Synopses & Reviews
"
Germany in Transit is a much-needed sourcebook that vividly represents the crucial debates about the integration of 'foreigners' in Germany. Written for all levels of readers, from school teachers and college students to general readers."and#151;Werner Sollors, author of
Beyond Ethnicity: Consent and Descent in American Culture"This book is first-rate: historically accurate, thickly textured, and methodologically cutting-edge. Even experts in migration studies and German studies will be inspired by the astonishing range of materials gathered in this important yet readily accessible book."and#151;Leslie A. Adelson, author of The Turkish Turn in Contemporary German Literature: Toward a New Critical Grammar of Migration
"A path-breaking book about postwar Germany on its way to Europe and the modern world. Precisely researched and creatively organized, this is indispensable reading for anyone who wishes to take part in the conversation about cultural diversity. It is perhaps telling that no such book has yet been published in Germany; the perspective from abroad opens new horizons."and#151;Zafer [enocak, author of Atlas of a Tropical Germany: Essays on Politics and Culture, 1990-1998
"This striking assembly of texts tells the real story of postwar normalization. For the German lands have always bid welcome and, after the monochrome years of the Third Reich and its immediate aftermath, once again host a multiplicity of ethnics, cultures, and religions. Read and see for yourself what contemporary Germany is all about."and#151;Michael Geyer, author of The Power of Intellectuals in Contemporary Germany
Synopsis
This comprehensive sourcebook charts for the first time postwar Germany's irrevocable transformation into a multiethnic immigration country. More than 200 original German texts in English translation illuminate highly contentious debates about citizenship, human rights, multiculturalism, and globalization during the past fifty years---debates that resonate far beyond the country's borders.
The book's eleven chapters cover incisive discussions about guest workers, foreigners in East Germany, xenophobia and racism, religion, literature, film, and everyday culture. Juxtaposing voices that range from statesmen and journalists to activists and artists, the collection chronicles utopian visions, violent setbacks, and unexpected consequences. It writes a cultural history of migration in documents.
Germany in Transit offers an indispensable resource for the comparative study of modern Germany against the backdrop of the rise of the European Union, the end of the Cold War, and transnational migration.
The book includes a historical introduction, a chronology, a glossary, a bibliography, and a filmography. A companion website provides updated resources, additional documents, and a forum for discussion.
Synopsis
""Germany in Transit" is a much-needed sourcebook that vividly represents the crucial debates about the integration of 'foreigners' in Germany. Written for all levels of readers, from school teachers and college students to general readers."--Werner Sollors, author of "Beyond Ethnicity: Consent and Descent in American Culture"
"This book is first-rate: historically accurate, thickly textured, and methodologically cutting-edge. Even experts in migration studies and German studies will be inspired by the astonishing range of materials gathered in this important yet readily accessible book."--Leslie A. Adelson, author of "The Turkish Turn in Contemporary German Literature: Toward a New Critical Grammar of Migration"
"A path-breaking book about postwar Germany on its way to Europe and the modern world. Precisely researched and creatively organized, this is indispensable reading for anyone who wishes to take part in the conversation about cultural diversity. It is perhaps telling that no such book has yet been published in Germany; the perspective from abroad opens new horizons."--Zafer Ýenocak, author of "Atlas of a Tropical Germany: Essays on Politics and Culture, 1990-1998"
Synopsis
How does migration change a nation?
Germany in Transit is the first sourcebook to illuminate the country's transition into a multiethnic societyand#151;from the arrival of the first guest workers in the mid-1950s to the most recent reforms in immigration and citizenship law. The book charts the highly contentious debates about migrant labor, human rights, multiculturalism, and globalization that have unfolded in Germany over the past fifty yearsand#151;debates that resonate far beyond national borders.
This cultural history in documents offers a rich archive for the comparative study of modern Germany against the backdrop of European integration, transnational migration, and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Divided into eleven thematic chapters, Germany in Transit includes 200 original texts in English translation, as well as a historical introduction, chronology, glossary, bibliography, and filmography.
Synopsis
Rich in implications for our present era of media change, The Promise of Cinema offers an entirely new vision of early film theory. The volume conceives of "theory" not as a fixed body of canonical texts, but as a dynamic set of reflections on the very idea of cinema and the possibilities and hopes once associated with it. Excavating more than 275 primary texts from the vast archive of early-twentieth-century German writings, this ground-breaking book chronicles the rise of a medium that articulated and transformed the modern experience. The wide-ranging assemblage juxtaposes lesser-known essays by Band#233;la Baland#225;zs, Walter Benjamin, and Siegfried Kracauer with interventions and polemics from writers in the realms of aesthetics, education, industry, politics, science, and technology, thus generating an expansive understanding of a burgeoning visual culture that is still with us today. The book also features programmatic texts from the Weimar avant-garde and from popular filmmakers such as Fritz Lang and F.W. Murnau. Nearly all the documents appear in English for the first time; each is annotated and contextualized. The most comprehensive collection of German writing on film available to date, The Promise of Cinema is an essential resource for students and scholars in film and media, cultural and intellectual history, and modernity studies.
About the Author
Anton Kaes is Professor of German and Film & Media at the University of California, Berkeley. He has written and edited numerous books, including
Shell Shock Cinema and
The Weimar Republic Sourcebook, and is coeditor of the Weimar and Now series.
Nicholas Baer is Visiting Assistant Professor of Cinema Studies and Philosophy at Purchase College, State University of New York. He has published many essays on German cinema, film theory, and the philosophy of history.
Michael Cowan is Reader in Film Studies at the University of St. Andrews. He is the author of numerous books and collections including, most recently, Walter Ruttmann and the Cinema of Multiplicity: Avant-garde - Advertising - Modernity.
Table of Contents
List of Documents
List of Illustrations
Preface
List of Abbreviations
Introduction: A German Dream?
1. Working Guests: Gastarbeiter and Green Card Holders
2. Our Socialist Friends: Foreigners in East Germany
3. Is the Boat Full? Xenophobia, Racism, and Violence
4. What Is a German? Legislating National Identity
5. Religion and Diaspora: Muslims, Jews, and Christians
6. Promoting Diversity: Institutions of Multiculturalism
7. An Immigration Country? The Limits of Culture
8. Living in Two Worlds? Domestic Space, Family, and Community
9. Writing Back: Literature and Multilingualism
10. A Turkish Germany: Film, Music, and Everyday Life
Epilogue: Global Already?
Chronology
Glossary
Bibliography
Filmography
Internet Resources
List of Credits
Index