2011年8月21日星期日


Visual assignment 2
When I first came to US, my roommates and I had a very amazing talk about their imagination about China and what China in actual. I still remembered the scene that I show them my family pictures, photos of my hometown, and videos about famous visit spots in China. In addition, I also remembered how big gap between their imaginations and the real China. Thus, when I’m about come to Germany as a part of my study abroad experience, I wrote down my imaginations about Germany in details and want to compare my experience and feelings in Germany with the imaginations I had before to learn what the real Germany is and to understand this country better.
Before this trip, Germany in my mind is a country with rigorous atmosphere, ancient buildings and conservative people. And in this way, I never thought about to connect the German art with creative and energetic characteristics. However, I changed my mind when I see the artists in Germany. They are adopting all the forms and do their best to present different kinds of art.
The picture below was taken by me at the AlexanderPlatz. This artist was dressing as a tree, and he was moving his body to show human-body art. Finally, I understand the German art, understand Germany.



2011年7月29日星期五

Research project: The trend of German Migrant Literature


Abstract:
With an increase in the number of migrants and diversity of migrants’ identity, more and more attention is paid to German migrant literature. German migrant literature has gone through three stages of development since 1960s. The trend of diversification is embodies in the constitution of writer groups, the development of various themes, and the employment of different literary devices.
Key words:
German literature, migrant literature, culture diversity, migrant identity

In most people’s minds, German is not a migrant country, because of German race identity in the long German history. The Holocaust and other genocides in World War 2 also gave us an impression that it is difficult to connect German with a migrant country. However, in fact, German is a migrant country since many people come to German after World War 2. According to the statistics offered by German Federal Statistical Office, one fifth German people have migrant backgrounds and more than 2000 thousands Turkish people live in Germany now.  Accompany with more and more people migrant into Germany, the migrant issue received more attention from the public.

1 The definition of ‘migrant literature’
With an increase number of migrants in Germany, the migrant identity also became diverse, even some people already became the second or third generation that born in Germany. As a result, the number of migrant writers also increases, and the ‘migrant writer group’ expanded a lot. The question about definition of ‘migrant literature’ turns into a significant issue for the whole German literary circle. Many media and research papers define the ‘migrant literature’ in different ways such as ‘transnational literature’, ‘labor migrant literature’, and ‘exile literature’. Comparing with those definitions, the ‘migrant literature’ seems more acceptable because, in this way, the works about migrant issue by non-migrant can also count and  it will be more close to the final goal of ‘migrant literature’ that  integrate into the Contemporary German Literature.

2 The development of German Migrant Literature
            Compare with multiculturalism in American literature, Germany literature is changing ‘national’ into ‘global’ with German migrant literature play a more important role. Since 1960s, German migrant literature has gone through three stages of development, and it showed as three generations creative works of migrant writers.
Complain literature—the first stage
            Almost all the authors of this stage were born in 1930s, and started to write around 1960s. These authors always prefer to use their native tongues to write, since most of them are coming from Turkey after the World War 2 as ‘labor migrants’ and did not understand and write in German. In their works, ‘labor migrant’ is an important part and they always use their own experiences as labor migrants in German to illustrate their pain of leaving home  country and their pressure for finding their position in Germany– this strange country to them. The theme of their works usually be they are victims of German political system, so the German government should improve their living level in this country, that is so called ‘complain literature’. Most authors of this stage are coming from Turkey, Italy and Greek and the styles of their writings always are poem and prose since these two are the easiest ways to express feelings, nostalgia, and pain directly.
            In first stage, the most important Turkish writers include Yuksel Pazarkaya, Sinasi Dikmen, and Arasoren. No railway station by Pazarkaya in 1967 is a masterpiece in this generation. In this work the railway station represents both start of new home and end of the old home and he complained about the unfair treatment between ‘labor migrant’ and Germans, also he pointed out that language is the most serious problem for labor migrant live in Germany. Except the Turkish authors in this stage, Italian authors also play an important indispensible role. The representative individuals are Franco Biondi and Gino Carmine Chielino. In Chielino’s work Shore in a foreign country, he said that: “You want to talk to me, but I should to speak your language”. This quote shows the vulnerable position of labor migrants in that period. Other than these writers come as labor migrants, some authors come to Germany as political exiles, such as Cyrus Atabay from Iran.
During that time period, most critics only concentrate on the identity of these migrant writers, not focus on literal values of their works. As a result, many of first generation migrant writers become the first generation of migrant literature researchers in 1980s, and they make great effort to the development of migrant literature in Germany.
Confusing literature— the second stage
            This generation of migrant writers started to write around 1980s. The distinguishing feature of this stage is that the authors are confusing about their future in Germany since this period is the time that they were hesitant to accept its new, 'multicultural' face. Moreover, migrant authors started to use both their native language and German to write, and some author even use some European techniques in their work such as surrealism. Thus, this stage is the one to mixing up ‘national’ and ‘global’ together.
Turkish authors is still a major part of this stage, the most famous Turkish writers includes Zafer Senocak and Ismet Elci. At the same time, some female Turkish writers began to write. The Turkish females in Germany have both an inferior position at home and in society. Thus, in their works, they analyze their double pressure from the Turkish tradition and German society. All the works of a famous female Turkish author named Emine Sevgiozdamar are about the pressure and pain of Turkish female in Germany. In one of her work called Sunshine in the half way: Istanbul to Berlin, she described a Turkish girl’s happy childhood in Turkey and gloomy manhood in Germany. Although Turkey, Italy authors still a major part of this stage, some authors from non-Europe country come in to this ‘German migrant writer’ group. One of them is Yoko Tawada from Japan and has been living in Germany since her college time. Because of her European study background, she enjoys to add some European writing techniques into her works. For example, in her book Where Europe Begins, a collection of short essays, she used ‘surrealism’ in. Surrealism is based on the belief in the superior reality of certain forms of previously neglected associations, in the omnipotence of dream, in the disinterested play of thought. Just like in the chapter “The Bath”, it said that “In each of the woman’s eyes reflected the flame of a candle. The flames wavered and swam out of her eyes like tropical fish and began to dance about her ears. When I looked carefully, I saw that they were not flames, but earrings in the shape of red tropical fish.” (24) This quote is a great example of surrealism.
In this period, novel becomes the most popular way to write because they always tell their own story in the novel and want to get more sympathy from the public. Since they lived in Germany for a long time, they more focused on the relationship between the familiar and the alien, the migrants' change in language and culture, and the problems encountered by German society. This stage is a transition stage in the development of German migrant literature.
Intercultural literature—the third stage
Most of this stage’s migrants are born in Germany or live in Germany for many years, so German is the native language for them. In this generation, they come and live in Germany for many distinct reasons, so they do not belong to a certain group or have a specific feature. Also, the creative methods for writing are diverse, some authors prefer to use prose, some authors prefer to use fiction, and some prefer to use poem. These authors with a non-German race background but live in German are attempt to liberate themselves from the "conflict between inclusion and alienation“, and have created an exceptionally wide range of intercultural forms of expression. We can see the non-German culture and German culture get together in this stage, and people want to show their own specialties instead of a group.
            One excellent writer in this stage is Zsuzsa Bank original from Hungary, and her first book named Swimmer is talking about a child’s life after abandon by her parents. This book received many positive advices from the public because of the using of beautiful language and the theme about migrant identity. Another author in this stage is Selim Ozdogan original from Turkey. These two writers are both born in German and learn German as their native language. From their works, we can see the self-identity is built in this generation writers’ minds. One perfect example for this claim is Sasa Stanisic’s work:  How the soldiers repair the gramophone. In this book, Sasa wrote: “In every day, I am Sasa Stanisic for twenty-three hours, I am German for half an hour, I am Bosnian for 15 minutes, and another 15 minutes I am taking a shower.” (Translated by Chinese Version) In Sasa’s work, he shows that he is himself more than a German or a Bosnian.
            German migrant literature is becoming more like German literature, and the intercultural parts are fit in the ‘culture diversity’ concept well. The German Contemporary Literature field will become more energetic and attractive because of these third stage migrant writers.

3 The thought about German migrant literature research
From the changes in three generations of German migrant writers, we can see German migrant literature itself also changed over time. Language itself also show an identity, since only when we communicate with others, we can show our distinct identities. As the individual identity changes, the social identity also change.
Living in a transnational environment, the three stages of migrant generations changing the confusing about migrant group identity change into find individual identity step by step. Thus, the German Contemporary Literature will become better and better.

Works Cited:
Tawada, Yoko. “Where Europe Begins”. Chapter Bath
Stanisic, Sasa. “How the soldiers repair the gramophone”. Chapter Grandma

Secondary Resources:
Pazarkaya, Yuksel. “No railway station”.
Chielino, Gino Carmine. “Shore in a foreign country”.
Sevgiozdamar, Emine. “Sunshine in the half way: Istanbul to Berlin”.
Bank, Zsuzsa. “Swimmer”.

2011年7月18日星期一

Week 2 in Berlin!

There is the link of my vlog

I recorded the week long video from July 2nd to July 8th. This week is the first week we spent in Berlin.

During this week, we explore this beautiful city Berlin through its transportation, historical buildings and museums, also we got more understanding of this city from both modern time and War period.

The pictures of July 2nd, the first day we arrived, were took on the way we back to our apartment from Berlin TXL international airport. One is the U-bahf station near our apartment and another one is a nearby street view. Berlin gave me a clean and beautiful impression on that day.

On the second day, we first took a tour around our apartment with Tobi and Manuela. We saw some parts of the Berlin Wall, also we learnt some history about the Berlin Wall, East Berlin, and West Berlin. Later, we went to the Jewish Culture Museum. Inside, we saw the Garden of Exile that are 49 columns filled with earth arranged in a square. Thus, Berlin is not only a beautiful city but also a city with deep culture intergration.

On July 4th, we did an orientation in Humboldt University and had a tour arond the university. We went to AlexenderPlatz and saw the Berlin TV Tower, Berliner Dom, Museum Island and World Clock. All the places we went that days are about the Modern part of Berlin.

The following day, we went to museum, Berlin Wall Guard Tower, and the Soviet War Memorial. From that day's visit, I understand the part of Berlin in War Period, the historcial buildings in Berlin and Berlin's important role during World War 2.
July 6th, we had a tour to Reichstag, which led me a political Berlin, and Berlin's important role in European Union. Next day, we also went to a museum about Berlin in World War 2. Comparing these two days' trips, we can easily find the differences between Modern Berlin and War Period Berlin.

During the free weekend, I went to the Brandenburger Tor, which is the symbol of Berlin, also the symbol of Germany. It regards as a important landmark in Europe.


This week is a amazing week for me to familar with Berlin. Also, it led me fall in love with Berlin!



2011年7月6日星期三

Assignment 1: Understand A City

       1) The first image is one that “shows” the camera’s power to make the different, the shock, the other an object available for your “experience.” This is an image that implicates you as an “outsider” in your use of technology to handle the new and the excess of sensations that comes with being in a new world such as Istanbul. Boredom and sleepiness are other ways that we deal with this excess of sensation or “shock.”

A City’s Life
I was shocked by this scene because of the unique fashion and lifestyle shown here. Compared to our daily fashion which is usually comprised of simple and clean clothes with few colors, the clothes on display here illustrate that Turkish people always dress in more complicated, heavy, and colorful clothes. Also, we seldom sit down on carpets surrounded by so many stones like the Turkish people always do. As an ‘outsider’, the best way to understand a culture is to start by observing how people live there.




   
   2) The second image is one that conveys for you a difference or otherness in the build environment or social spaces of Istanbul that in some way has surprised or shocked you. This image does not try to control the shock but instead to focus on it, to try to linger on this shock.

 A City’s Disaster
     
      This image displays a time when a natural disaster was inflicted upon Istanbul. Actually, this flood was completely inevitable since it was a result of Istanbul's poor infrastructure. “In Istanbul, today's infrastructure is no different from that of 10 years ago. The infrastructure in some districts was built for the needs of around 10,000 people 10 years ago. But those places now have 100,000 residents. Everywhere is filled with concrete. Rainwater has almost no place to flow”, explained Professor Hızır Önsoy from Karadeniz Technical University. I never imagined the people in this ancient city having to suffer through poor conditions like this.


     
     3) The third image should be one that you think helps you convey the “limit” or the violent of the camera. That is, this image is one that is important to you because it somehow comments on the technology that you use to capture this image.

A City’s View
   
    Clean street, blue sky, and clear road signs in this picture will make everyone who never encountered Istanbul think this is a developed and modern city. However, Istanbul is not a rich country and has many problems in regards to city development. Also, other parts of Istanbul, maybe even just one street down from this one, can have a completely different look. A camera- produced picture which contains only a small part of the city cannot fully reveal what the city is really like.


4) The fourth image engages the politics of photography in the non-western world. Historically the camera has been seen as offering Westerners the truth of the Orient. The camera is used less as an apparatus of art than it has been used as an apparatus of scientific truth when picturing the non-west. To counter this it is important to think of images or shots that for you either undo the west/non-west binary in some way or that pushes the image away from being scientific document and toward being more of an artistic composition. As an artistic composition the image is valuable because it demands interpretation. Can you come up with an image in the city that for you is so complex that it demands interpretation?

 A City’s History
 



This is a picture of Topkapi Palace which is a palace that Ottoman Sultans lived for approximately four hundred years. As we can see from this picture, this palace is an amazing palace that has a fountain in front of it, four cistels sitting in the four corners, and a big lawn around it. In addition to its many important historical meanings and values, it is a beautiful work of art.



     5)The fifth picture should convey your struggle to capture deeply personal memory through an image. Is there an image that you have or could take that is meaningful to you because it evokes personal memory? How do you take that picture without loosing its quality as a memory?

A City’s Religion
5.1: This is a picture I took in an Islam mosque in Istanbul.

5.2: a picture I took in an Islam mosque in Xinjiang Province, China, which looks really similar as the one in Istanbul.

     The same religion holds the similar surroundings and buildings even in different countries. In Xinjiang province there are many mosques because the most popular religion there is Islam. When I arrived in Istanbul and saw the ancient buildings, I sensed a strong impression of religion in this city that reminded me of my time in Xinjiang Province. Religion is a very important part of a culture, and it makes the culture and the region colorful.

6) The sixth and seventh images are related to our three lectures by Jen, Orhan, and Didem. Can you take two pictures in the city/of the city that you think conveys or aids in conveying what you have taken away from these first three lectures. What in the lectures was most rich and meaningful to you. What was the take away for you? Power and inequality? Cities and their complex relation to nations? Modernity and its demand for homogeneous citizens? States and the way they hide their violence through what a citizen sees and remembers (ie, gentrification).

For the last two images we would like you to provide a short blog entry (500-900 words) that describes what you’ve been thinking about while in Istanbul, especially after our three lectures/tours. Use the blog space to tell a reader why you chose the images you took, how they relate to the theme of our study and how they express your interests. Tell a reader how the images are expressive of the connections you’re making between being in Istanbul, thinking about migration and identity, and learning about the history of cities, states and communities.




Although I only stayed in Istanbul for two days because of some flight and visa reasons and missed the first two day lectures, the lesson about history, migration, and religion I learned from Istanbul, this ancient amazing city, is much more than my two-day experience. 

The sixth image I was chosen was an Islam women standing in the street. She was wearing a white cover for her hair and her neck in a hot day because of her Islam religion. We can see lots of people like them in Istanbul, since Islam is the biggest religion in there, and the appearance of those people on the street or other social activities is becoming a common thing that not surprised people. These kinds of reactions from Istanbul people were making me think about the reason. Since when I was in China, a single race and culture nation, I always think about how the people in other culture live, communicate and think since all the people around me are Han people. Maybe because most people there have the same thought as me, when we see a foreigner or a Uygur person or the other people from Western China, we always stare at them and discuss about them for a long time. The reason for that happened was included in Professor Danis’s lecture that Turkey is a migration country for many historical and geographical facts, the people here are having different backgrounds and different living styles. These migration countries like Turkey always have a similar characteristic that more easily accept new cultures and concepts. People here can more understand and care about different race, religion and lifestyle, that was the most impressive feeling this city gave to me.

The seventh picture was I took when we are in the Immigration Association. After listening the lecture by the organizer, seeing the photos they collected, and reading the ‘Story of migrations’, I got more understanding of why people want abandon the country they born, the culture they remain, the roots they have. There are a great number of people come to another country for their new lives, the reason for that is because they want to a safe place, a health place, and a peace place to live. Before my this trip to Istanbul, I have a thought that those people who come to another country instead of their homeland is betray their country, and the unfair treatment maybe sometimes is ‘fair’ to them in some degree. However, now, I feel my thought was wrong that people want to come to another country just for surviving in this world. This is the only thing they can think about when they are facing diseases, hungers and even deaths. They already suffered the pain to leave the place they familiar with, the unfair treatments are more serious problem to them. Thus, we should use some legal ways to help them and make their lives better.

This short but meaning for trip to Istanbul makes me understand more about this beautiful but poor city. I learnt religion from the Blue Mosque, I learnt culture from Hagia Sophia Church, I learnt history from Topkapi Palace, and most important I learnt migration from everywhere in this city.

2011年5月23日星期一

Transnational writers & Contemporary German Literature

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Eastern and Western Germany were reunited. The people from both sides could more conveniently communicate and exchange thoughts and ideas. Thus, Contemporary German Literature stepped into a new era which changed the “national culture based writing” into “global writing”. The transnational German-language writers played an important role in this development. 

To find out how and why transnational German-language writers influence contemporary German literature, I began to look up books by transnational writers. The first book I read was Nachtschwimmen im Rhein (Chinese version) by Lingyuan Luo, a Chinese-born writer now living in Germany. In her book, there are five love stories about relationships of girls from China with local German. She used the unique foreigner’s view to illustrate the relationship with local Germans and the feeling of foreigners. For example, one chapter in this book is talking about a German male show his love to a Chinese girl in his own way. The culture difference between Chinese and German is standing up through this story. This unique style of writing and special foreigner experience in German led her to be bestowed the highest honor in Germany for a foreign-born writer: the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize. After reading this book, I got some understanding of why transnational German-language writers have great influences on contemporary German literature and how they affect German culture.

The knowledge I got from that book coupled with my passion for reading literature led me to explore the deep influences of transnational German-language writers in Contemporary German Literature. Specifically, I will focus on how these transnational German-language writers use their special foreign experiences to build up new structures of German culture identity, and how they are changing the "national" writing" to "global” writing in Contemporary German Literature process. When I arrive in Berlin, I will experience the feelings that the transnational writers feel and achieve a better understanding of transnational literature and culture identity.

Secondary Sources:
1.Tawada, Yoko. Where Europe Begins. New Directions Publishing Corporation, 2002. Print.
2.Luo, Lingyuan. Nachtschwimmen im Rhein. Erzählungen. München 2008 (Chinese version)
3.Franzè, Federica, “The poetics of return: imagining home in German transnational narratives” Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations (1975): n pag. Web. 22 May 2011

2011年5月5日星期四

Measuring the world

My passion for reading literature coupled with our trip to Humboldt University in Berlin later this summer, led me to read some books about the scientist Alexander von Humboldt. One of these books was named "Measuring the World" written by a famous German writer named Daniel Kehlmann.


This book is talks about the scientist Humboldt and his adventures around the world. Humboldt decides to measure the world because he is a genius, and his goal of measuring the world is really his attempt at greatness since he wants to be remembered for his discoveries. Humboldt was born into a wealthy family, and his education and upbringing contributed greatly to his interest in exploring the world. When he gets the opportunity, he quits his job and sets off to buy supplies and begin his journey. Along the way, his adventures and his seemingly disregard for his own well-being reveal his personality.


Kehlmann wrote:
It was almost evening when they reached the mouth of the legendary channel. Swarms of biting flies immediately descended on them. But as the heat dissipated, so did the haze; the sky cleared, and Humboldt could measure the degree of longitude. He worked all night, measuring the angle of the moon as it tracked across the Southern Cross. Then, by way of confirmation, fixing the ghostly spots of Jupiter's moons in his telescope. Nothing could be relied on, he said to the dog, who was observing him intently. Not the tables, not the instruments, not even the sky. One had to be so precise as to be disorder.


This passage highlights Humboldt's passion for his goal. Humboldt is very obsessed with his work and is concerned about every wasted minute because he is out there measuring and documenting everything he sees.


Hope my classmates will think this book and information are useful~~

2011年4月6日星期三

Reaction to The Ghosts Of Berlin

This book is great in that it connects German's history with its contemporary urban architecture. Brian Ladd introduces me to Berlin’s many monuments and buildings from both a descriptive and historical perspective. He helps me realize that there is more to Berlin than just bricks and cement. After reading this book, I have a strong desire to visit every street in Berlin to soak in its history and architectural wonders.