2nd Workshop of the YSN "Black Diaspora and Germany"

GENDERING THE BLACK DIASPORA


Sandra Gunning, Tera W. Hunter and Michele Mitchell posited in 2003* that “[t]he use of gender as a category of analysis remains something of a challenge for African Diaspora studies.” Stephen Small later argued: “[O]ne does not and cannot define, conceptualize, theorize, or research the Black Diaspora in Europe without bringing gender ideologies and the experiences of Black women to the foreground.”**

The focus of the second “Black Diaspora in Germany” Young Scholars Network workshop entails three aspects. First, we will address the theoretical and methodological implications of the issue of gender within the Black Diaspora in Europe. The social construct known as the Diaspora can neither transcend gender, nor can it serve as an epistemological or historical category of analysis without careful consideration of the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality. Utilising the theoretical and methodological interface between Diaspora and Gender Studies, we seek to underscore the significance of gender in our analysis and theorisation of Black diasporic experiences in Europe and with a particular focus on Germany.
Secondly, this workshop will examine and analyse the development of a collective Afro-/Black German identity and this group’s political activism during the mid-1980s and thereafter. The emergence of a self-defined name, e.g., Afro-/Black German, and “imagined” Black diasporic community in West Germany was primarily advanced by Afro-/Black German female activists and based on specifically ‘Black female’ experiences and analyses. African American feminists, and other feminists of colour contested the construction of a Black Diaspora based on universalized patriarchal parameters. These women notably influenced not only Afro-/Black German activism, but also the development of Afro-/Black German Studies.
Lastly, the workshop will call into question constructions of Black masculinities and femininities, along with the issue of agency and counter-discourses of Black men and women throughout various periods of German historiography.
The members of the organising team cordially invite you to the workshop “Gendering the Black Diaspora”. We are delighted to have with us as keynote speakers: Dr. Gloria Wekker, Professor at the Institute for Media and Culture Studies and Director of GEM, Centre of Expertise on Gender, Ethnicity and Multiculturality, Universiteit Utrecht; and Judy Gummich, long-time Human Rights activist, Black Feminist and Diversity Trainer. We are also happy to announce that Author and Producer Prof. Dr. Dagmar Schultz, emer., will be with us to introduce a new film project on Audre Lorde’s years in Berlin, which is scripted and directed by Filmmaker Zara Zandieh, and to present the film “Hoffnung im Herz: Mündliche Poesie – May Ayim” by Maria Binder.
The workshop organisers: Susann Lewerenz, Cassandra Ellerbe-Dueck and Katharina Gerund willl present conference papers, and anticipate two days of lively and interesting discussions.

The “Gendering the Black Diaspora” workshop will take place at Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg on 15 April 2011 and 16 April 2011. For travel and accommodation information, please see below.
For further information and conference registration, please contact the workshop organisers at bdg@uni-muenster.de.
Should you need any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us!
Susann Lewerenz, Cassandra Ellerbe-Dueck, Katharina Gerund


* Sandra Gunning, Tera W. Hunter and Michele Mitchell, Introduction: Gender, Sexuality, and African Diaspora, in: Gender & History, Vol 15, No. 3 (Special Issue: Dialogues of Dispersal: Gender, Sexuality and African Diasporas, ed. by Sandra Gunning, Tera W. Hunter and Michele Mitchell), November 2003, pp. 398 f.

** Stephen Small, Introduction: The Empire Strikes Back, in: Black Europe and African Diaspora, ed. by Darlene Clark Hine, Trica Danielle Keaton and Stephen Small, Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press 2009, p. xxviii.

Programme

Friday, 15 April 2011

Until 14:00 Arrival and registration

14:00-14:30 Workshop opening
Prof. Dr. Heike Paul (Erlangen-Nürnberg)
Dr. Cassandra Ellerbe-Dueck, Katharina Gerund and Susann Lewerenz

14:30-15:30 Dr. Cassandra Ellerbe-Dueck (Mannheim)
“The Matrilineal Diaspora: Black/Afro-German Women, Claiming Space & Finding Their Voices”
Chair: Cedric Essi (Erlangen-Nürnberg)

15:30-16:30 Katharina Gerund (Düsseldorf)
“The Sound of Solidarity: Angela Davis, Gender(ed) Politics, and (Protest) Songs”
Chair: Cedric Essi

16:30-17:00 Coffee break

17:00-18:30 KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Judy Gummich (Berlin) – Human Rights Activist & Diversity Trainer
“Between Racism and Empowerment – Perspectives on Being Black in Germany”
Chair: Dr. Cassandra Ellerbe-Dueck

18:30-18:45 Short break

18:45-19:30 Film screening
“Hoffnung im Herz: Mündliche Poesie – May Ayim”, a film by Maria Binder, introduction: Prof. Dr. Dagmar Schultz, emer. (Berlin)
Chair: Susann Lewerenz (Hamburg)

19:45 Dinner
Venue: Zen - Cocktail Bar & Thai Restaurant, Theaterplatz 22, 91054 Erlangen



Saturday, 16 April 2011

9:00-10:00 Prof. Dr. Dagmar Schultz (Berlin) – emer., Author and Producer
“‘Audre Lorde – the Berlin Years’ – a Project in Progress”
Chair: Carmen Dexl (Erlangen-Nürnberg)

10:00-11:00 Susann Lewerenz (Hamburg)
“How Thea Leyseck became ‘German Southwest African’ – Colonial Revisionism, Gender, and Black Agency in Nazi Germany”
Chair: Carmen Dexl

11:00-11:30 Coffee break

11:30-13:00 KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Prof. Dr. Gloria Wekker (Utrecht)
“Diving Into the Wreck. Reflections on Gender in the Black Diaspora”
Chair: Katharina Gerund

13:00-13:30 Plenary session
Introductory remarks: Prof. Dr. Heike Paul
Chair: Dr. Cassandra Ellerbe-Dueck

13:45-15:00 Lunch
Venue: TiO - Bar & Restaurant, Südliche Stadtmauerstraße 1a, 91054 Erlangen

Departure of workshop participants

15:00-15:45 Discussion of organisational matters
For members of the YSN “Black Diaspora and Germany”

15:45 End of workshop

Workshop venue:
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Amerikanistik/American Studies, Bismarckstr. 1c, 91054 Erlangen, Room C 301

Contact and registration: bdg@uni-muenster.de
Deadline for registrations: 8 April 2011

Travel and Accommodation

Conference Venue

The workshop will take place at Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg. The conference venue is located at Bismarckstr. 1C, Erlangen and is approximately a 15 minute walk from Erlangen’s main station (Bahnhof).


How to get to Erlangen

By plane
The airport closest to Erlangen is Nürnberg (NUE). A taxi ride from Nürnberg airport to Erlangen takes about half an hour and costs about EUR 25,-. You can also get on the subway to Nuremberg main station (U 2) and from there to Erlangen’s main station (Bahnhof) by train, which costs about EUR 6,-.

If you fly into Frankfurt (FRA) or München (MUC), you must allow roughly 2.5 h for your train ride to Erlangen. For departure times and fares, visit the Deutsche Bahn (German Rail) website (http://www.bahn.de/) and enter “Erlangen Bahnhof” as your destination.

By train
For departure times and fares visit the Deutsche Bahn (German Rail) website (http://www.bahn.de/) and enter “Erlangen Bahnhof” as your destination.


Accommodation

The following hotels and hostels in Erlangen are located within walking distance to the conference venue:

Altmann’s Stube Hotel, Theaterplatz 9, 91054 Erlangen, +49 9131-89160
Single from 66,-, double from 82,-
http://www.altmanns-stube.de/

Hotel Rokoko Haus, Theaterplatz 13, 91054 Erlangen, +49 9131-7830
Single from 72,-, double from 110,-
http://www.rokokohaus.de/

Hotelchen am Theater, Theaterstraße 10, 91054 Erlangen, +49 9131-80860
Single from 75,-, double from 107,-
http://www.hotelchen-am-theater.de/

Hotel Bayerischer Hof, Schuhstraße 13, 91052 Erlangen, +49 9131-7850
Single from 85,50, double from 99,-
http://www.bayerischer-hof-erlangen.de/

Apartment Hotel Kral, Luitpoldstr. 77, 91052 Erlangen, +49 9131-810090
Single from 120,-
http://www.hotel-kral.de/de/

Der graue Wolf, Hauptstraße 80, 91054 Erlangen, +49 9131-810645
Single from 48,-, double from 70,-
http://www.grauer-wolf.de/hotel-erlangen.html

Hotel König Otto, Henkestr. 56, 91054 Erlangen, +49 9131-8780
Single from 89,-, double from 116,-
http://www.koenig-otto.de/

Hotel La Brasserie, Nürnberger Str. 3, 91054 Erlangen, +49 9131-206080
Single from 68,-, double from 88,-
http://www.brasserie-erlangen.de/

A. B. Hotel, Harfenstr. 1C, 91054 Erlangen, +49 9131-9244700
Single from 30,- plus 5,- breakfast, double from 45,- plus 5,- breakfast
http://www.abhotel.de/

Jugendherberge Erlangen Frankenhof, Südliche Stadtmauerstr. 35, 91054 Erlangen, +49 9131 862555
From 18,-
http://www.erlangen.jugendherberge.de/

Inaugural Workshop Report

Transcending Diaspora: Whiteness, Performativity, and the Politics of the Body
December 3-4, 2010
WWU Muenster, Germany

Report by Holger Droessler (Harvard University)

The history of Black people in Germany remains a rather underdeveloped subject in contemporary research. In recent years, however, a diverse range of scholars working in various disciplines have devoted increased attention to the historical experiences and present-day lives of people of color living in Germany.  On December 3-4, 2010 a group of young scholars working on the history and present of the Black Diaspora in Germany convened at the University of Muenster for the Inaugural Workshop of a new academic network funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Beside two keynote lectures from renowned experts on the topic, four members of the Young Scholars Network “Black Diaspora and Germany” presented from their current research projects. The first workshop “Transcending Diaspora: Whiteness, Performativity, and the Politics of the Body” was designed to address theoretical questions in the study of Black people in Germany such as the adequacy of the concept ‘Diaspora’ itself.

In their opening remarks, network founder CHRISTINA OPPEL, network chair SILKE STROH, and associated professor MARIA DIEDRICH (all WWU Muenster) stressed the importance of having an institutional basis for young scholars interested in the experiences of Black people in Germany. They went on to point out the need for interdisciplinary exchange and highlighted the network’s critical political responsibility in accounting for present and past inequalities. The network consists of fifteen permanent members based in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States representing academic disciplines as varied as history, sociology, (Black) German, (African) American Studies, and ethnology. In a series of six workshops over three years the Young Scholars Network aims to bring together scholars from various disciplines and advance scholarship on the history and present of the Black Diaspora in Germany.

The first presentation by CHRISTINA OPPEL (WWU Muenster) addressed the question whether “Diaspora” validly assumes exclusivity and hegemony in theorizations of Black transnationalism. Taking on its purely enabling function for Afro-German experiences, Oppel assessed silencing mechanisms and forms of ‘speaking for Others’ with a view to their impact on Black agency and the status of the Afro-German subject in a German context. Based on a close reading of Marie Nejar’s life memoir Mach nicht so traurige Augen, weil du ein Negerlein bist (2007) Oppel first illustrated the problematic legacy of white authorization of Black experiences and relations of power. Co-authored by a white German ‘autobiographer’, Nejar’s biography raises the question of the relationship between narrative text and Nejar’s own voice. Presented as a dissensual, yet non-challenging Bildungsroman, Nejar’s coming-of-age as an Afro-German child actress in the Third Reich and as Schlager singer in postwar Germany was geared towards the white German mainstream market as an alternative Holocaust narrative that encourages white ‘literary humanitarianism’. In a second step, Oppel investigated counterhegemonic strategies that negotiate and reject diasporic association as a means to claim Germanness and selfhood and thus problematized definitions of Diaspora membership from outside or by Afro-Germans themselves. Taking these critical diasporic negotiations seriously, she argued, a glance ‘beyond’ the diasporic offers valuable perspectives to reassess Diaspora from a critical perspective.

The question of power and agency in defining diasporic experiences also played an important part in the second presentation by FRANK MEHRING (FU Berlin). Taking Lutz Beckmann’s installation “RE-EDUCATION” as a starting point, Mehring called for a new critical look at postwar re-education efforts by the U.S. occupation authorities, foregrounding the often-neglected role of race. His talk addressed the nexus between re-education, the specific functions of Americanization, self-Americanization, and multi-racial tolerance in postwar Germany. Asking about the underlying reasons, cultural assumptions and socio-political integration of Afro-German children, Mehring compared the visual narratives in German films such as Robert Stemmle’s Toxi (1952) with articles (and photos) by the EBONY staff writer Hans J. Massaquoi. German national identity, Mehring concluded, came to be constructed in part by instrumentalizing Blackness and suppressing racial indeterminacy in postwar West German society. By complicating the alleged success story of democratization, he suggested that the issue of misrecognition in the case of Afro-Germans challenges us to redirect the analytical flashlight towards issues of failed integration, imagined reeducation, and gaps in social justice.

In the first keynote lecture by ALEXANDER WEHELIYE (Northwestern University, Evanston, USA), visual markers of race figured prominently. Drawing from his forthcoming book, Weheliye put W.E.B. Du Bois’s and Walter Benjamin’s oeuvres into a virtual dialogue to illustrate their critique of modernity understood as scientific progress. In his discussion of Du Bois’s The Philadelphia Negro and Benjamin’s writings on photography and anthropology, Weheliye identified several common  themes in the work of these two ‘marginal’ critics of Eurocentric modernity: liminality, urbanity, the colonial roots of modernity, and, perhaps most significantly, their common view that modern science hides the inescapable centrality of chance in human life. By connecting Du Bois and Benjamin in suggestive ways, Weheliye’s talk highlighted processes of diasporic identification across the Atlantic and raised the question of the model function of Jewish conceptions of Diaspora for People of Color.

The second day of the workshop was opened by TINA CAMPT (Duke University, Durham, USA) who showed a series of unpublished photographs of Afro-Germans growing up in Nazi Germany. Borrowing from Harvey Young, Campt addressed the concept of Diaspora in its tension between displacement and stasis. Like Weheliye, Campt stressed the fundamental ambiguity of visual culture in articulating racial and national belonging. Attentive to the haptic quality of her photographic sources, Campt argued for an understanding of Diaspora as a creative act of dwelling, as a form of home-making in the fluidity of lived experience. Diaspora, according to Campt, is not merely founded on collective suffering, but, crucially, also on shared experiences in the new places of dwelling. After the talk, participants discussed the political stakes involved in foregrounding the vernacular photography of Black life in 1930s and 40s Germany as a counterweight to the much-analyzed iconicity of Holocaust images.

Following the inspiring keynote lectures, two network members concluded the workshop with presentations on possible theoretical alternatives to the concept of Diaspora in the study of Black people in Germany. SILKE STROH (WWU Muenster) drew from her research in Postcolonial Studies and the history of the Black Diaspora in Britain to explore the concept of ‘transperipherality.’ According to Stroh, transperipherality describes attempts to identify parallels between histories of marginalization and violence experienced by different social and racial groups across the globe, as well as parallel strategies of resistance, and efforts to develop solidarity and strategic alignments between such groups. Stroh cited the transatlantic career of Afro-Caribbean writer and activist George Padmore in the 1930s as an example of transperipheral writing and activism. Despite some analytical shortcomings of the concept (such as the danger of reifying center-periphery dichotomies and glossing over internal conflicts among groups defined as ‘peripheral’), Stroh concluded on a tentatively optimistic note as to the potential usefulness of transperipherality to address and compare historical experiences of racialized groups usually thought of as isolated from each other.

In the final presentation, HOLGER DROESSLER (Harvard University, Cambridge, USA) proposed another analytical category to supplement the concept of Diaspora in the study of Black people in Germany: the body. Taking the corporeal turn in the humanities as his point of departure, Droessler differentiated between the physical, discursive, and identitarian dimension of the body. The racialization, gendering, and ableing of bodies, he went on to argue, distributed life chances in unequal ways. Slavery, colonialism, and the Holocaust are merely the most blatant examples for the dehumanizing effects of racial body politics. More recent examples for the centrality of the body as an analytical category in the study of Black people in Germany include exoticizing representations of Africans and Afro-Germans in the media coverage of the soccer world championships in South Africa in summer 2010 and the renaissance of biological racism in genetic research. Droessler concluded that paying more attention to the materiality of the body would not do away with the category of Diaspora altogether, but rather add another important angle from which to study the experience of Black people in Germany and beyond.

In the concluding roundtable discussion a consensus emerged among the network members, associated scholars, and audience members that the category of Diaspora remains indispensable to studying the experience of Black people in Germany. However, more adequate definitions need to be found that attend to the changing relations among members of the Black Diaspora and problematize the distribution between predominantly white academics and Black historical agents. The lived experiences of diasporic belonging has to be kept in focus in applying the concept. The second workshop of the Young Scholars Network Black Diaspora and Germany scheduled for April 15-16, 2011 in Erlangen will address the issue of gender in Black German diasporic contexts.

YSN Inaugural Workshop: Transcending Diaspora: Whiteness, Performativity and the Politics of the Body

The inaugural workshop of the DFG Young Scholars Network “Black Diaspora and Germany“ will take place in Muenster, Germany on December 3-4, 2010. It will address the potential and limitations of current conceptualizations of diaspora as a category of analysis and identity construction in the German context.
It is the two-fold aim of the workshop to, first, question and re-evaluate the suitability of the terminology of a ‘Black diaspora’ in the case of Germany and to determine the factors that differentiate the Black diaspora from other collective identities. Second, theoretical approaches in current Black diaspora scholarship that have so far been neglected will be further developed and empirically substantiated. Based on specific case studies, the concept of diaspora will be located within the force field of nationality, transnationality, and ethnicity and interrogated as to its transgressive potential. Exemplary studies dealing with the interdependencies of the body, politics, ethnicity, culture, the territorial state and deterritorialized identities will illuminate transnational parameters and transcultural practices and deconstruct essentializing definitions of diaspora.
The thematic spectrum of the workshop participants ranges from counterhegemonic approaches rooted in critical whiteness studies over analyses of the performativity of diaspora to aspects of body history that understands physical as well as imagined bodies as arenas of power and discursive conflict.

The Workshop is organised jointly by Christina Oppel, Silke Stroh, Holger Droessler and Frank Mehring

Confirmed Keynote Speakers

Prof. Dr. Tina Campt (Associate Professor of Women's Studies, History and German, Duke University; Visiting Professor of Women's and Africana Studies , Barnard College, Columbia University)

Prof. Dr. Alexander Weheliye (Associate Professor of English, African American Studies, Northwestern University)

Network Participants Presenting at the Workshop

Christina Oppel (English Seminar, WWU Muenster)
Dr. Frank Mehring (JFK Institute, FU Berlin)
Holger Droessler, MA (Harvard / LMU Muenchen)
Dr. Silke Stroh (English Seminar, WWU Muenster)

For further information and conference registration contact the workshop organizers at bdg[ad]uni-muenster.de

Inaugural Workshop Program "Transcending Diaspora"

Friday, December 3    

2.30pm      Workshop Opening

                  Maria I. Diedrich (Münster)

                  Silke Stroh (Münster)

                  Christina Oppel (Münster)

3-4pm        Workshop Paper 1

Christina Oppel (Münster): Transcending Diaspora? Relations of Power, (Dis)identification and the Human

4-4.30pm   Coffee Break

4.30-5.30   Workshop Paper 2

Frank Mehring (Berlin), Performing Anthropological Authenticity: Franz Boas, Zora Neale Hurston, and the Transatlantic Blues

5.30-6pm   Break

6-7.30        Keynote 1  
                  
                  Alexander Weheliye (Northwestern University)

Without Comparison: W.E.B. Du Bois's and Walter Benjamin's Modernities

(H19, Englisches Seminar, Johannisstrasse 12-20, 48143 Münster)

8pm           Dinner

Saturday, December 4

9.00-10.30 Keynote 2  
                  
                  Tina Campt (Duke/Columbia)

                  Diaspora and/in Stasis 

                        (H19, Englisches Seminar, Johannisstrasse 12-20, 
                   48143 Münster)

10.30-11.00 Coffee Break

11-12am    Workshop Paper 3

Silke Stroh (Münster), Transperipherality as a Model for Diaspora Studies? Interfaces of Race, Class and (Post)colonialism

12-1pm      Workshop Paper 4

Holger Drössler (Harvard),

Resistant Bodies: Towards an Analytics of the Body in African Diaspora Studies

1:30pm      Lunch: Schlossgarten Café

                  Schlossgarten 4, 

                  48149 Münster (hinter dem Schloss)

2:30-3:30  Roundtable Discussion

Transcending Diaspora? Concepts and Contexts
            (Schlossgarten-Café)

3:30-4:30 Discussion of Organisational Matters

(Network Members only)

4:30pm      End of Workshop

Accomodation in Muenster

We Recommend the Following Hotels,
Please check availabilities and prices for December 3 and 4, 2010. Due to Muenster's popularity during its Christmas-Market season prices may increase.

HOTEL ÜBERWASSERHOF
Fine hotel with an ambitious restaurant. Quiet location but near lots of pubs, restaurants and shops.
Überwasserstraße 3 (5 min walk to the conference venue)
phone: +49 (0)251 – 417 70; fax: +49 (0)251 – 417 71 00
info@ueberwasserhof.de
Single room, shower/WC: 91 €
Breakfast included

AGORA: das Hotel am Aasee
Bismarckallee 5 (15 min walk to the conference venue)
phone: +49 (0)251 – 484 26 0; fax: +49 (0)251 – 837 97 26
hotel@agora-muenster.de
Single room, shower/WC: 60 €
Double room, shower/WC: 90 € (as single room: 70 €)
Breakfast included

AGORA: das Seehotel
Good value for money. Newest hotel in town (2008). Great lake views. WLAN available (2 €/4 hours).
Bismarckallee 47 (20 min walk to the conference venue)
phone: +49 (0)251 - 484 26 88 8; fax: +49 (0)251 - 484 26 86 0
hotel@agora-muenster.de
Single room, shower/WC: 70 €
Double room, shower/WC: 100 € (as single room: 80 €)
Breakfast included
Guesthouse:
Single room with own wash basin, shared bathroom: 40 €; students 30 €
Double room with own wash basin, shared bathroom: 48 €; students 40 €
Breakfast: 9,50 €

ibis HOTEL Münster
Engelstraße 53 (15 min walk to the conference venue)
phone: +49 (0)251 - 481 30; fax: +49 (0)251 - 481 33 33
Single room, shower/WC: 76.26 €
Breakfast included

Hotel INTERNATIONAL Am Theater
Neubrückenstraße 12-14 (15 min walk to the conference venue)
phone: +49 (0)251 - 899 78 0; fax: +49 (0)251 - 899 78 29
Single room, shower/WC: 62 €
Breakfast included

MAURITZHOF Münster
Eisenbahnstraße 12 (15 min walk to the conference venue)
phone: +49 (0)251 - 417 20; fax: +49 (0)251 - 417 29 9
Single room, shower/WC (look onto the road): 104 €
Single room, shower/WC (look onto the "Promenade"): 119 €
Studio: 116 €
Breakfast included

Hotel MARTINIHOF
Hörsterstraße 25 (10 min walk to the conference venue)
phone: +49 (0)251 - 418 62 0; fax: +49 (0)251 - 547 43
Martinihof.Muenster@t-online.de
Single room, shower/WC: 69 €
Double room, with own wash basin, shared bathroom, two single beds: 69 €
Double room, with own wash basin, shared bathroom, one double bed: 69 €
Breakfast included

HOTEL INTERNATIONAL AM THEATER
Neubrückenstraße 12-14 (5 min walk to the conference venue)
phone: +49 (0)251 – 899 78 0; fax: +49 (0)251 – 899 78 29
info@hotel-international-am-theater.de
Single room, shower/WC: from 62 €
Double room, shower/WC: from 88 €

HOTEL JELLENTRUP
Hüfferstraße 52 (20 min walk to the conference venue)
phone: +49 (0)251 – 981 05 0; fax: +49 (0)251 – 981 05 40
hotel@jellentrup.de
Single room, shower/WC: 64 – 74 €
Double room, shower/WC: 94 €
Breakfast included

HOTEL MARCO POLO
Bremer Platz 36 (20 min walk to the conference venue)
phone: +49 (0)251 – 960 92 00 0; fax: +49 (0)251 – 960 92 00 13
info@hotel-marcopolo.de
Single room, shower/WC: from 71 €
Double room, shower/WC: from 86 €
Breakfast: 9 €

HOTEL WINDTHORST
Windthorststraße 19 (10 min walk to the conference venue)
phone: +49 (0)251 – 484 59 0; fax: +49 (0)251 – 408 37
info@hotel-windthorst.de
Single room, shower/WC: 68 €
Double room, shower/WC: 77 €
Breakfast included

SLEEP STATION – Backpacker Hostel
Wolbecker Straße 1 (central location; direct bus connection to the conference venue: 10 min ride; walk to the conference venue: 15 min)
phone: +49 (0)251 – 482 81 55
Single room: 32 – 34 €
Double room: 44 – 52 €

How To Get There

By plane:

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Münster is well served by these four airports:

FMO Münster/Osnabrück

European & domestic flights, incl. budget carriers
(Journey time between airport and Münster city: 30 mins.
Via a shuttle bus to Münster train station)

DTM Dortmund
European & domestic flights, incl. budget carriers
(Journey time between airport and Münster: 60 mins.
Catch a train from nearby "Holzwickede" station)

DUS Düsseldorf
Transatlantic, European & domestic flights
(Journey time between airport and Münster: 90 mins.
Catch a train from one of the airport's own train stations)

CGN Köln/Bonn
European & domestic flights
(Journey time between airport and Münster: 120 mins.
Catch a train from the airport train station)

Alternatively you can fly into Frankfurt or Munich and get a short (1 hour) connecting flight to Münster.
From Frankfurt there are also convenient train connections (c. 3 hours, see below).

You could work out your connecting flight with www.skyscanner.net or www.amadeus.net

By train:

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Using the train is a convenient way of travelling within Germany. For departure times and fares visit the Deutsche Bahn (German Rail) web site and enter 'Munster(Westf)Hbf' as your destination.

To reach the English Seminar from the main train station (Hauptbahnhof) in Münster take bus route 1, 12, 13 or 14 (leaving platform B1) or bus route 2 (leaving platform C1) and exit the station "Aegidiimarkt".

By car:

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Münster can also be reached via the "Autobahn" A1 and A43. For the fastest access to the city take the Autobahnkreuz Münster-Süd.

The Young Scholars Network Receives Funding by the German Research Foundation (DFG)

We are happy to announce that as of July 2010, the Young Scholars Network (DFG wissenschaftliches Netzwerk) is officially funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Over the next three years, we will organize a series of six workshops dealing with various aspects of the Black Diaspora and Germany, that will eventually result in a book publication. The first workshop on Transcending Diaspora: Whiteness, Performativity and the Politics of the Body will be organised Christina Oppel (WWU Münster), Dr. Silke Stroh (WWU Münster), Holger Droessler (Harvard, Cambridge, MA/LMU München) and Dr. Frank Mehring (FU Berlin) and will take place this fall at the University of Münster - so please stay tuned for further information!

2011 CAAR Conference

2011 Conference of the Collegium for African American Research (CAAR) "Black States of Desire: Dispossession, Circulation, Transformation", Paris, April 6-9, 2011.

"Placing the emphasis on the conditions of social transformation in the black world, it will articulate two main axes of analysis and reflection: the intersection of a socioeconomic approach with a multicultural and identity-focused perspective; the relation between theorizing processes and material transformation, between intellectual activity and political action, and between different communities with specific agendas."

The deadline for paper proposals is 5 September 2010. Please send your proposals by e-mail to Jean-Paul Rocchi, jprocchi@wanadoo.fr

For the Call For Papers and latest conference information visit the CAAR website.

Doctoral Fellowship in the History of African Americans and Germans/Germany

Doctoral Fellowship in the History of African Americans and Germans/Germany

The German Historical Institute, Washington, DC, is now accepting applications for a six-month doctoral fellowship in the History of African Americans and Germans/Germany. A six-month extension of this term is possible. The recipient must begin the term in the September 1, 2010.

Preference will be given to fellows whose projects fit into the GHI's research foci on the relationships between African Americans and Germans/Germany, including Afro-German History, from a transatlantic perspective (http://www.ghi-dc.org/africanamericans).

The fellow will be expected to be in residence at the GHI and participate in GHI activities and events. The fellow will have the opportunity to make use of the resources in the Washington, DC, area, including the Library of Congress and the National Archives, while pursuing his or her own research agenda. Travel within the US to work in archives and libraries will also be possible.

The monthly stipend is €1,700 for doctoral students from European institutions; students based at North American institutions will receive a stipend of $1,900. In addition, fellowship recipients based in Europe will receive reimbursement for their round-trip airfare to the US.

While applications may be written in either English or German, we recommend that applicants use the language in which they are most proficient. They will be notified approximately six weeks after the deadline.

To apply, please send a cover letter, CV, two letters of reference, and a 5-page research project proposal by March 15, 2009. Submission of documents by email is strongly preferred. Please send an email with your application to Bryan Hart (fellowships@ghi-dc.org).

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Martin Klimke (klimke@ghi-dc.org) or Dr. Anke Ortlepp (Ortlepp@ghi-dc.org)
- Doctoral Fellowship in the History of African Americans and Germans/Germany -
German Historical Institute Washington DC
1607 New Hampshire Ave NW
Washington DC 20009
U.S.A.
Fax: +1.202.483.3430

Veranstaltungsreihe zur 125ten Jährung der Berliner Afrika-Konferenz

Ab 21.10.2009 lädt Commit Berlin e.V. jeden zweiten Mittwoch um 18.30 Uhr im HU-Hauptgebäude (Unter den Linden 6), Raum 3038/3035 die Reihe “Wissensmacht – Machtwissen: Eine Reihe kritischer Auseinandersetzungen mit Rassismus und kolonialen Kontinuitäten in Universität und Wissenschaften” im Wintersemester 2009/10.

Im Rahmen der Kampagne verschiedener Berliner politischer Gruppen zur 125ten Jährung der Berliner Afrika-Konferenz von November 2009 bis Februar 2010 (www.berliner-afrika-konferenz.de) veranstaltet der Studierendenverein Commit Berlin e.V. eine Reihe, in der koloniale Kontinuitäten im Alltag und in Wissenschaftsbetrieben thematisiert werden sollen.

ab 21.10.2009 jeden zweiten Mittwoch um 18.30 Uhr im HU-Hauptgebäude (Unter den Linden 6), Raum 3038/3035

21.10. Natasha A. Kelly
Afroism. Zur Situation einer ethnischen Minderheit in Deutschland

4.11. Katharina Oguntoye
Geschichte(n) Schwarzer Menschen in Deutschland

18.11. Grada Kilomba
Who can speak? University and the decolonization of knowledge

2.12. Susan Arndt
Rassismus in der deutschen Sprache

16.12. Yonas Endrias
Rassismus in der Wissenschaft – wissenschaftlicher Rassismus

13.1. Aretha Schwarzbach-Apithy
Weiße kolonial-rassistische Lebensart – innere Kolonisierung

27.1. Prof. Dr. Maureen Maisha Eggers
Dekolonisierung als methodisches und methodologisches Projekt der Wissenschaftskritik

10.2. Podium: Interventionen
Strategien zur De-Kolonisierung der Universität und Wissenschaften

African American Civil Rights and Germany in the 20th Century

Meet Members of the Network at the Conference at Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY)
October 8–10, 2009

Jointly organized by the German Historical Institute, Washington, DC
and Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY

Conveners: Maria Höhn (Vassar College) and Martin Klimke (GHI Washington)

For the Conference Announcement as well as the larger Project "the Civil Rights Struggle, African American GIs and Germany" (a collaborative project of the German Historical Institute, Washington, DC, the Heidelberg Center for American Studies as well as Vassar College) directed by Maria Höhn, History Department, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, and Martin Klimke, German Historical Institute, Washington, DC / Heidelberg Center for American Studies, University of Heidelberg visit

http://www.ghi-dc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=873&Itemid=392
http://www.aacvr-germany.org/AACVR.ORG/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=44&Itemid=9

Tagung: Rassismus, Wissen(schaft) und Universität

Rassismus, Wissen(schaft) und Universität
Vom 26. – 28. Juni 2009 findet in Berlin die Tagung Rassismus, Wissen(schaft) und Universität statt.

Rassismus gehört zu den wirkungsmächtigsten und folgenschwersten historischen Hypotheken, mit denen sich die Welt auch im 21. Jahrhundert auseinander zu setzen hat. Der europäische Versuch, Menschen nach 'Rassen' zu unterteilen, ist als gescheitert anzusehen. Doch sein Geschöpf, der Rassismus, ist strukturell und diskursiv – in Form von Macht, Gewalt und Wissen – allgegenwärtig und wirkmächtig. Das verstärkt sich noch dadurch, dass der Rassismus in der bundesdeutschen Gesellschaft weitgehend verleugnet bleibt. All dies hat für Medien, Wissenschaft und die deutsche Literatur- und Theaterlandschaft weitreichende Konsequenzen. Diesen widmet sich die Tagung. Es gilt herauszuarbeiten, wie kolonial entstandenes rassistisches Wissen in der deutschen Gesellschaft bis heute prominent fortwirkt und zugleich auch von People of Colour widerständig herausgefordert wird. Auch ist zu diskutieren, wie über Rassismus gesprochen werden kann, ohne seine Denkmuster und Machtfelder zu reproduzieren. In Performances, Theaterstücken, akademischen Vorträgen, Podiumsdiskussionen und Arbeitsgruppen werden Wissenschaftler_innen und Studierende sowie Künstler_innen und Journalist_innen of Colour Rassismus analysieren, beschreiben und hinterfragen. Die Tagung dient der politischen Bildung und richtet sich an eine interessierte breite Öffentlichkeit.

Veranstaltungsort:
Amerika Haus
Hardenbergstr. 22
10623 Berlin

Organisator_innen:
Susan Arndt (Seminar für Afrikawissenschaften, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)
Julia Brilling (Studentin der Gender Studies, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)
Ana Keita (Studentin der Gender Studies, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)
Philipp Khabo Köpsell (Student der Afrikawissenschaften, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)
Sharon Dodua Otoo (Limited to You)

Veranstaltet in Kooperation mit dem Institute für Cultural Diplomacy und mit der Unterstützung der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung und dem RefRat der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Begleitet durch eine Ausstellung von Ricky Reisers Werken.

Änderungen vorbehalten. Für aktuelle Informationen siehe: http://www.limitedtoyou.com


Freitag, den 26. 6. 2009

14.00 – 15.00 Begrüßung und Einführung in die Tagung

Philipp Khabo Köppsell (Berlin): Begrüßungs-Performance
Susan Arndt (Berlin): Eröffnung: Über Rassismus zu sprechen, heißt, sich ihm zu stellen: Einführende Erörterungen zu Rassismus und weißen Verleugnungsstrategien
Sharon Dodua Otoo (Berlin): Begrüßung und Lesung: Writing in my Stepmother Tongue

15.00 – 16.00 Katharina Oguntoye (Berlin): Vorstellen des Jugendkunstprojektes von Satch Hoyt: SCRAMBLE – Der Quiz zur afro-deutschen Geschichte
Moderation: Sharon Dodua Otoo (Berlin)

16. 30 – 17.45 Keynote Speaker: Vortrag mit Diskussion
Natasha A. Kelly (Münster): Nur die Kommunikation kann kommunizieren!
Moderation: Katharina Oguntoye (Berlin)

18.00 – 19.00 Interaktive Lesung aus Plantation Memories
Grada Kilomba (Berlin)
Moderation: Natasha A. Kelly (Münster)

19.30 – 20.30 Romanlesung aus Schanzen-Slam
Victoria B. Robinson (Hamburg)
Moderation: Natasha A. Kelly (Münster)

21.00 Theateraufführung:
LiberatioNoire "Afro-Deutsche-Geschichten. Ein schwarz-weißer Heimatabend mit Musik"
Das Programm umfasst Theater-Szenen, Film-Clips, Stand-Up-Nummern und Improvisationen, genauso wie Kabarett-Songs, Schlager, Opern-Gesang und Ethno-Beats. Auf diese Weise vereinen die Akteure von LiberatioNoire verschiedene dramatische und musikalische Elemente zu einem einheitlichen Ganzen, indem sie sie mischen, uminterpretieren und neu zusammen setzen. So entsteht eine ganz neue Dimensionen der künstlerischen Auseinandersetzung mit aktuellen gesellschaftspolitischen Themen, immer ausgehend von einer afro- bzw. afrikanisch-deutschen, einer Schwarzen Perspektive. www.liberation-noire.de


Samstag, den 27. 6. 2009

11.00 – 12.30 Keynote Speaker: Vortrag mit Diskussion
Noah Sow (Hamburg): Strukturell dominanter Diskurs am Beispiel deutscher Medien
Moderation: Mutlu Ergün (London)

13.00 – 14.00 Lesung aus Die Farbe meiner Haut. Die Antirassismustrainerin erzählt.
zu den Themen Rassismus und Empowerment
ManuEla Ritz (Berlin)
Moderation: Tina Bach (Mannheim)

15.00 – 16.00 Satire und Performance
Sheila Mysorekar (Köln): Satire als Widerstand gegen Rassismus
Bra Phil mit Chantal-Fleur Sandjon, begleitet von Danièle Daude (Berlin): Performance
Moderation: Magnus Rosengarten (Berlin)

16.15 – 18.15 Panel: Deutschlands rassistische Mythen – Erinnerung als Erzählung gegen Verdrängungsstrategien
1. Katharina Oguntoye (Berlin): Über die Bedeutung von Geschichten und Geschichte für die afro-deutsche Community
2. Andrés Nader (Berlin): Antisemitismus in Deutschland
3. Mutlu Ergün (London): Antisemitismus, Anti-islamischer Rassismus, Sprache & Trauma
4. Daniel Strauss (Mannheim): Antiziganismus in Deutschland
Moderation und Kommentar: Kien Nghi Ha (Berlin)

19.00 – 20.30 Podiumsdiskussion: Rassistisches Wissen und Rassismus an der Universität - politischer Anspruch und wissenschaftlicher Rahmen

Es werden sich Studierende darüber austauschen, welche Ansprüche sie an die Universität mit Blick auf die Vermittlung von Wissen über Kolonialismus und Rassismus stellen. Es wird diskutiert, wie über Rassismus und Kolonialismus gesprochen werden kann, ohne rassistische Gewalt zu reproduzieren und wie Rassismus wiederum Prozesse der Wissensvermittlung behindert. Die Diskussion erfolgt auf der Grundlage einer gemeinsamen Lektüre von Texten von Kien Nghi Ha, Ursula Wachendorfer und Pierre Bourdieu.

Moderation: Julia Brilling (Berlin) und Ana Keita (Berlin)

Teilnehmende
1. Janina Chetty (Berlin)
2. Philipp Khabo Köpsell (Berlin)
3. Franziska Kramer (Berlin)
4. Chandra-Milena Danielzik (Berlin)
5. Patricia Redzewski (Berlin)
6. Anna Weicker (Berlin)
7. Mai Zeidani (Berlin)

21.00 Performance: sesperado im vollen effekt
Der Sesperado ist ein junger P.O.C. der Widerstand gegen weiße Vorherrschaft und Empowerment für P.O.C. ganz groß auf seinem Programm zu stehen hat. Dass darüber trotzdem gelacht und Spaß gehabt werden kann, beweist der Sesperado mit seinem Tagebuch.


Sonntag, den 28. 6. 2009

11.00 – 13.00 Panel: Rassismus und Wissen(schaft)
1. Navina Njiabi Bolla-Bong (Münster): Rassismus als Wissensbarriere
2. Jan Severin (Berlin): Rassismus gegen Roma und Sinti in der deutschsprachigen Ethnologie
3. Joshua Kwesi Aikins (Berlin): Antikolonialer Widerstand statt Kolonialaggression: Straßenumbenennung als Perspektivwechsel in der Berliner Erinnerungslandschaft
4. Halil Can (Berlin): Empowermentarbeit gegen Rassismus (an der Universität)
Moderation und Kommentar: Chandra-Milena Danielzik (Berlin)

14.00 – 16.00 Podiumsdiskussion: Rassismus in der deutschen Gesellschaft und Widerstand
Der Widerstand gegen Rassismus in Deutschland baut auf zahlreichen individuellen und kollektiven Widerständen von People of Colour sowie jüdischen Menschen auf. Es soll die Geschichte der Menschenrechtsbewegungen in Deutschland gewürdigt und ihre Präsenzen in Literatur, Kunst und Wissenschaft betrachtet werden. Dazu sollen aus verschiedenen Bereichen (Theater, Literatur, Journalistik, Wissenschaft, Menschenrechtsbewegungen) Vertreter_innen über ihre Arbeit sprechen und dabei auf erprobte Widerstandsstrategien eingehen.

Teilnehmer_innen:
1. Sharon Adler (Berlin)
2. Jonas Berhe (Hamburg)
3. Lara-Sophie Milagro (Berlin)
4. Judy Gummich (Berlin)
5. ManuEla Ritz (Berlin)
6. Daniel Strauss (Mannheim)
Moderation: Katharina Oguntoye (Berlin)

16.30 – 18.30 Uhr Arbeitsgruppen
1. Rassismus als Wissensbarriere
(Leitung: Navina Njiabi Bolla-Bong, Münster)
2. Koloniale Gegenwart remixen – Impulse für weitere antikoloniale Straßenumbenennungen in Berlin
(Leitung: Joshua Kwesi Aikins, Berlin und Armin Massing, Berlin)
3. Wie positioniere ich mich als weiße Person?
(Leitung: Juliane Strohschein, Berlin)
4. real life: Deutschland – Der Dokumentationsfilm zum YoungStar Theater Empowerment Projekt
(Leitung: Siraad Wiedenroth, Frankfurt am Main)
5. Kritisches Weißsein in der Theaterarbeit
(Leitung: Dirk Eilers, Berlin)
6. Performative Strategien des „Gegensprechens“ – am Beispiel von (Film-)Ausschnitten des Theaterstücks „Amo – eine dramatische Spurensuche nach Fragmenten der Lebensgeschichte des ersten Schwarzen Hochschulprofessors in Deutschland im 18. Jh.“ von Kitunga-Projekte Münster 2005 (Leitung: Tania Meyer, Berlin)

19.00 – 20.00 Abschlussdiskussion
Moderation: Nadja Ofuatey-Rahal (München)

21.00 Szenische Lesung: „Homestory Deutschland. Gelebt-erlebte Schwarze deutsche Geschichte(n)“(von ManuEla Ritz und Sharon Dodua Otoo)
Was wäre wenn Anton Wilhelm Amo, Doktor der Philosophie (geboren 1713), Henriette Alexander, Haushälterin und Kinder“mädchen“ (geboren 1817), Billy Mo, Musiker und Psychologe (geboren 1923), Fasia Jansen, Widerstandsaktivistin und Musikerin (1929) und May Ayim Logopädin, Poetin und Aktivistin der Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland (geboren 1960) in einem zeitlosen Raum aufeinander träfen? Diese Frage stellt sich der junge Schwarze deutsche Autor Tyrell und fördert bei seinen Recherchen erstaunliche (Er)Kenntnisse zu Tage. Ein Stück, dass 300 Jahre Schwarze deutsche Geschichte erlebbar macht.
www.homestorydeutschland.de

Doctoral Fellowship in the History of African Americans and Germans/ Germany

Doctoral Fellowship in the History of African Americans and Germans/
Germany

The German Historical Institute, Washington, DC, is now accepting
applications for a six-month doctoral fellowship in the History of
African Americans and Germans/Germany. A six-month extension of this
term is possible. The recipient must begin the term in the Fall of 2009.

Preference will be given to fellows whose projects fit into the GHI's
research foci on the relationships between African Americans and
Germans/Germany, including Afro-German History, from a transatlantic
perspective.

The fellow will be expected to be in residence at the GHI and
participate in GHI activities and events. The fellow will have the
opportunity to make use of the resources in the Washington, DC, area,
including the Library of Congress and the National Archives, while
pursuing his or her own research agenda. Travel within the US to work
in archives and libraries will also be possible.

The monthly stipend is €1,600 for doctoral students from European
institutions; students based at North American institutions will
receive a stipend of $1,800. In addition, fellowship recipients based
in Europe will receive reimbursement for their round-trip airfare to
the US.

While applications may be written in either English or German, we
recommend that applicants use the language in which they are most
proficient. They will be notified approximately six weeks after the
deadline.

To apply, please send a cover letter, CV, two letters of reference,
and a 5-page research project proposal by June 1, 2009. Submission of
documents by email is strongly preferred. Please send an email with
your application to Bryan Hart (fellowships@ghi-dc.org),

For more information, please contact:


Dr. Martin Klimke or Dr. Anke Ortlepp

- Doctoral Fellowship in the History of African Americans and Germans/
Germany -
German Historical Institute Washington DC
1607 New Hampshire Ave NW
Washington DC 20009
U.S.A.
Fax: +1.202.483.3430

Email: klimke@ghi-dc.org or ortlepp@ghi-dc.org

Lesung mit Noah Sow

Deutschland Schwarz weiß. Der alltägliche Rassismus

Wir sind mit den vielfältigsten Rassismen aufgewachsen. Im Kindergarten spielten wir „Wer hat Angst vorm schwarzen Mann“. Wir denken uns nichts dabei, wenn uns im Schuhgeschäft die Figur eines schwarzen Dieners aus Porzellan begrüßt. Wir stutzen, wenn die Anwältin, die vor Gericht erscheint, Schwarz ist. Alltäglicher Rassismus beginnt nicht erst bei gewalttätigen Übergriffen. Er manifestiert sich in Aussagen wie „die deutsche Nationalmannschaft ist ja wirklich nicht sehr deutsch“ oder in der Feststellung, die Sängerin Jessye Norman trete „wie eine Stammeskönigin“ vor ihr Publikum. Wenn wir gefragt werden, sind wir natürlich gegen Rassismus. Um ihn jedoch bewusst bekämpfen zu können, muss man ihn zunächst verstehen lernen. Und dazu müssen wir lieb gewordene „Gewissheiten“ hinterfragen. Vor dem Hintergrund ihrer langjährigen Antirassismus-Arbeit legt Noah Sow den Finger in die Wunde des unbewussten Rassismus und sorgt für jede Menge erkenntnisfördernder Stolpersteine.

Noah Sow ist Musikerin, Sprecherin, Hörspielautorin, Autorin und Produzentin hat sich auch als Komponistin und Sängerin einen Namen gemacht. Weithin bekannt geworden ist sie vor allem als Moderatorin in Personality-Sendungen bei WDR Einslive, HR3, Radio Fritz und YouFm sowie durch zahlreiche TV-Aktivitäten.

20. April 20.00 Uhr Stadtbücherei Münster Alter Steinweg 11
Der Eintritt ist frei

Veranstalter ASTA der FH Münster

http://www.astafh.de/2009/04/lesung-mit-noah-sow/

23. April Hamburg Kulturladen St. Georg, Alexanderstraße 16, Hamburg

Veranstalterinnen: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Hamburg, Verband binationaler Familien und Partnerschaften iaf e.V., Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Hamburg

www.noahsow.de
www.deutschlandschwarzweiss.de

XXIV. Black International Cinema Berlin

"A COMPLEXION CHANGE – International & Intercultural Diplomacy"

A tribute to:
Bundeskanzler Willy Brandt
"Die Zukunft wird nicht gemeistert von denen, die am Vergangenen kleben."
"The future will not be mastered by those who dwell on the past."

President John-F. Kennedy
"We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth."
"Wir dürfen niemals vergessen, dass Kunst keine Form der Propaganda ist; es ist eine Form der Wahrheit."

Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals."
"Menschlicher Fortschritt ist weder selbsttätig noch unvermeidlich... Jeder Schritt in Richtung Gerechtigkeit verlangt Opfer, Leid und Kampf; die unermüdliche Anstrengung und das leidenschaftliche Interesse engagierter Personen."

President Barack Hussein Obama
"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."
"Es wird keine Veränderung geben, wenn wir auf jemand anderen oder eine andere Zeit warten. Wir sind diejenigen, auf die wir gewartet haben. Wir sind die Veränderung, nach der wir streben."

XXIV. Black International Cinema Berlin
Germany & USA 2009
May 7-10
Veranstaltungsort:
Rathaus Schöneberg
John-F.Kennedy-Platz
10820 Berlin-Schöneberg
produziert und geleitet von
FOUNTAINHEAD® TANZ THEATRE
THE COLLEGIUM - FORUM & TELEVISION PROGRAM BERLIN
in Verbindung mit
CULTURAL ZEPHYR e.V.
in Kooperation mit der Integrationsbeauftragten des Bezirks Tempelhof-Schöneberg, Berlin

Zum 24. Mal präsentiert Fountainhead® Tanz Theatre das interdisziplinäre und interkulturelle Festival Black International Cinema Berlin. Erstmalig gastiert das Festival im Rathaus Schöneberg und wird in Kooperation mit der Integrationsbeauftragten des Bezirks Tempelhof-Schöneberg, Frau Gabriele Gün Tank, veranstaltet.
Mehr als 50 Filme stehen auf dem Programm, darunter Beiträge aus den Kapverden, Benin, Frankreich, den USA, Iran, Indien, Togo, Senegal, Belgien, Deutschland, Großbritannien, Kolumbien, Spanien, Nicaragua, der Schweiz und Madagaskar.
Dazu finden Filmgespräche, Diskussionen, Performances und Seminare statt.
Unter dem Titel "A COMPLEXION CHANGE – International & Intercultural Diplomacy" stehen Filme aus Afrika, der afrikanischen Diaspora und Filme, die sich mit interkulturellen Perspektiven befassenn, im Mittelpunkt.
„Seit seiner Gründung im Jahr 1986 hat sich das Black International Cinema Festival in Berlin zu einem der angesehendsten Filmereignisse in Europa entwickelt und Filmfans werden zwischen dem 7. und 10. Mai die Möglichkeit haben, dies selbst zu erfahren.
Produziert und geleitet vom Fountainhead® Tanz Theatre, ist das ganz Besondere daran, dass es die Beiträge von schwarzen SchauspielerInnen und RegisseurInnen aus der Welt des Films in interdisziplinärer und interkultureller Art feiert.
Der Fokus des Festivals liegt auf der Präsentation von Arbeiten, die in kultureller, künstlerischer und politischer Hinsicht mit den allgemeinen sozialen, ökonomischen und bildungsorientierten Interessen der Menschen aus der afrikanischen Diaspora zusammentreffen.
Das Festival ist offen für alle FilmemacherInnen und BesucherInnen und stellt eine Plattform zur Verfügung, auf der sich die Kraft des Kinos aus der afrikanischen Diaspora sowie von Menschen mit Interesse an interkulturellen Beziehungen entfalten kann.
Die Organisation Fountainhead® engagiert sich gegen religiöse, ethnische und geschlechtsbezogene Verfolgung und strebt danach, Diskriminierung mit den Mitteln des Dialogs und des Verständnisses zu bekämpfen.
Die Veranstalter sind überzeugt davon, dass durch den Einsatz von Kunst, Theater, Tanz, Musik und Seminaren Vorurteile gegenüber benachteiligten Gruppen infrage gestellt und eine stärkere Verbundenheit innerhalb der Gesellschaft aufgebaut werden können.
BesucherInnen werden dazu eingeladen, wirkungsvolle und zum Nachdenken anregende Filmbeispiele aus Vergangenheit und Gegenwart zu sehen.“ (Railbookers)
Informationen:
Tel.: 030-782 16 21/75 46 09 46 oder Fax: 786 34 66.
Internet: http://www.blackinternationalcinema.de
http://www.black-international-cinema.com
http://www.fountainhead-tanz-theatre.de
e-mail: bicdance@aol.com

The Network at the CAAR Conference in Bremen, March 2009

Panel 6: Black Diaspora and Germany - A Young Scholars Network

Chairs:

Silke Hackenesch (JFK Institut, FU Berlin)
Christina Oppel, (Englisches Seminar, WWU Münster)

This workshop presents some of the theoretical premises the interdisciplinary and transnational Young Scholars Network “Black Diaspora and Germany” (English Seminar, University of Münster) intends to contribute to the field of German centered Black Diaspora Studies. Merging Afro-German and African American-German perspectives, this interdisciplinary network intends to initiate a fruitful dialogue between postcolonial discourses which have so far been lead separately in intersecting disciplines. The first workshop offers a discussion forum for present and future members of this network under construction. In the second workshop (Papers 2-4 are going to take place on the Friday session), three network participants will present their work inside the network at the intersections of Black Diaspora and (German) Critical Whiteness Studies. In the former panel, key questions and problems will be addressed which the network faces in the contested space of the Black diaspora: issues of representation, the participants’ positionality and the power and authority to define. As the network works against tendencies toward an Americanist “hegemony” in Black diaspora studies institutional and content –related ways will be sought to counterbalance this recent tendency in order to establish a more fruitful dialogue among scholars of Afro German and African American Studies. In order to establish a setting in which to address these pertinent questions and to stimulate an exchange of ongoing projects from a variety of perspectives, we seek to establish a diverse, interdisciplinary group of scholars.

Paper 1: YSN Black Diaspora and Germany - A Forum for Discussion

In recent years, scholarly work on Germany’s colonial past and its continuing consequences has stressed the relevance of notions of Blackness and whiteness to German national identity formation. Afro German feminists conducted pioneering work in exploring the various histories and experiences of People of Color in Germany. The increasing recognition and analysis of the Black presence in Germany has provoked a critical examination of whiteness as a hitherto largely unexamined category. This field of study often overlaps with the self-organization and knowledge productions of People of Color. In this contested space, issues of representation, one’s own positionality and the power and authority to define have to be addressed. Building on already existing work in these fields, what conceptual tools can help continue the ongoing, yet often disparate debates? Within the field, are there tendencies toward an Americanist “hegemony” that should be counterbalanced? Can there be a more fruitful dialogue among scholars of Afro German and African American Studies? Do deconstructivist analyses of race run the risk of obscuring persistent effects of racialization/racism? In order to establish a setting in which to address these pertinent questions and to stimulate an exchange of ongoing projects from a variety of perspectives, we invited Dr. Eske Wollrad and S. Marina Jones for a discussion of the challenges the network faces and our own experiences in the field.

Paper 2: Dr. Eske Wollrad (Frauen- und Geschlechterstudien, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg), „Changing Concepts in Constructing Race: Black Diaspora, “Critical Whiteness Studies” and the Black Atlantic: Dis(re)membering terror – White Amnesia in US-American Critical Whiteness Studies and German Research on Weißsein”

On which historiographic frames of reference are US-American Critical Whiteness Studies and German research on Weißsein based and how do both fields of research relate to the fundamental historic eras of slavery and colonialism? Although critical explorations of both Whiteness and Weißsein assume an antiracist stance, their propensity to reproduce and revitalize White amnesia regarding White terror of slavery and colonialism cannot be ignored. Using the Black Atlantic as hermeneutical key, Eske Wollrad will delineate hegemonic aspects of Whiteness studies and their implications, that is, the negation of Black diasporic knowledge productions.

Paper 3: Christina Oppel (Englisches Seminar, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, “African Americans, Germany and the Black German Diaspora.”

Investigating African American accounts of Germany, and German Blackness, of the first half of the twentieth century this paper questions the character and quality of these rare comparative explorations of race and color prejudice in Europe and the US. Deeply rooted in the systematics of American racial patterns and, despite their international orientation, clearly embedded in the American context, these singular African American accounts represent African American culture as the dominant point of reference and implicitly established hierarchies between different Black communities that have since undergone fundamental transformation, yet still influence the present Black Diaspora discourse. It is these argumentative gaps, discrepancies and temporal as well as social differences and (ir)regularities that emerge in the process of translation of ideas, events and their meanings into different contexts that my paper focuses on. In particular, I look at moments of decalage (Edwards, Senghor) and processes of adaptation, negotiation and transformation of ideas that are particular to African Americans who were reporting, analyzing, transforming and appropriating ideas and news of Nazi Germany. Analysing these early African American documentations of the Black German diaspora with the aid of paradigms of German Critical Whiteness Studies (Kritische Weissseinsforschung), this paper critically assesses African American accounts of Black and White Germany and questions their meaning for conceptionalisations of diaspora for the first half of the twentieth century.

Paper 4: Frank Mehring (John F. Kennedy Institute, Abt. Kultur, Freie Universität Berlin), “Blackness’ and ‘Whiteness’ in 20^th Century German Popular Culture: Authenticity and Performance”

Frank Mehring will focus on questions of authenticity and performance by addressing transcultural confrontations between the Afro-German experience and imagined constructions of African American performance culture. Musical theater and HipHop have established heterotopic spaces in the sense of Michel Foucault to negotiate blackness as a symbol of vitality and primitivist modernity. Blackface minstrelsy has largely been associated with American Vaudeville and Hollywood films. German avant-garde composers of the Weimar Republic, however, turned to jazz and blackface as a means to break with 19th century conventions in high musical art. Today, German HipHop artists appropriate American and German elements of minstrelsy to gain recognition while debating different conceptions of German national identity. In order to understand the attraction of “becoming black” or exaggerating stereotypes of blackness in a German cultural context, the aesthetic dimension of visual and acoustic media have largely been overlooked by contemporary media studies. In this context, aesthetics is not so much understood as a philosophy of art or as a theory of aesthetic judgement. Rather, by following Winfried Fluck’s suggestion to re-interpret aesthetics as aesthetic experience, the attraction of black popular culture in German cultural contexts is not limited to the discourse on authenticity. The act of self-fashioning as the black cultural outsider triggers a process of recognition through difference (Tzvetan Todorov) which appeals both to the artist and the audience.

Call for Submission of Research Proposals

In recent years, scholarly work on Germany’s colonial past and its continuing consequences has stressed the relevance of notions of blackness and whiteness to German national identity (which has historically been constructed as white). Afro-German feminists did pioneering work in exploring the various histories and experiences of Black people in Germany. This increasing recognition and analysis of the Black presence in Germany has provoked a critical examination of whiteness as a hitherto largely unexamined category. The complex role Germany plays in Black diasporic thought is also being explored. Furthermore, in public and academic discourse, more recent processes of migration, transnationalism, and the flow of transcultural forms and commodities pose the question whether issues of race, racialization and racism have to be re-examined and re-conceptualized.

In many cases, these fields of study overlap with self-organization and productions of knowledge by people of color. In this contested space, issues of representation, one’s own positionality and the power and authority to define have to be addressed. Building on existing work in the field, what conceptual tools can help continue the ongoing, yet often disparate debates? For instance, can “diaspora” serve as an all-encompassing concept, and if so, how is it being modified, gendered, re-articulated? Within the field, are there tendencies toward an Americanist “hegemony” that should be counterbalanced? Can there be a more fruitful dialogue among scholars of Afro-German and African American Studies? Do deconstructivist analyses of race run the risk of obscuring persistent effects of racialization/racism? In order to establish a setting in which to address these pertinent questions and to stimulate an exchange of ongoing projects from a variety of perspectives, we seek to establish a diverse, interdisciplinary group of scholars. Our collaborative research network will run over an estimated period of three years and will consist in several workshops which will possibly conclude with a publication on the subject. These workshops may center around issues of Black Diaspora and Critical Whiteness Studies, Gender and Sexuality, Authenticity and Performance of Blackness(es), Modernity and Transnationalism, Anticolonialism and Slavery, and Black Power (and its Reception in Germany).

If you would like to participate in the network, please send a short CV with your contact information and a brief description of your research project (250 words) in German or English to bdg@uni-muenster.de.

The submission deadline is February 15th, 2009.

You can get in touch personally and meet current participants at the CAAR conference 2009 in Bremen (http://www.caar2009.eu/), where a network workshop will be held. Here, individual projects of network participants will be presented and the general network idea and its concept will be discussed.