Power of Intellectuals in Contemporary Germany

Description

A decade after reunification, with Germany laboring to define a new national identity, the defunct German Democratic Republic has gained a second life in the pages of history. The former GDR, and particularly the fate of its intellectuals, has become the subject of novels, memoirs, and films, and it has also become the backdrop for general debates over the power of intellectuals in contemporary media and society. This new collection of essays considers the demise of the GDR and its impact on the place of intellectuals in Germany today. Distinguished contributors from Germany, Austria, and the United States survey aspects of high and low culture, including the current nostalgia for East German film, the demise of the GDR rock scene, the pivotal role of East German poets, the consolidation and privatization of German media, and the frightening new resurgence of right-wing violence. The result is a timely volume that charts Germany's rocky transition from one world to another. Contributors: Mitchell G. Ash Simone Barck David Bathrick John Borneman Dorothea Dornhof Michael Geyer Andreas Graf Dietrich Hohmann Andreas Huyssen Konrad Jarausch Alexander Kluge Loren Kruger Martina Langermann Siegfried Lokatis Patricia Anne Simpson Frank Trommler Katie Trumpener MICHAEL GEYER Introduction: The Power of Intellectuals in Contemporary Germany PART 1: Intellectuals and the Politics of Culture in the German Democratic Republic DIETRICH HOHMANN An Attempt at an Exemplary Report on H. FRANK TROMMLER German Intellectuals: Public Roles and the Rise of the Therapeutic DOROTHEA DORNHOF The Inconsequence of Doubt: Intellectuals and the Discourse on Socialist Unity SIMONE BARCK, MARTINA LANGERMANN, AND SIEGFRIED LOKATIS The German Democratic Republic as a “Reading Nation”: Utopia, Planning, Reality, and Ideology KATIE TRUMPENER La guerre est finie: New Waves, Historical Contingency, and the GDR “Rabbit Films” DAVID BATHRICK Language and Power PATRICIA ANNE SIMPSON Syntax of Surveillance: Languages of Silence and Solidarity LOREN KRUGER Wir treten aus unseren Rollen heraus: Theater Intellectuals and Public Spheres ALEXANDER KLUGE It is a Mistake to Think That the Dead Are Dead: Obituary for Heiner Müller PART 2: Intellectuals in Transit: Toward a Unified Germany DIETRICH HOHMANN The Consequences of Unification According to H. PATRICIA ANNE SIMPSON Soundtracks: GDR Music from “Revolution” to “Reunification” ANDREAS GRAF Media Publics in the GDR: Unification and the Transformation of the Media, 1989-1991 KONRAD JARAUSCH The Double Disappointment: Revolution, Unification, and German Intellectuals MITCHELL G. ASH Becoming Normal, Modern, and German (Again?) ANDREAS HUYSSEN Nation, Race, and Immigration: German Identities After Unification JOHN BORNEMAN Education After the Cold War: Remembrance, Repetition, and Right-Wing Violence MICHAEL GEYER The Long Good-bye: German Culture Wars in the Nineties ALEXANDER KLUGE The Moment of Tragic Recognition with a Happy Ending List of Contributors Bibliography Index