Sichtbarkeiten aims to open up the space for discussions about the current rise of contemporary German literature which renders visible the diversity and fluidity of German identities, literary quest(ion)s of belonging, and presents a challenge to fixed frames of nationality, ethnicity, language or sexuality.
What are the implications of the tension between visibility and invisibility? What ambivalences can be found in works of contemporary German literature? How does this work make visible the plural and hybrid identities that make up German society today? How can we establish a framework for the discussion of these literatures which does not rely on their otherness, does not treat them as novel or exotic from a white German perspective? What role does literature play in rendering visible the plurality of existence and identities in and beyond the national framework? How does a certain text or author represent transgressive, fluid, transnational, minor, migrant, queer, diverse forms of identity? In what way does the literary text contribute to the vision of other possible communities that acknowledge the diversity of its members?
With a day of papers, readings, and discussions, we hope to address these questions and more. The programme is available here.
Please register via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sichtbarkeiten-tickets-160414896273