Dream of the Other Europe: Rethinking Germanistik through the Balkans
Saturday, February 4th, 2012
Sponsored by the Waterloo Centre for German Studies and Croatian Studies at the University of Waterloo, this conference examines how Germanophone writers from the Balkan countries contribute to recent discussions of migration, displacement, impermanence, and what Azade Seyhan calls the “geographies of memory.” From Herta Műller to Irena Vrkljan, these contemporary writers develop a unique voice that expresses the vicissitudes of the multilingual self. They devote themselves to creating a poetics of exile. This rich literature inhabits the ambiguities of what Homi Bhabha calls a “Third Space” that refuses to reify oppositions between nationalities and ethnicities. In so doing it often mimics and subverts the ethnic, class, and gender stereotyping of the Balkan immigrant.
At this conference, the invited speakers will investigate how this new body of writing attempts to come to terms with the history of South-Eastern Europe in the 20th century, especially post-1989 developments, and how it enters into dialog with the problem of historical and national amnesia. For the exile writer, Croatia, Bosnia, or Rumania may or may not offer a nostalgic dream of another Europe; Germany too may become other than one’s dream of Europe. But, in the end, these writers lead us to reflect on our own position as reading from a distance.
The conference will be inaugurated by a reading (in Croatian, German and English) by the Swiss-Croatian poet, Dragica Rajčić, the evening of Friday, February 3rd at 7 pm. This special event will be held at the home of Professor Alice Kuzniar, followed by a wine-and-cheese reception sponsored by the Swiss Consulate.
You may view the other works by Dragica Rajčić here.
A light breakfast and lunch will be provided on the day of the conference.
For further information please contact: Professor Alice Kuzniar ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )
