New Graduate Course – Fall 2026 Registration
GERM 5345: Migration, Minorities, and Belonging in German Literature and Film
Instructor: Prof. Horakova (German Studies, Department of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages)
Time: Tuesdays, 2:00–4:30 PM
Location: FSB 102
Moments of internal European conflict have repeatedly been displaced onto racialized groups constructed as outsiders, whose perceived threat serves to reinforce a fragile sense of European unity. This course critically examines that dynamic, tracing it across German literature and film spanning the postwar period to the present, and asking how minoritarian writers and filmmakers don't just depict alleged outsider roles, but contest and rework them.
We will examine how national and continental belonging are built against internal and external "others," drawing on foundational theoretical work on nationhood, imagined communities, and Europe's self-definition. The course focuses on several case studies: literature by Turkish-German writers alongside film depicting migrant life in West Germany, read together through theories of representation and cultural difference; minority experiences in the former East Germany and during German reunification; Black German literature and activism; German-language writing by authors from the former Eastern Bloc; and recent literature and film about refugees in Germany, read alongside Germany's colonial history.
Taught in English. Readings available in both English and German.
Open to graduate students across departments.
For more information, contact: Anna Horakova at anna.horakova@uconn.edu