Language
by Margarete Stokowski TRANSIT Your Homeland is Our Nightmare Translated by Jon Cho-Polizzi Download PDF Back to “Food” or continue on to “Sex” by Reyhan Şahin. Allegedly, in China, at the end of 2018, the first genetically altered humans were born. This news unleashed a worldwide shockwave of criticism, and the Chinese government forbade the […]
Multicultural Germany Course: Week 5 Summary (Sept. 28 & 30)
This last week in class, we discussed the idea of German collective memory and screened the film Almanya – Welcome to Germany. The week’s discussions started with how the term “melting pot” was used to describe US culture in the early 1900s. The picture found on the Wikipedia page for the term (The Melting Pot) […]
Multicultural Germany Course: Week 4 Summary (Sept. 21 & 23)
Who defines identity? Germany’s struggle with inclusivity. This last week in class, we discussed the limits of Germany’s capacity to take in immigrants and what it means to be German. Proponents of reducing the number of foreigners in Germany believe that the “boat” of Germany’s capacity for incorporation of foreigners is “full.” To these native-born […]
The Sound Valley
By Peter WaterhouseTranslated by Andrew Ziesig, Ilija Wolinski, Kathleen Stack, Ashley Sherry, Kara Saunders, Kelsey Rader, Laisa Neuner, Judith Menzl, Morgen Daniels, Anna Dorste, Anneliese Chittock, Sarah Allen, and David Gramling Download PDF Translators’ Preface I first heard the words ‘Klangtal’ and ‘The Sound Valley’ in 2012, at the University of Luxembourg, during a symposium […]
Multicultural Germany Class: Multilingualism
This post is part of a series in which students reflect on their discussions in the UC Berkeley undergraduate seminar “Multicultural Germany.” This week’s summary is by Treasure Nguyen: During the tenth week of class we delved into language, exploring multilingualism, literature, and debates about the institutionalization of a language in a nation’s constitution. We […]
Book Review: “Why the Child is Cooking the Polenta”
As part of their work for the Multicultural Germany undergraduate seminar at UC Berkeley, students in the course have reviewed recent German books relating in various ways to topics of migration, multiculturalism, and contemporary German identity. Ying Ruan reviewed Aglaja Veteranyi’s novel “Warum das Kind das Polenta kocht” (Why the Child is Cooking the Polenta): […]
Warum das Kind das Polenta kocht
English translation: Why the Child is Cooking the Polenta, translated by Vincent King, Champaign: Dalkey Archive Press , 2012. Book review by UC Berkeley undergraduate Ying Ruan: Why the Child is Cooking in the Polenta is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Romanian writer Aglaja Veteranyi in 1999. The narrator is an unnamed girl, who travels with […]
Der Unfall (The Accident)
Der spanische Gastarbeiter Abél wird schwer verletzt mit eingeschlagenem Schädel in einer Baugrube gefunden. Sein Bruder Paco kommt nichtsahnend einen Tag später nach Köln. Ohne Kenntnisse der deutschen Sprache muss er sich durchschlagen und wird schnell mit Vorurteilen konfrontiert. Nachdem er vom Kriminalkommissar, der die Untersuchung leitet, über Abéls Zustand informiert wurde, versucht er selbst, […]
Multicultural Germany Class: Multiple Tongues
This post is part of a series in which students reflect on their discussions in the UC Berkeley undergraduate seminar “Multicultural Germany.” This week’s summary is by Jenelle Mathews: This week in class was a continuation of last week’s topic, Multiple Tongues – Multilingualism, Literature and Translation. As with previous weeks, our readings included articles from […]
Book Review: “Schuld” (Guilt)
As part of their work for the Multicultural Germany undergraduate seminar at UC Berkeley, students in the course have reviewed recent German books relating in various ways to topics of migration, multiculturalism, and contemporary German identity. Jennelle Mathews reviewed Ferdiand von Schirach’s 2010 collection of short stories, Schuld (Guilt): Originally published in Germany in 2010, […]