This thesis is a translation of chapters 5, 6, and 7 of German author Zafer Senocak's most recent novel "In deinen Worten" (In Your Words). It is part of a group translation project, the special nature of which will be the focus of the reflection that follows the translation and that explains the special challenges that the work with this particular text in this particular setting posed. Zafer Senocak is well-known German author and former writer-in-residence of the Department of German Studies of the University of Arizona. His work is very important in the field of German Studies. The following document contains the translation of the aforementioned chapters, followed by a reflection on the translation process.

In this thesis, learner beliefs and their implications for second language learning were examined. Individual learner differences have traditionally been measured statistically by using age, motivation and other variables that have been studied within a quantitative research framework. Recently, second language acquisition (SLA) research has been experiencing a shift from the etic, or outsider perspective to the emic, or insider perspective that is characteristic of qualitative research. Benson (2005) states, "learners are individuals and that their individuality may have significant consequences for their learning" (p. 5). Larson-Freeman (2001) ended her assessment of research by calling for "more holistic research that links integrated individual difference research from emic and etic perspectives to the processes, mechanisms and conditions of learning within different contexts over time (p. 24). Learner beliefs thus demand further exploration. <br /><br /> In order to show the implications that learner beliefs have for language learning, I met with three beginner German students and asked about their language learning processes and their language learning beliefs and experiences over a period of three months. This was done by conducting several interviews with these students, which provided me with a wealth of data to explore. This collected material and its potential influence on language learning was analyzed and is discussed in this thesis. This work begins with an overview of existing research in the field and a description of the research questions and methodology. This is followed by a description of the learners' comments and concludes with my findings and a discussion that points toward future research in the field.

This thesis is a translation of chapter 1 of Zafer Senocak's recent novel In deinen Worten: Mutmaßungen über den Glauben meines Vaters. It is part of a collaborative translation project with the goal of combining the practical and theoretical aspects of the art, in order to reflect on the challenges that arise whilst translating. Zafer Senocak is a Turkish-German author, who currently lives in Berlin, and was a writer in residence at the University of Arizona during the Spring semester of 2015. The following work contains the translation of the previously mentioned chapter, as well as a critical reflection upon the process.

In this thesis, learner beliefs and their implications for second language learning were examined. Individual learner differences have traditionally been measured statistically by using age, motivation and other variables that have been studied within a quantitative research framework. Recently, second language acquisition (SLA) research has been experiencing a shift from the etic, or outsider perspective to the emic, or insider perspective that is characteristic of qualitative research. Benson (2005) states, "learners are individuals and that their individuality may have significant consequences for their learning" (p. 5). Larson-Freeman (2001) ended her assessment of research by calling for "more holistic research that links integrated individual difference research from emic and etic perspectives to the processes, mechanisms and conditions of learning within different contexts over time (p. 24). Learner beliefs thus demand further exploration. <br /><br /> In order to show the implications that learner beliefs have for language learning, I met with three beginner German students and asked about their language learning processes and their language learning beliefs and experiences over a period of three months. This was done by conducting several interviews with these students, which provided me with a wealth of data to explore. This collected material and its potential influence on language learning was analyzed and is discussed in this thesis. This work begins with an overview of existing research in the field and a description of the research questions and methodology. This is followed by a description of the learners' comments and concludes with my findings and a discussion that points toward future research in the field.

This thesis examins various representations of individual memories and collective memory in Hermann Hesse?s <em>Das Glasperlenspiel</em> (1946). The analysis of Hermann Hesse?s novel basically pursues three different objectives: First, the narrative construction of the protagonists individual memories and how these are related to his self-perception. The theoretical framework for this purpose includes on the one hand narratological categories and on the other hand approaches which combine narratology and representations of memory in literature as for example Basseler?s and Birke?s (2005) contribution ?Mimesis des Erinnerns. ? Their understanding of the mimesis of remembering implies the construction of memories on different narratological levels like the level of the narrator and the one of the characters. <br ><br /> The second goal of this thesis, the analysis of the Glass Bead Game as a metaphor, is inextricably intertwined with Josef Knecht?s individual development but also initiates problems of collective memory and how they can appear in the extra-literary reality. The institution of the Glass Bead Game embraces the essential problems the province of Castalia suffers from: the exclusion of history results in corporate stagnation. Aleida and Jan Assmann?s theory of cultural memory offers a view of the Glass Bead Game-metaphor that illustrates the consequences of a radical separation of cultural memory and communicative memory. Thereby the transmission of meaning is cut off and the contents of cultural memory lose their significance for individuals in a particular society. <br ><br /> Last but not least it is discussed why <em>Das Glasperlenspiel</em> can be considered to be a ?Ged??chtnisroman? (memory novel) and which narratological procedures of representation constitute it as such. The category of ?Ged??chtnisroman? derives from Astrid Erll?s enhancements of Jan Assmann?s theory of cultural memory and emphasizes the social function of memory-narratives. In <em>Das Glasperlenspiel</em> two rhetorical modes, the cultural and the reflective mode, can be identified as being dominant. That leads to the conclusion, that <em>Das Glasperlenspiel</em> on the one hand formulates a collective memory that exists outside of historical time and on the other hand places it in the context of a cultural tradition through functionalising a variety of ?cultural paradigms?. In the reflective mode, the novel allows an observation of the contemporary ?Erinnerungskulturen? (communities sharing collective memories) to the reader and creates a fictional model of collective memory that exemplifies its problematic dimensions. <br ><br /> The cultural studies approach of this thesis and especially the combination with theories of collective memory extends the investigation of memory as an inner-literal phenomenon and involves ?Erinnerungskulturen? as space of effect of literary texts. In this respect literature is no longer only a written medium but literary texts get subsumable as cultural forms of expression that make the development and change of ?Erinnerungskulturen? observable. In this spirit, literature is not restricted to being a medium of ?Erinnerungskultur?, but also takes part in the generation of memory.

This thesis examins various representations of individual memories and collective memory in Hermann Hesse?s <em>Das Glasperlenspiel</em> (1946). The analysis of Hermann Hesse?s novel basically pursues three different objectives: First, the narrative construction of the protagonists individual memories and how these are related to his self-perception. The theoretical framework for this purpose includes on the one hand narratological categories and on the other hand approaches which combine narratology and representations of memory in literature as for example Basseler?s and Birke?s (2005) contribution ?Mimesis des Erinnerns. ? Their understanding of the mimesis of remembering implies the construction of memories on different narratological levels like the level of the narrator and the one of the characters. <br ><br /> The second goal of this thesis, the analysis of the Glass Bead Game as a metaphor, is inextricably intertwined with Josef Knecht?s individual development but also initiates problems of collective memory and how they can appear in the extra-literary reality. The institution of the Glass Bead Game embraces the essential problems the province of Castalia suffers from: the exclusion of history results in corporate stagnation. Aleida and Jan Assmann?s theory of cultural memory offers a view of the Glass Bead Game-metaphor that illustrates the consequences of a radical separation of cultural memory and communicative memory. Thereby the transmission of meaning is cut off and the contents of cultural memory lose their significance for individuals in a particular society. <br ><br /> Last but not least it is discussed why <em>Das Glasperlenspiel</em> can be considered to be a ?Gedächtnisroman? (memory novel) and which narratological procedures of representation constitute it as such. The category of ?Gedächtnisroman? derives from Astrid Erll?s enhancements of Jan Assmann?s theory of cultural memory and emphasizes the social function of memory-narratives. In <em>Das Glasperlenspiel</em> two rhetorical modes, the cultural and the reflective mode, can be identified as being dominant. That leads to the conclusion, that <em>Das Glasperlenspiel</em> on the one hand formulates a collective memory that exists outside of historical time and on the other hand places it in the context of a cultural tradition through functionalising a variety of ?cultural paradigms?. In the reflective mode, the novel allows an observation of the contemporary ?Erinnerungskulturen? (communities sharing collective memories) to the reader and creates a fictional model of collective memory that exemplifies its problematic dimensions. <br ><br /> The cultural studies approach of this thesis and especially the combination with theories of collective memory extends the investigation of memory as an inner-literal phenomenon and involves ?Erinnerungskulturen? as space of effect of literary texts. In this respect literature is no longer only a written medium but literary texts get subsumable as cultural forms of expression that make the development and change of ?Erinnerungskulturen? observable. In this spirit, literature is not restricted to being a medium of ?Erinnerungskultur?, but also takes part in the generation of memory.

This thesis is a the comparative analysis of the motifs of advertising concepts as found in the German novel <em>Viktor Vogel</em>, by Alexandra Raumer, and the Russian novel <em>Generation P. </em>, by Viktor Pelevin. For reasons of readability, the work utilized is the German translation of <em>Generation P. </em> However, both the original Russian text and the German language film (which was produced prior to the German novel) have been used, and chapters regarding their interpretation are included. <br ><br /> The analysis of both novels contains discussion of the topic, function, and task of advertising in the text, as well as the manner in which marketing theory has influenced its literary manifestation. Additionally the relationships between advertising executives and clients are explored. <br ><br /> While the aspects aforementioned form the basis of the comparative analysis of <em>Viktor Vogel</em> and <em>Generation P. </em>, the thesis also includes work-specific researches. Regarding <em>Viktor Vogel</em>, the motifs of advertising found in the novel are compared to those which are present in the film. Likewise, concerning <em>Generation P. </em>, the advertisements in the Russian original are examined in comparison to its German language translation, and its interpretation is completed by a summary of the Russian advertising culture. <br ><br /> The results of this analysis concluded that in the work <em>Viktor Vogel</em> a strong measure of realistic and real-word advertising is maintained. Additionally, it is revealed that the focus of advertising in this work is primarily concerned with the internal processes of the marketing agency as opposed to actual advertisements, whose inclusion is solely for decorative purposes. The original movie, however, puts more emphasis on the depiction of the motif of advertising, providing more information than mere visual icons. <br ><br /> In contrast to these findings, the advertising found in <em>Generation P. </em> is in keeping with the absurd literary reality as created by Viktor Pelevin. The portrayal of advertisement activity is here strongly influenced by the economic changes that have taken place after the collapse of the former system. The advertising concepts in <em>Generation P. </em> complete three main tasks: the description of the environment, the development of the protagonists, and the representation of irony and satire. Advertising for foreign products concentrates on items, which enchance the prestige of the user (such as textiles, alcohol and cigarettes) and emphasize the actual product, whereas advertising dealing with genuine Russian items focus primarly on the service sector. Looking at the original text reveals significant differences between the German and the Russian edition which cannot to be put down to the high quality of the translation itself but are rather the result of later changes by Pelevin. It has become evident, that advertisements such as those found in the Russian novel encompass phenomena, which would be contrary to those which are used in the West.

The main interest of this thesis lies in the analysis of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), as it is represented in movies. The times before and after the Cold War period in Germany have often been discussed in both literature as well as movies. However, most academic essays which focus on how this time is remembered by current societies are analyzing literature rather than movies. Most analyses of film neglect the exploration of cultural memory, even though there are a variety of different film genres that deal with this topic. This paper will fill this gap in film research by showing that movies set in the GDR can help to convey a cultural memory just as much as literature. The diversity of movies set in the GDR is great: many movies tell sad and serious stories about families under government surveillance, or of people who were killed by trying to escape to West-Germany. This thesis however, focuses on films with humorous aspects. Although most film reviewers criticise comedies about the GDR as being purely nostalgic, this thesis shows that the humour used in specific movies is able to collect a memory and therefore, can be seen as a vehicle of cultural memory. The movies Sonnenallee directed by Leander Haußmann and Good Bye Lenin! directed by Wolfgang Becker are analyzed in this paper because they are comparable insofar that they both show the GDR from a youthful point of view from different time periods. Sonnenallee takes place in the 70ies and therefore, 20 years before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Good Bye Lenin?, in contrast, covers both the time before and after the fall of the wall. Another reason for selecting these movies is the fact that they are criticized for only portraying the clichés and stereotypes of East-German-figures, which should be reproved. The first part of the thesis explains the theory and main arguments of Aleida and Jan Assmann’s concept of cultural memory. In order to reconstruct their train of thought, it is necessary to summarize the work of their predecessors Maurice Halbwachs, Aby Warburg, and Pierre Nora. The second part moves on to discuss the term ‘Erinnerungs-film’, coined by Astrid Erll, whose main research interest lies in understanding the dif-ferent kinds of memories occurring in movies. The following chapter focuses on the use of comedy in the selected films, as it is important to understand how humorous scenes are created in those movies. The main part of the thesis is the analysis of Sonnenallee and Good Bye Lenin! found in chapter five. Two different types of approaches are chosen: first, a comparison between Haußmann’s movie Sonnenallee and Thomas Brussig’s book Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee, and then a picture-sound-analysis of selected scenes from Becker’s movie Good bye Lenin!. The comparison shows the advantages that the movie has over the book in terms of displaying humour as a means to convey cultural memory. The inter-pretation part of the thesis shows how funny scenes can be critically interpreted and found to be useful in creating cultural memory rather than putting them down as purely nostalgic.

We often encounter mental illness in our daily lives. People who are diagnosed with a mental disorder are marked as different and thereby stigmatized and confined to spacial isolation. This thesis analyzes the function of mental illness by examining the protagonist of Irena Vrkljan's Buch über Dora. I argue that in Buch über Dora stigmatization and isolation of otherness becomes visible in how the book's protagonist is excluded from certain spaces. My main question is which role is ascribed to Dora by society. Othering – and therefore excluding – mentally ill persons such as Dora is necessary to establish the order of society. Another important issue are the similarities between Dora and other female characters in the novel.The symptoms of the pressure to succumb to societal norms are shared by the first person narrator, among others. It is my aim to show that and how all woman can easily be pushed into Dora's role. This leads to the central question or my thesis: Are we not all a bit like Dora? To date, Irena Vrkljan's works have been largely neglected by the germanic academic community. Germanistik has not yet found a way to accommodate her bilingual and bicultural oeuvre. The first part of my thesis addresses this issue. The second part develops a constructivist theoretical framework for my analysis of space. First, I draw on the work of Michel Foucault "Of Other Spaces", "Discipline And Punish", and "Madness And Cilvilization", in which he describes space as a construct that reproduces societal norms. Second, Sigmund Freud's "Fragments of an Analysis of a Case of Hysteria" helps to grasp how mental illness is pathologized. While Foucault focuses on the function of norms, Freud analyses the consequences of aberrant behaviour for women. The third part focuses on the fragmentary structure of the novel and continues with an detailed analysis of heterotopias such as the cemetery, Dora's room, the market and the untended park. By identifying with Dora, Buch über Dora questions the norms and shows her otherness as something that we all share. She may be stigmatized as mentally ill but she is by no means fundamentally different to other women.

This thesis is a the comparative analysis of the motifs of advertising concepts as found in the German novel <em>Viktor Vogel</em>, by Alexandra Raumer, and the Russian novel <em>Generation P. </em>, by Viktor Pelevin. For reasons of readability, the work utilized is the German translation of <em>Generation P. </em> However, both the original Russian text and the German language film (which was produced prior to the German novel) have been used, and chapters regarding their interpretation are included. <br ><br /> The analysis of both novels contains discussion of the topic, function, and task of advertising in the text, as well as the manner in which marketing theory has influenced its literary manifestation. Additionally the relationships between advertising executives and clients are explored. <br ><br /> While the aspects aforementioned form the basis of the comparative analysis of <em>Viktor Vogel</em> and <em>Generation P. </em>, the thesis also includes work-specific researches. Regarding <em>Viktor Vogel</em>, the motifs of advertising found in the novel are compared to those which are present in the film. Likewise, concerning <em>Generation P. </em>, the advertisements in the Russian original are examined in comparison to its German language translation, and its interpretation is completed by a summary of the Russian advertising culture. <br ><br /> The results of this analysis concluded that in the work <em>Viktor Vogel</em> a strong measure of realistic and real-word advertising is maintained. Additionally, it is revealed that the focus of advertising in this work is primarily concerned with the internal processes of the marketing agency as opposed to actual advertisements, whose inclusion is solely for decorative purposes. The original movie, however, puts more emphasis on the depiction of the motif of advertising, providing more information than mere visual icons. <br ><br /> In contrast to these findings, the advertising found in <em>Generation P. </em> is in keeping with the absurd literary reality as created by Viktor Pelevin. The portrayal of advertisement activity is here strongly influenced by the economic changes that have taken place after the collapse of the former system. The advertising concepts in <em>Generation P. </em> complete three main tasks: the description of the environment, the development of the protagonists, and the representation of irony and satire. Advertising for foreign products concentrates on items, which enchance the prestige of the user (such as textiles, alcohol and cigarettes) and emphasize the actual product, whereas advertising dealing with genuine Russian items focus primarly on the service sector. Looking at the original text reveals significant differences between the German and the Russian edition which cannot to be put down to the high quality of the translation itself but are rather the result of later changes by Pelevin. It has become evident, that advertisements such as those found in the Russian novel encompass phenomena, which would be contrary to those which are used in the West.