This paper examines the question of what it means to be German. Its goal is to show a historic comparison between what was published in the 19th-century and what has changed since the end of WWII. The basis of the first part will be, among others, Richard Wagner's article "Was ist deutsch" (1865/1878) and Johann Gottlieb Fichte's "Reden an die deutsche Nation" (1807/1808). In the second part, these concepts and ideas will be put into relation with today's situation. That means, there will be a short introduction to the historical events that lead to today's situation of many people of Turkish descent living in Germany and constituting an inherent part of German society. This part also uses different media to show how Germans address the question of German identity since 1945. I argue that nowadays, especially people with migratory background, i. e. second- or third-generation immigrants deal with the topic of national identity and what it means to be "German," although these people do not comply with all categories of German national identity established in the 19th-century by personalities such as Fichte or Wagner. So, I will investigate if these categories are still applicable today. After few examples of what 19th-century thinkers would qualify as "pure Germans," my main focus will be on literature, music, and films by people with migratory background and how they express themselves towards German identity. I will show that Germany is more multicultural than pure and does to a certain extent no longer correspond to the ideals of the 19th-century, even though recent political movements raise their voice against this kind of new national identity. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2015. / April 3, 2015. / Includes bibliographical references. / Christian Weber, Professor Directing Thesis; Birgit Maier-Katkin, Committee Member; A. Dana Weber, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_252948 |
| Contributors | Digruber, Sandra (authoraut), Weber, Christian (professor directing thesis), Maier-Katkin, Birgit, 1962- (committee member), Weber, Alina Dana (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Arts and Sciences (degree granting college), Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics (degree granting department) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (66 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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