Vierauden näyttämöllistäminen nykysaksalaisessa siirtolaiskirjallisuudessa

• Leena Eilittä Helsingin yliopisto

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30665/av.74646

Abstract

lnszenierung of Fremde in contemporary German immigrant literature

This article discusses the works of immigrant authors in the German-speaking countries. Their literature was first defined as Ausländerliteratur which is outdated today since by now many authors have spent most of their life in Germany. Equally misleading is Minoritätenliteratur which puts the emphasis merely on the political situation of immigrant authors. More successful are Migrationsliteratur and, interkulturelle Literatur which have gained popularity in the recent discussion. The academic discussion about immigrant literature has undergone a change from the i980s until today. The first attempts involved relating immigrant literature to German literature in general, but this approach tended to ignore not only the cross-culturality but also the often innovative aesthetic qualities of these fictional works.

The theoretical background of this article is in Lothar Krappmann's sociological definition of identity as a space of interaction which allows the personal identity to come into being. Krappmann's view of identity is further elaborated by Ortrud Gutjahr's discussion about the importance of Fremde for the development of personal identity. The descriptions of familiarity and unfamiliarity in the works of immigrant authors are related to Gutjahr's idea of Inszenierung of Fremde. While distancing herself from her immediate Turkish background, Emile Sevgi Özdamar's alter ego develops innovative attempts to cope with her new surroundings. Similar developments occur in the works of Terézia Mora who addresses the question of Fremde in refined symbolic terms. Maxim Biller describes the relationship of Germans to the Holocaust and depicts, in ironical terms, some features of German media society. Apart from German authors, this article introduces some less well-known immigrant authors from Switzerland. Although Catalin Dorian Florescu and Anglaja Veteranyi both have their origins in Romania, their descriptions about immigration are very different. Whereas Florescu tells success stories about immigrants, the works of Veteranyi depict tragic immigrant fates.

This article points to the importance of immigrant literature for the contemporary German literary scene. Due to the growing number of immigrants in the German-speaking countries, their works are important for the understanding of the profound change which is taking place in German society. These works provide insightful social and psychological descriptions about the immigration process. Most importantly, this latest German literature introduces innovative fictionality with new symbolism and innovative narrative techniques.