"As German as Kafka". A comparative analysis of the articulation of national identity in German-Jewish Literature in the early 20th Century and German Literature of migration in the early 21st Century.

This project aims at making a comparative analysis between German-Jewish literature of the early 20th century and literature of migration of the early 21st century. The central question is how these literatures deal with the issue of German national identity. Although the two historical periods differ in many ways, both the German Jews around the turn of the century as well as the 2nd and 3rd generation migrants in Germany nowadays are faced with a society that primarily underscores their otherness. In both cases the debates concerning national cultural identity prove to be an extremely productive theme in literature, which in a variety of ways deals with the problems of identity formation and unfolds the presence of the other in mainstream society. Research on Jewish-German literature on the one hand and German literature of migration on the other has been innovative the last ten years, yet both literary phenomena may be compared in a productive manner.

Keywords:German-Jewish literature, Literature of migration, Identity discourse, Comparative literature, German literature, Literary theory, Literariness and literary aesthetics

Disciplines:Language studies, Literary studies