Black (Im)Mobility: Media, Mobility, and the Politics of Intersectional Belonging (German Studies Association)
Arlington, VA
Organization: Co-sponsored by the Coalition for Women in German and the Black Diaspora Studies Network
Event: German Studies Association
Call for Papers
Spieglein, Spieglein, an der Wand, wer lebt auch im Zwischenland?
-Stefanie Lahya Aukongo
From traveling spiritual journeys across space and time, linking people and objects in Sharon Dodua Otoo’s Adas Raum to the motif of the passport and Zwischenland in Stefanie Lahya Aukongo’s „Ohne Über_Schrift” (Buchstabengefühle: Eine poetische Einmischung), contemporary Black German-speaking literature presents opportunities to engage in the range of politics and configurations of im/mobility in today’s ever-globalized world. This panel explores how Black mobility (of the body, across borders, between social classes, etc.) is represented within the German-speaking world.
One of the many endeavors of this panel is to reserve protected time and space for the fostering and reinforcement of scholarly connections between the Coalition of Women in German (WiG) with the Black Diaspora Studies Network, the co-sponsors of this session. Over the course of the past two years, both communities have witnessed a surge of energetic discussions on the subjects of representation, in/justice, politics of belonging, and flattening of experience. Subsequently, there appears to be a desire to reconnect with one’s peers to tend to the developing topics of social and political discourse where feminist methods and perspectives could be of unique and unparalleled value. This call for submissions encourages a focused investigative scope on the interwoven features of marginalization, erasure, im/mobility, and in/accessibility to resources and spaces experienced by individuals who identify with and are categorized in accordance to Black experience, identity, and correlating politics. The potential beneficial reverberations of such discussions include, but are not limited to, one’s pedagogical development, continued development of areas and breadth of research subjects, sense of community and belonging, and the continued broadening of discourse representation at the GSA.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
Body Studies
(Dis)Ability
Intersectional feminism
Social mobility
Spatial mobility
Intersections between German Studies and Black Diaspora Studies
Comparative media
Attempts to expand curricular foci
Accessibility
As a co-sponsored panel with the Coalition of Women in German (WiG), please take a moment to review WiG’s Mission Statement and Accessibility Guidelines below:
WiG’s Mission Statement: The Coalition of Women in German (WiG) provides a democratic forum for all people interested in feminist approaches to German literature and culture or in the intersection of gender with other categories of analysis such as sexuality, class, race, and ethnicity. Through its annual conference, panels at national professional meetings, and through the publication of Feminist German Studies, the organization promotes feminist scholarship of outstanding quality. Women in German is committed to making school and college curricula inclusive and seeks to create bridges, cross boundaries, nurture aspiration, and challenge assumptions while exercising critical self-awareness. Women in German is dedicated to eradicating discrimination in the classroom and in the teaching profession at all levels.
WiG has recently adopted accessibility guidelines for our conferences. If you are presenting a paper, please review the accessibility guidelines at least two weeks in advance of the conference so that you will have plenty of time to follow all relevant guidelines for your type of presentation.
Please send a brief abstract (~300 words) and a short bio (~250 words) to Katie Miller-Purrenhage (km1679@georgetown.edu) and Cynthia D. Porter (porter.506@osu.edu) by February 28th, 2025. Please note that all participants must be members of the GSA at the time of panel submission in March 2024.
Katie Miller-Purrenhage
