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.

  • Sleep Dealer

    The film Sleep Dealer wonderfully accentuates and mirrors labor realities taking place near the Mexican-American border. The futuristic sense of the film shows the possibilities of how maquilladora labor can be exploited. The journey of the main character to the “node center of Mexico,” Tijuana, shows the harsh reasons why people leave their hometown village…

  • Turkey to join the EU?

    Full Story Here The discussion of Turkey being included into the EU has generated varying viewpoints about the issue. Proponents of the idea contend that the inclusion of Turkey into the EU would help to restructure and stabilize the country. They also contend that the inclusion of Turkey guarantees the EU a link to Middle…

  • Bewerber-Diskriminierung

    This was an interesting article in the online addition of Der Spiegel where students sent fictitious resumes to German companies under a Turkish and a German alias.  The study proved that discrimination existed in the job market regardless of qualification, though it was also counteracted by things like recommendations. Read the full article here.

  • Politiken Corrects Danish Paper Settles Muhammad Cartoon Issue

    This article deals with the continued tension between certain Muslim groups and the Danish press, and in particular the newspaper Politiken that re-published a caricature of the prophet Muhammad that originally appeared in the Dutch paper Jyllands-Posten. After much public debate concerning the Western notion of free speech versus the possibility of worsening relations with…

  • Berlin’s Ruetli School – Campus of Hope

    In February of 2006, at Berlin’s Ruetli School ,students erupted into a violent mob after teachers of the school wrote a letter in protest of their students’ lack of concern for academics and their dangerous behavior towards educators.  Now, four years later, the school has been converted from a Hauptschule to a Gemeinschaftsschule and was given over 25…

  • Too Left for Germany

    Jannine Menger Hamilton is an immigrant who was raised and educated in Germany. Hamilton appears to be the star example of successful integration and yet she is being denied naturalization because she is a member of a leftist party which according to German authorities is too left. Those preventing Hamilton’s citizenship status are contending that…

  • Terror Victims Want to Hold Syrian Artwork Hostage

    In 1983, the bombing of a French cultural center in West Berlin injured 23 people and killed one. The perpetrators, an international terrorist group, were believed to have been aided by Syrian intelligence as well as the East German secret police. The victims of the attack and their families have demanded compensation from the Syrian…

  • Possibility of “Nazi College” in Trebnitz?

    Two prominent figures in the German Neo-Nazi movement, Thomas Wulff and Axel Schunk, recently purchased the decaying Trebnitz palace in an East German village, also named Trebnitz, located 20 miles southwest of Leipzig.  While regional authorities worried that the manor will be used as some sort of training center or “Nazi college,” locals in the…

  • Halal Burgers: Discrimination Against Non-Muslims?

    French mayor René Vandierendonck protested against his local Quick outlet by filing charges against the fast food chain, claiming that its decision to replace its bacon burgers with halal burgers is prejudicial religious catering that discriminates against non-Muslim customers. Though he says “yes to diversity,” he also says “no to exclusion,” emphasizing that “[Quick] goes too…

  • MiGAZIN (Migration in Germany)

    “Migration in Germany” is a website dedicated to posting articles concerning foreign migrants in Germany. The website hosts a variety of articles that discuss topics ranging from politics to economics to human rights to culture and society all with an emphasis on migrants. The website is a useful tool for finding relevant and current information…