State Historical Society in
Madison, Wisconsis, and in the Stadt and Landesbibliothek in Dortmund, the life of this
writer, politically and literarily active on both sides of the Atlantic, can be
reconstructed. Although she wrote only one immigrant novel, she was a prolific
journalist and devoted a lot of her energies to causes connected both with the 1848
Revolution in Germany and the American Civil War, as well as with women's suffrage.
She also published the first magazine dealing with women's issues in the GermanAmerican community and was headmistress of her own very progressive school for girls
in Milwaukee for 18 years. Although she had to overcome tremendous odds in order to
continue writing, her modest goal of being able to do so while earning a decent living,
was never attained. Stuecher observes that she was too reformist for the GermanAmerican Community and too attached to the German cultural ideals and language for the
Anglo-American Community.
The section of Steucher's biography dealing with the secondary sources for her
three authors reveals that not much has been written about them up to now and lends her
work additional importance and authority. She has certainly succeeded in her attempt to
provide us with new insights into the German-American community of the 19th century
from the female perspective. For anyone interested in this subject, this book can be
highly recommended.
Hera T. Leighton, Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, MN)
42
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