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Representing reality: Literature, film, and the construction of Turkish-German identity

Posted on:2007-09-18Degree:M.AType:Thesis
University:The University of North Carolina at Chapel HillCandidate:Vierra, Sarah ThomsenFull Text:PDF
GTID:2445390005964073Subject:History
Abstract/Summary:
The Gastarbeter and the subsequent Turkish-German community in Germany have prompted scholarly debate over the challenges such a settlement has posed to larger German society. Yet few among those involved in such discussions approach these issues from the perspective of the Turkish-German community and thus lack a critical viewpoint. This study seeks to address this limitation; yet, to do so, one must turn to less conventional sources.; In the first chapter, I compare the historiography of Germany's Turkish minority to the literature of Turkish-German writers to determine how the addition of Turkish-German perspective complicates and fills out the findings of historians and social scientists. In the Chapter 2, I analyze films by Turkish-German directors and discuss what these works suggest about that community's development. Ultimately, I find that the Turkish-German artists and their creative works advocate and represent a blended identity that incorporates ethnic background and social and cultural experience.
Keywords/Search Tags:Turkish-german
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