Description
With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the shifting of American foreign policy away from "old" Europe, long-established patterns of interaction between Germany and the U.S. have come under review. Although seemingly disconnected from the cultural and intellectual world, political developments were not without their influence on the humanities and their curricula during the past century. In retrospect, we can speak of the many different roles Germany has played in American eyes. The Many Faces of Germany seeks to acknowledge the importance of those incarnations for the study of German culture and history on both sides of the Atlantic. One of the major questions raised by the contributors is whether the transformations in the transatlantic dynamics and in the importance of Germany for the U.S. have had a major influence on the study of things German in the U.S. internally. The volume gathers together leading voices of the older and younger generations of social historians, literary scholars, film critics, and cultural historians.
Read More
In part a festschrift for Germanics cultural critic Frank Trommler, 28 papers explore seminal transformational moments in the history of cultural relations between Germany and the US. The contributions from historians, literary scholars, and film studies experts are organized by editors McCarthy (German and comparative literature, Vanderbilt U., US), Grüzweig (American literature and culture, U. of Dortmund, Germany), and Koebner (film and media studies, U. of Mainz, Germany) into thematic sections. The essays explore the dialectics of memory, neglected and controversial history, bilateral historiographical and cultural exchanges during the Cold War, and the notion of transformation in the study of German culture. Particular importance is accorded 9/11 as a demarcation point in the restructuring notions of geographical space and place. The papers are equally divided between English and German languages. Also included are nine brief appreciations of the life and work of Trommler and a listing of his publications. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Read Less