German and Scandinavian Theses and Dissertations

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Browsing German and Scandinavian Theses and Dissertations by Author "Anderson, Susan"

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    The Laws of Terrorism: Representations of Terrorism in German Literature and Film
    (University of Oregon, 2013-10-03) Chen, Yannleon; Anderson, Susan
    Representations of the reasons and actions of terrorists have appeared in German literature tracing back to the age of Sturm und Drang of the 18th century, most notably in Heinrich von Kleist's Michael Kohlhaas and Friedrich Schiller's Die Räuber, and more recently since the radical actions of the Red Army Faction during the late 1960s and early 1970s, such as in Uli Edel's film, The Baader Meinhof Complex. By referring to Walter Benjamin's system of natural law and positive law, which provides definitions of differing codes of ethics with relation to state laws and personal ethics, one should be able to understand that Michael Kohlhaas, Karl Moor, and the members of the RAF are indeed represented as terrorists. However, their actions and motives are not without an internal ethics, which conflicts with that of their respective state-sanctioned authorities. This thesis reveals the similarities and differences in motives, methods, and use of violence in Schiller, Kleist, and representations of the RAF and explores how the turn to terrorism can arise from a logical realization that ideologies of state law do not align with the personal sense of justice and law of the individual.
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    Matters of Recognition in Contemporary German Literature
    (University of Oregon, 2016-02-23) Lechner, Judith; Anderson, Susan
    This dissertation deals with current political immigration debates, the conversations about the philosophical concept of recognition, and intercultural encounters in contemporary German literature. By reading contemporary literature in connection with philosophical, psychological, and theoretical works, new problem areas of the liberal promise of recognition become visible. Tied to assumptions of cultural essentialism, language use, and prejudice, one of the main findings of this work is how the recognition process is closely tied to narrative. Particularly within developmental psychology it is often argued that we learn and come to terms with ourselves through narrative. The chosen literary encounters written by Alev Tekinay, Emine Sevgi Özdamar, Maxim Biller, Rafael Seligmann, and Finn-Ole Heinrich magnify this particular human experience on an aesthetic level and dismantle “mechanisms of recognition,” particularly three aspects illustrating the recognition process: the role of the narrator and his or her description of the characters, the construction of family bonds within the texts, and the linguistic and cultural practice of naming with all of its connotations. Within the chosen texts there is no unified depiction of the recognition process, but rather the texts elucidate a multidimensionality of this concept, tying it closely to the political, social, and aesthetic sphere. In this context the analysis brings to light that the notion of “authenticity” crucially informs recognition as well as the circumstances of a power imbalance that dominates the process. My analysis shows that contrary to popular assumptions in philosophical and political debates, the concept of recognition turns out to be rather limiting instead of liberating.
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    Troubling the Waters: Porous Materiality, Contaminated Environments, and Female Bodies of Water in Ingeborg Bachmann’s “Undine geht,” Yoko Tawada’s Das Bad, and Katharina Köller’s Was ich im Wasser sah
    (University of Oregon, 2024-01-09) Hoeller, Lisa; Anderson, Susan
    In my dissertation, I examine water—watery environments, fluid materialities, bodies of water—in literature and environmental theory. I argue that literary texts offer creative and imaginative ways to engage with environmental concepts such as hybridity, indifference, viscous porosity, impurity, and monstrosity. Attempting to address the multiple climate crises of today, many environmental theories demand a radical rethinking of how we view the world and our place in it; connecting such theories with literary analysis creates opportunities to envision how futures in which we more fully account for the material contingency of embodied existence might take shape.I offer a close reading of three German literary texts that center around water, Ingeborg Bachmann’s “Undine geht,” Yoko Tawada’s Das Bad, and Katharina Köller’s Was ich im Wasser sah. Bachmann’s 1961 narrative “Undine geht” imaginatively attunes itself to the watery milieu of Undine, abandoning the anthropocentric terrestrial perspective in favor of a more fluid and hybrid point of view. The text makes clear that we exist in a world of entanglement and partial knowledge and can never truly separate ourselves from our surroundings. Tawada’s Das Bad, first published in 1989, offers a complex exploration of watery bodies and unstable materiality. More than that, Tawada’s writing is itself porous and materially contingent; how we make sense is always connected to our sense as well as our senses. Finally, Köller’s 2020 novel Was ich im Wasser sah highlights how ideas of intactness and purity are unable to account for the material realities of interconnected and contingent existence. Instead, Köller writes about pervasive contamination and its resultant monstrosity to imagine ways of engaging with our own impure existence. Focusing on troubled waters, the literary stories discussed in my thesis make their own contribution to the environmental humanities. Connecting them with concepts of environmental theory helps bring their contributions to light and allows for a deeper understanding of our entangled existence in this world.