TRANSIT BLOG

TRANSIT Blog was formerly part of the Multicultural Germany Project (MGP), which we are now merging with Transit Journal. Founded in 2001 by the German Department at UC Berkeley, MGP served as a research collaborative and continuously updated archive of migration, supported by the tireless energy and willpower of our very own Deniz Göktürk and UC Berkeley’s graduate students. Our blog includes reactions to current events and news, research materials, and teaching resources. Maintained mainly by students at Berkeley, the blog provides a window into our activities and campus discussions. We hope that TRANSIT Blog continues to serve as a resource and forum for both aspiring and continuing professionals in German Studies and its adjacent fields; we welcome contributions of short thought-pieces of ca. 1000-1500 words year-round. If you would like to contribute your own blog post or other materials (in English or German), please contact us at transitjournal@berkeley.edu.

  • LIT&LUNCH: Re-translating a Masterpiece: Breon Mitchell on Günter Grass

    Tuesday, November 10, 12:30-1:30pm 111 Minna Gallery, SF Breon Mitchell’s re-translation of The Tin Drum by Günter Grass is only the second time this novel has been translated into English in its 50-year history. Mitchell will read from his excellent new translation, discuss why it was important to give readers a second translation of The…

  • Extra-Schulklassen für deutsche Kinder

    In an initiative to attract more German native speakers, next year Gustav-Falke Elementary school will offer a special class in which at least half of the students must be native speakers of German and the other students must have excellent language skills. This special class will also benefit from a small class size, English lessons…

  • Marwa S. – Prozess gegen Angeklagten

    Neue Entwicklung im Fall Marwa S., der Angeklagte gesteht: Spiegel Online: Angeklagter im Marwa-Prozess gesteht

  • Precarious Work Patterns in Lower Saxony

    Migazin online: 38 Prozent der Ausländer sind atypisch beschäftigt October 29, 2009 As of October 2009, job security in Lower Saxony has drastically decreased. Increasingly, workers are forced to search for precarious positions in limited work, part-time jobs, menial jobs, or replacement jobs. Particular patterns have developed with the largest percentage of those in precarious…

  • Religious Freedom in Berliner Schools

    Zeit Online: Religionsfreiheit siegt über neutralen Staat October 29, 2009 A recent decision in the Berlin-Wedding school district will allow a sixteen-year-old Muslim student to pray while at school. At the end of April 2009 a referendum was held to vote on Initiative Pro Reli, which would have mandated religion as a part of the…

  • Marwa S. — Prozess gegen Alex W.

    Artikelsammlung zu Marwa S. und Info über den Prozessbeginn Spiegel Online: Der Fall Marwa

  • Günther Wallraff Blacks Up for New Film “Schwarz auf Weiß”

    Official Film Website Spiegel: “Kritik an neuem Wallraff-Film. Einfach nur der Fremde” Deutsche Welle: “New film aims to uncover latent, and blatant, German racism” Tagesschau:  “Interview: Ein angemalter Weißer ist kein Schwarzer”

  • Berlin’s Nefertiti Trouble

    Spiegel Online: Egyptian Official Calls Museum Behavior ‘Suspicious’ October 20, 2009 Spiegel Online: Nefertiti Gets a New Palace: Revamped Neues Museum Finally Opens   in Berlin New York Times online: When Ancient Artifacts Become Political Pawns October 16, 2009 Amidst the highly anticipated reopening of Berlin’s Neues Museum, Zahi Hawass, head of the Egyptian Supreme…

  • “Tear Down This Wall!”: Internet Art Circumventing Censorship and Unveiling Secret Prisons

    Internet Artists Mathias Jud and Christoph Wachter Thursday, November 19, 4 pm UC Berkeley, 142 Dwinelle Hall Moderator: Deniz Göktürk (German and Film Studies) Focusing on walls on a global scale, internet artists Christoph Wachter and Mathias Jud will talk about their various projects such as picidae, Zone*Interdite, and New Nations – focusing on sites…

  • Multikultureller Arbeitsmarkt?

    Spiegel Online: Ausländerkinder in Deutschland. Bestens gebildet – trotzdem arbeitslos