Dr. Thomas Prennig from TRAWOS was a guest at the Forty-Sixth Annual Conference of the German Studies Association (GSA), from September 15 - 18, 2022 in Houston, Texas.
Forty-Sixth Annual Conference of the German Studies Association (GSA), Sept. 15-18 2022, Houston, TX
Panel: "P/East/Migrant" Discourses and Constellations in Unified Germany
Speaker:
Dr. Kathleen Heft (DeZIM-Institut Berlin)
Dr. Daniel Kubiak (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, BIM)
Dr. Thomas Prennig (TRAWOS-Institut, Hochschule Zittau/Görlitz)
Heiner Schulze, M.A. (University of Applied Sciences Nordhausen)
Moderator: Prof. Dr. Marc Silberman (University of Wisconsin - Madison)
Commentator: Prof. Dr. Sonja E. Klocke (University of Wisconsin - Madison)
Even more than 30 years after German reunification, current findings and debates in transformation research with regard to East Germany seem to enjoy great international popularity and stimulate reflection and discussion. This insight emerged from the TRAWOS Institute's participation in the annual conference of the German Studies Association.
During the well-attended opening panel of the 46th Annual Conference of the German Studies Association (GSA) in Houston, Dr. Kathleen Heft, Dr. Daniel Kubiak, Dr. Thomas Prennig and Heiner Schulze presented the results of their research efforts over the last few years to an interested audience. The particular interest of their international colleagues stood out. The events and developments in both German states before and during 1989 and the still tangible and measurable effects of the unification process in today's Germany are apparently still of great relevance for international research projects and debates.
In particular, the emancipative (retrospective) view of young East German researchers on the consequences of the unification process that are still visible today and the methodological opening of the object of investigation through postcolonial, identity-political, habitus-theoretical and discourse-analytical references stimulated the formation of analogies, syntheses and controversial debates. The connectivity and relevance of East German transformation research, as practiced at the TRAWOS Institute on a daily basis, surprised not only the speakers themselves. The panel participants took the inputs given as an opportunity to report on their personal perspectives on social transformations and were grateful for the update on their knowledge of the status quo of the debates on East German identities.
With over 900 participants from a wide range of disciplines (including cultural studies, film studies, theater studies, literary studies and social sciences), the conference provided a rich breeding ground for fruitful discussions and joint plans. For example, a digital workshop with the University of Wisconsin-Madison is planned for 2022 and joint projects with the City University of New York (CUNY) and Centre College in Kentucky for 2023, which will be reported on our TRAWOS website in due course.
