Criss-Crossing in Global Space and Time: Fatih Akın’s The Edge of Heaven (2007)
Barbara Mennel Download PDF Abstract: In this essay, I argue that The Edge of Heaven constitutes a sophisticated and complex, and in part seemingly paradoxical, response to globalization. I suggest that the film captures the effects of globalization’s most pronounced characteristics. Transnational mobility, digital media, and the increased speed of transportation and information technology have […]
Encounters on a Street Corner: Sommer vorm Balkon and the Return of the Berlin Film
Mila Ganeva Download PDF Abstract: Sommer vorm Balkon has received critical acclaim for its director’s specific brand of low-key and crowd-pleasing realism. Praised have been also the film’s stylistic austerity and peculiar post-unification mix of various generic elements. At the same time, Sommer vorm Balkon can be considered a part of the venerable tradition of […]
“Where Europe Begins”: A Selection from the Short Story by Yoko Tawada
Translated by Susan Bernofsky Download PDF Abstract: Excerpts from “Where Europe Begins,” published in Where Europe Begins. Trans. Susan Bernofsky. New York: New Directions, 2002. These excerpts are reproduced here with the permission of the publisher. I always wrote a travel narrative before I set off on a trip, so that during the journey I’d […]
Volume 4: Foreword
Welcome to the 2008-2009 issue of TRANSIT. Our final round of articles for the year is now online. It includes an essay by videographer and theorist Ursula Biemann about her work, as well as a video of her recent visit to Berkeley. In addition, this round features a new translation by Roger Hillman of Peter […]
Writing Video – Writing the World: Videogeographies as Cognitive Medium
Ursula Biemann Download PDF Abstract: This essay relates to my writings recently published in the monograph Mission Reports – Artistic practice in the field. Ursula Biemann Video Works 1998-2008, Cornerhouse Publishers, in connection with the retrospective exhibitions at Bildmuseet Umea 2008 and Nikolaj Copenhagen 2009. The initial purpose of my writing, particularly in connection with […]
Ursula Biemann in Conversation: A Screening and Discussion of Black Sea Files (2005)
With an introductory text by Deniz Göktürk http://blip.tv/transitjournal/ursula-biemann-in-conversation-a-screening-and-discussion-of-the-black-sea-files-2005-2103700 Ursula Biemann came to Berkeley as a guest of the Strategic Working Group on “Cultural Forms / Local Stakes / Global Circuits,” funded by the Townsend Center and the Mellon Foundation and co-organized by Charles L. Briggs and Deniz Göktürk. On April 30, 2009, she participated in […]
My Place
Peter Weiss Translated by Roger Hillman Download PDF Abstract: Originally published as “Meine Ortschaft” in Rapporte (Frankfurt: Suhrkamp, 1968), pp. 113 – 124. The German edition includes a map of the subject matter. © Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 1968. Translation © Roger Hillman, 2009. Introduction by Roger Hillman A number of German authors were […]
Switzerland and its Past: An Uncomfortable Relationship
Roger de Weck Download PDF Abstract: This lecture was originally delivered at the University of California, Berkeley, on November 10, 2008. It addresses Switzerland’s asylum policies during the Second World War, as well as its relations with Apartheid South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s. The author argues that Switzerland must accept responsibility for its […]
A Fine Self-Deception
Roger de Weck Translated by Ted Dawson Download PDF Abstract: Originally published in German in the SonntagsZeitung, October 28, 2008. Acknowledgments: Translated from the German by Ted Dawson People and cultures have a tendency for selective memory. They forget much of what they’ve done or undergone. They hold onto the convenient, embellish the mediocre, and […]
Switzerland: Advertising a Strange Case
Iso Camartin Download this article as a PDF. Abstract: This lecture was originally delivered at the University of California, Berkeley, on November 18, 2008. Its thematic focus is on multilingualism and cultural diversity in Switzerland. It also addresses political and cultural loyalty, modern survival strategies in economically marginal regions, and cultural priorities in a globalized […]