This thesis examines the notion of Heimat in the literary production of two German authors of Iranian origin, Navid Kermani and SAID. It presents a methodological challenge to the existing approaches to this type of literature, which have tended to characterise it, as in one way or another hyphenated, thus e.g. as 'German-Iranian' literature in our case. Indeed, existing models of analysis have been placing this literature in discourses that connect with Orientalism and occidental Universalism and in so doing conform to western traditions of a global universality thesis, which ultimately, and often contrary to the scholars' own best intentions, 'orientalise' this literature and its authors. This thesis therefore proposes to study the chosen authors on a case by case basis rather than through the lens of an all-encompassing theoretical model. To enable the proposed case by case analysis the thesis first elaborates on the evolution, during the last ca. 250 years, of both, the German concept of Heimat and its Iranian equivalent, Vatan, demonstrating that these Modern notions of collective identity evolved over time within a framework of remarkable German-Iranian conceptual interplay, if not utter interdependence. Based on this the thesis arrives at the conclusion that SAIDs conception of Heimat for all the author's rejection of any form of nationalism remains within the boundaries of universalistic worldviews that tend to separate as firmly distinct, 'Orient' and 'Occident'. However, Kermani's concept of Heimat completely transcends any such antagonistic juxtapositions and thus this thesis provides a close reading of his unique and integrative approach to the 'East'/'West' nexus by employing a comparative methodology that I have termed 'cultural translation'.

Zugl.: Freiburg (Breisgau), Univ., Diss., 2005/06

Bachelor-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2006.

This PhD thesis examines the ‘working through’ of traumatic memories of the Holocaust and representations of Romani cultural identity in autobiographical writing by Romanies in Germany and Austria. In writing their memories in German, these Romani writers ended the ‘muteness’ previously surrounding their own experiences of persecution in the Third Reich and demanded an end to the official silence regarding the Romani Holocaust in their home countries. The thesis aims to explore how the writing of these narratives works to create a space for Romani memories within German language written tradition and to assert a more positive Romani identity and space for this identity in their homelands. Further, it aims to demonstrate that, in the struggle to create this safe space, their texts also reveal insecurity and landscapes that are not free from threat. The thesis also addresses the broad question of whether or not the shift from oral to written tradition in order to represent experiences of the Holocaust will result in a continuation of Romani writing in Germany and Austria. The thesis begins by examining the first Romani accounts of Holocaust memories published in Germany (1985) and Austria (1988) and ends with more recent narratives published in 2006 (Germany) and 2007 (Austria). In chapters one and two on writing by Philomena Franz and Ceija Stojka, I focus on their pioneering texts as assertions of space for Romani identity within their homelands; I analyse how these authors work through their traumatic memories by narrating their experiences and by identifying the landscapes of Germany and Austria as Heimat. In chapter 3, I continue to explore themes of Heimat and identity in Alfred Lessing and Karl Stojka ’s accounts which, while working through their own traumatic memories of the Third Reich, struggle with the loss of Romani cultural identity in their homelands. In chapter four, I address the generational memory of the Holocaust in Otto Rosenberg’s account of his experiences in the concentration camps and his daughter Marianne Rosenberg’s recent autobiography. In chapter 5, I will examine the presence of the ‘threat of Auschwitz’ in Stefan Horvath’s writing, in which he remembers the attack on a Romani settlement in 1995 which killed his son and three other Romanies in Oberwart, Austria. In all of these chapters, attention will also be given to the editorial construction of these texts as well as their reception. Throughout the thesis, I take a comparative approach, referring to similarities and differences between the works of these authors.

Anton Webern’s Op. 18 stands at nearly the exact center of his published work. Though it was in his Op. 17 that Webern began working with ordered pitches, there are some logistic struggles evident in his diversions from the row throughout that work. It is in Op. 18 that Webern first consistently uses a row in its complete, unchanged form. His increasing mastery of this style of composition is shown throughout Op. 18, a collection of three songs; the first with a single row repeated with no permutations of any kind; in the 2nd song, inversions and retrograde are introduced; and in the final song Webern experiments with simultaneous unique row forms for each instrument. These songs feature a guitar, E-flat clarinet, and soprano voice, with the first song a setting of a folk text. In this dissertation I argue that Webern’s later style–his orchestration, harmonic progressions, and formal structures–grows out of his choice of guitar as harmonic foundation in Op. 18. In my analysis I look at row construction and usage, as well as orchestrational considerations, folk implications, text setting, and specific voice-leading properties of Webern’s Opp. 18, 25, and 30. In so doing I will uncover a link between Webern’s pivotal Op. 18 song cycle, with the guitar playing a central role, and many of his compositional choices in his later works. My analysis looks at Webern’s works through the lens of a guitarist. I will explore the piano accompaniment of Op. 25 as if it were written for guitar, and do the same for his Op. 30 Variations for Orchestra. These analyses will show that his later works, and later style in general, have an underlying idiomatic character of guitar music. I argue that Webern’s late works feature, as a result, are his own version of folk music through their simplicity, clarity of form, and overall encapsulation of the sound of the guitar.

Um sich der Universität mit dem Begriff der Heimat zu nähern, ist der Geist, der dahin weht, wohin er will, mit dem Begriff der Verortung des ihn Produzierenden zu flankieren.

This thesis explores the representation of Heimat in Stephan Thome’s novel Grenzgang (2009). The concept of Heimat is a subjective and therefore challenging idea, as a result there is no generally accepted definition of Heimat. Thus notions that contribute to the conception of Heimat – nostalgia, womanhood, the triad of province-city-world as well as nationhood and tradition – are analysed in the present work. Far beyond the cliché of an idyllic Heimat as a place to escape from real life, Grenzgang demonstrates a more modern version of the concept. The inhabitants of the Hessian town Bergenstadt, especially the protagonists Thomas and Kerstin, have to deal with the harsh reality of their lives. Since the Hessian countryside is caught up in the processes of globalization, its inhabitants have new opportunities, but they have to come to terms with new threats as well. The result is increasing insecurity, which in turn is partly buffered by the existing tradition of the “Grenzgang,” i.e. walking along the limits of the town in order to re-establish its borders. That tradition is the connecting element in this novel, causing the inhabitants of Bergenstadt to experience a feeling of security and identity in the traditional community. Furthermore, they build up a relationship with their rural environment and their history. The novel Grenzgang demonstrates that Heimat can be acquired actively through social relations even if this Heimat is threatened by insecurity. The thesis stresses the progressive character of the individual acquisition of traditions while its special focus is on the subjectivity of the concept of Heimat: Each character has to find his or her own form of Heimat and by extension his or her identity. Grenzgang shows that this can be successfully experienced in the present day. Furthermore the novel's realistic treatment of the countryside differs from the positively-transfigured, negative or ironic representations of previous Heimat novels.

This thesis explores the representation of Heimat in Stephan Thome’s novel Grenzgang (2009). The concept of Heimat is a subjective and therefore challenging idea, as a result there is no generally accepted definition of Heimat. Thus notions that contribute to the conception of Heimat – nostalgia, womanhood, the triad of province-city-world as well as nationhood and tradition – are analysed in the present work. Far beyond the cliché of an idyllic Heimat as a place to escape from real life, Grenzgang demonstrates a more modern version of the concept. The inhabitants of the Hessian town Bergenstadt, especially the protagonists Thomas and Kerstin, have to deal with the harsh reality of their lives. Since the Hessian countryside is caught up in the processes of globalization, its inhabitants have new opportunities, but they have to come to terms with new threats as well. The result is increasing insecurity, which in turn is partly buffered by the existing tradition of the “Grenzgang,” i.e. walking along the limits of the town in order to re-establish its borders. That tradition is the connecting element in this novel, causing the inhabitants of Bergenstadt to experience a feeling of security and identity in the traditional community. Furthermore, they build up a relationship with their rural environment and their history. The novel Grenzgang demonstrates that Heimat can be acquired actively through social relations even if this Heimat is threatened by insecurity. The thesis stresses the progressive character of the individual acquisition of traditions while its special focus is on the subjectivity of the concept of Heimat: Each character has to find his or her own form of Heimat and by extension his or her identity. Grenzgang shows that this can be successfully experienced in the present day. Furthermore the novel's realistic treatment of the countryside differs from the positively-transfigured, negative or ironic representations of previous Heimat novels.

Zugl.: Frankfurt (Main), Univ., Diss., 2006

Zugl.: München, Univ., Diss., 2005.