Germanic and Slavic Studies

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This is the collection for the University of Waterloo's Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies.

Research outputs are organized by type (eg. Master Thesis, Article, Conference Paper).

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Heritage Languages: The Case of German in Kitchener-Waterloo
(University of Waterloo, 2002) Heffner, Lori
This thesis investigates the assimilation and/or integration of German families in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario into Anglo-Canadian culture. By administering questionnaires to and interviewing members in three three-generational families (n=29), different factors involved in an effort to ascertain what factors, if any, determine one's decision to pass on or continue learning German. The thesis proposes that if participants have a positive attitude towards German, i. e. , they see some use or value in it, then they will pass it on to the following generation. The first chapter outlines the aims of the study, methodology, and important terms. The second chapter describes previous research on the topic of immigrant integration in more detail, explaining the influences of external agents such as the government, school system, and media, and more 'internal' agents such as one's circle of friends and other social contacts as well as the family. The third chapter describes the three families and summarizes the main characteristics of each generation. Chapter four reports the results of the questionnaires and interviews. Chapter five, the conclusion, suggests which individual factors need to be studied further. The findings in this study suggest that there is no single factor which decides if those of German heritage decide to pass on their language or continue learning/using it themselves, or if they prefer to assimilate into Anglo-Canadian culture. Two factors did prove to be very important, namely the practicality of learning German, and how important one's heritage was to a participant. However, not even the presence of these two variables guaranteed a desire to continue learning German, demonstrating that numerous variables are taken into consideration when deciding whether to continue learning German and/or to pass it on to the next generation.
Ding-Diskurs - die Darstellung der Dingwelt bei Wilhelm Genazino, beispielhaft an Ein Regenschirm für diesen Tag und Eine Frau, eine Wohnung, ein Roman
(University of Waterloo, 2004) Fischer, Melanie
The following thesis examines the topos of "things" in literature. Herein we discuss concrete objects and how they are used and presented in contemporary prose. The primary works analyzed are both by Wilhelm Genazino, namely Ein Regenschirm für diesen Tag and Eine Frau, eine Wohnung, ein Roman, published in 2001 and 2003 respectively. The analysis of different "things" in the two novels by Genanzino affords one the opportunity of pursuing three different objectives. First, the topos is by its very nature an interdisciplinary one, and therefore the theoretical concepts from different disciplines are applied to the scholarly examination of "things" in literature. This theoretical framework is based on different aspects of the work of the philosopher Martin Heidegger, the media theorist Marshall McLuhan, the sociologist Norbert Elias, and the philosophical economist Karl Marx. Some specific characteristics of the presentation of "things" in literature such as "Tücke des Objektes" ("flaw of the object") and the fetishization of objects are also discussed. As a result, a new constellation of ideas is developed that has practical applications for the analysis of literature. The second goal of this thesis is to interpret the works of Wilhelm Genazino, a highly regarded author who has been largely ignored by literary scholars, by applying this new conglomeration of ideas. This interpretation concentrates on single concrete "things" that appear in the novels to establish their connotations for the narratives. "Things" become cultural or personal symbols, and the interpretation of them reveals another dimension to Genazino's prose. Last but not least it is shown that even small "things" (can) have a major impact in every form of media. This might well influence traditional interpretations of well known works in the literary canon. Four examples from world literature introduce the topic in order to give an overview of the different representations of the topos "thing". It becomes apparent that the symbolic meaning of things may change during epochs. Nevertheless these four examples introduce topoi, such as "transitorisches Objekt" ("transitional object"), which can also be found in the primary works of this thesis. The examples are taken from different epochs as well as from different cultural backgrounds to emphasize the intercultural premise of the theme. After introducing Genazino´s approach to the thing-discourse and defining his major ideas, a close reading that makes use of the analytical framework is employed to discuss and interpret the primary texts. It becomes apparent that "things", rather than plot or character, provide the major impetus to the narratives. The interdisciplinary approach of this thesis underscores the important contributions that an analysis of "thing discourse" can make to the study of literary texts and their importance to human existence. As the topic of discussion has been of intereset to scholars in several different scientific areas, it becomes clear that the interdisciplinary approach of analyzing texts may spread ideas concerning not only the works in question, but all disciplines involved as well.
Vernichtetes Geld und vernichtendes Geld Das Geldmotiv in den zwei zeitgenössischen Romanen "Die Nacht der Händler" von Gert Heidenreich und "MOI" von Heiko Michael Hartmann
(University of Waterloo, 2004) Martin, Christine
The present work deals with the motif of money in contemporary German literature, taking as examples the two novels Die Nacht der Händler (1995) by Gert Heidenreich and MOI by Heiko Michael Hartmann (1997). This motif is investigated through an analysis based mainly on four monetary theories: Karl Marx's Das Kapital, Georg Simmel's Philosophie des Geldes, Niklas Luhmann's Die Wirtschaft der Gesellschaft and Jochen Hörisch's Kopf oder Zahl. Die Poesie des Geldes. Additionally, theorists such as Jean Baudrillard and Marshall McLuhan will be included in the work. Both relatively recent narratives choose to depict money as subject to dysfunction, and by this means show the dependence of western society on the monetary system. Following Jochen Hörisch's argument, this thesis shows that money is the leading medium of modern times: without it, the entire social system would collapse. Through its failure to function as expected, it becomes obvious that money (an artificial human invention) turns against its creator, since money is not only responsible for how people perceive reality but is also the determining factor for human conduct in western society. In depicting this dysfunction, both novels deal with money in its most prominent recent forms - in Heidenreich's novel, virtual money; in Hartmann's, the Euro. These new money form has a big impact on society, as the novels show. As Die Nacht der Händler demonstrates, money is nowadays the reality-generating medium, which has become congruent with the real reality (as far as it is generally perceivable). Money obscures reality; because it duplicates the world and yet remains an abstract medium, this doubling causes people to become estranged from the world, its objects and also themselves. This process culminates in the development of virtual money, which reduces everything to a binary code of zeroes and ones. The growing virtualization of other media further amplifies people's alienation. Because money is the ruling medium in our society, humanity is in the grasp of the "Midas touch," as described by Marshall McLuhan. Money encodes everything, even human conduct. According to Georg Simmel, in a monetarily-ruled society lack of character, recklessness and greediness increase, since this is what money requires. In a rationalized society one can only be successful who acts in selfish interests. The MOI-disease passed on by infected currency in Hartmann's novel is an ego-disease, because humans have become increasingly self-centered since the invention of money. Together with the new media, money causes the diminishment and brutalization of human relations, whereby the individual becomes more and more an object of money-ruled processes, as Hartmann in particular shows. Money thus destroys the subject. This thesis also shows, on the basis of the two novels, how money in modern times has come to replace the older medium of religion, as Jochen Hörisch has argued. Money creates an alliance with the new electronic media, thus strengthening its reality-generating abilities. It is no longer religion that is responsible for giving meaning to our lives, but rather this new alliance. Both novels demand a return to cultural roots: Heidenreich does so by opposing the counting (Zahlen/Zählen) in modern society with the old medium of narration (Erzählen). Hartmann, on the other hand, comes to the conclusion that real knowledge can only be reached by religion and philosophy, since they show the way to one's own real self.
Patrick Süskind's Die Taube und Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer - innere Zwänge, Selbstabgrenzung und Objektivierung als Konstituenten von Außenseiteridentitäten
(University of Waterloo, 2005) Fleischer, Muriel Myriam
The following thesis examines Süskind?s novella Die Taube (1987) and his short-story Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer (1991) with respect to the literary identities of the outsiders Jonathan Noel and Herr Sommer. The theoretical framework is based on the deep hermeneutic analysis of Alfred Lorenzer?s literary-psychoanalytic theory (1986) which affords one the opportunity of analyzing the personality and concept of life of the literary figures by examining their interactional patterns and relationship to society.
?Zur Zeit Maler und Dichter? ? DER DOPPELTE GEORGE GROSZ: INTERMEDIALE BEZÜGE ZWISCHEN GROSZ? LYRISCHEM WERK UND AUSGEWÄHLTEN ZEICHNUNGEN
(University of Waterloo, 2005) Holzheimer, Sandro
The following thesis examines the poetic oeuvre of George Grosz in relation to selected drawings from the same period of time. A survey of the research on George Grosz shows that the scholarly focus has so far mainly been on his work as a visual artist, whereas his published poems have not been treated with as much attention. Furthermore, there exists no in-depth analysis of possible intermedial relations between his poetic and visual works, although titles of poems and drawings, editorial characteristics of the publication of poems and drawings respectively, and the themes of both suggest a relation between the medially different artefacts of Grosz?s work.

The goal of this thesis is to analyse and interpret intermedial relations between Grosz?s poems and drawings and thus affirm their existence as a constituent element of his work. Following Jan Mukarovský?s suggestion of the dual character of content/theme and structure in every artefact, the thesis is subdivided into two separate analyses of content and structure of poems and drawings and their respective intermedial relations. The methodology used to analyse Grosz? work as an intermedial phenomenon draws from the theoretical background of both semiotics and intermediality. Of eminent importance for the methodology are thus Umberto Eco?s works on semiotics and Roland Barthes? works on semiotics in general and on the semantics of visual language in particular. Fernande Saint-Martin?s Semiotics of Visual Language (1990) serves as reference work for the analyses of the structural characteristics of Grosz? drawings and Roman Jakobson?s and Jirý Veltruský?s works on semiotics shed light on the structural differences between verbal and visual language. Furthermore, Irina O. Rajewsky?s systematic introduction to the field of intermedial research, Intermedialität (2002), provides an apparatus with which to categorize structural relations between poems and paintings.

The content analysis of poems and drawings focuses on certain recurrent topoi. These are the topoi of the big city, America and (circus) artists. The analyses show intermedial relations and are valuable for the (re-)interpretation of certain topoi, especially when it comes to the evaluation of the Americatopos. The most prominent and dominant topos in both media proves to be the big city. Overall, the analysis of thematic relations mirrors semiotic theory: poems as verbal artefacts are able to provide more content-information than the visual language of the drawings.

The structural analysis focuses on certain modes of visual representation as employed by the drawings, and sets out to show intermedial reverberations of the visual structures in the poems and how the verbal structures succeed in evoking certain structural characteristics of visual language in general of and Grosz?s drawings in particular. Whereas there is a semantic advantage of verbal language in the intermedial relations of the contents of the artefacts, the structural analyses show that it is visual structures that govern the relations between poems and drawings. Again, this can be put down to semiotic characteristics: visual language is less strucurally regulated than its verbal counterpart.

The conclusion tries to merge the results of the separate analyses by stating that intermedial relations exist and encompass the dualism of content and structure that makes up the artefacts. The specific character of the intermedial relations mirrors the characteristics of the two semiotic systems employed by drawings and poems, i. e. visual and verbal language. Finally, it is suggested that thematic and structural relations are mainly governed by the topos of the big city, which hence can be seen as the thematic and structural paradigm of the analysed poems and drawings by George Grosz and of their intermedial relations.
Wie lebendig ist die Popliteratur um die Jahrtausendwende? Judith Hermanns "Nichts als Gespenster" in Gegenüberstellung zu Christian Krachts "Faserland".
(University of Waterloo, 2005) Klopprogge, Vera
The focus of this master?s thesis is on determining whether Judith Hermann?s book of collected short stories, Nichts als Gespenster (2003) can be assigned to the so-called category Popliteratur which had its climax in the 1990?s, or whether it advances this genre by focusing on new perspectives. To show this, Hermann?s short stories are compared with Christian Kracht?s Faserland (1995), which is a prime example of a pop-novel at the end of the last century. Thomas Jung?s criteria for Popliteratur serve as a methodology for the textual analysis.

In the first part of this thesis Popliteratur as literary phenomenon is introduced. In addition to a definition and its history from the 1960?s till nowadays, the focus is on Popliteratur of the 1990?s and its authors who do not just write but stage themselves in the media and in public. Furthermore from this, the existence of Popliteratur in the 21st century is discussed and categories of how it appears in new literary forms, e. g. ?Generation Golf? and ?Zweite Generation Pop?. This is followed by a consideration of how Popliteratur is assessed in literary studies and literary criticism.

In the second part of this thesis, Christian Kracht and Judith Hermann are introduced, followed by a comparison of Faserland and Nichts als Gespenster from the point of view of Jung?s criteria for Popliteratur, namely its topics, its language, narrative technique, construction of identity and its target group of readers. After the textual analysis, the question whether Judith Hermann?s work can be assigned to Popliteratur or whether she transforms this genre will be answered.

My conclusions are that Hermann advances Popliteratur in the 21st century by focusing on melancholia and self-reflexion more than on the provocation that was more typical of earlier Popliteratur.
Getrennt schreiben oder zusammenschreiben? Eine Untersuchung zu den Regeln der Getrennt- und Zusammenschreibung der zusammengesetzten Verben
(University of Waterloo, 2005) Kern, Beate Maria
This thesis explores the usage of the new spelling rules in the complex area of separate and compound spelling. This area was a main topic in the reform of German orthography 1996/98. The old rules can be characterized as a complex and incoherent system. The primary ambition in defining new rules for separate and compound spelling was to simplify the writing process in order to facilitate an easier usage of written language for the German speaking community.

The basic concept of the new rules is the declaration of separate spelling as the default, making compound spelling the exception. As a consequence, most words of the German vocabulary, which were spelled as compounds before, are now to be spelled separately. The publication of the new rules for this orthographic area in the year 1996 caused a lot of criticism amongst linguists, the main point of criticism being that words, which grew together on the basis of grammatical processes, had been robbed of their status as words. They are now word-groups in which the two parts do not belong together and have their own individual status and meaning in the sentence. These rules are in opposition to the productive tendency of ?Univerbierung? in the German written language. This means a process whereby words, which stand next to each other in a written text, grow together under special conditions.

This thesis has two main aims: The first aim is to define the system of separate and compound spelling as a combination of grammatical and orthographic aspects. It will be shown how grammatical categories are influencing the orthography of these words. Additionally, it will be shown how the new rules produce spellings which are grammatically incorrect. The second is to verify the prognosis that the new rules were not accepted by the German language community. This thesis presents the results of a corpus analysis drawn from the text corpora of contemporary German language which is available on the website of the Institut für deutsche Sprache. Articles from six different newspapers were analyzed to see if and how the new rules for the groups verb and verb, adjective and verb and noun and verb were used in these texts. The results of this research have been compiled for the period of time from August 1999 to December 2000 (Corpus 1) and August 1999 to June 2003 (Corpus 2). It was uncovered that for more than half of the analyzed verbs the new rules were not used consistently. The divergence from the spelling norms ranged from 10 to 50 percent. In particular the group adjective and verb showed a high deviation from the new rules for compound and separate spelling. These results can be explained both with semantic and syntactic reasoning.
Inszenierungen von Erinnerung und kollektivem Gedächtnis. Hermann Hesses Das Glasperlenspiel als Gedächtnisroman.
(University of Waterloo, 2005) Hamann, Jessica
This thesis examins various representations of individual memories and collective memory in Hermann Hesse?s Das Glasperlenspiel (1946). The analysis of Hermann Hesse?s novel basically pursues three different objectives: First, the narrative construction of the protagonists individual memories and how these are related to his self-perception. The theoretical framework for this purpose includes on the one hand narratological categories and on the other hand approaches which combine narratology and representations of memory in literature as for example Basseler?s and Birke?s (2005) contribution ?Mimesis des Erinnerns. ? Their understanding of the mimesis of remembering implies the construction of memories on different narratological levels like the level of the narrator and the one of the characters.

The second goal of this thesis, the analysis of the Glass Bead Game as a metaphor, is inextricably intertwined with Josef Knecht?s individual development but also initiates problems of collective memory and how they can appear in the extra-literary reality. The institution of the Glass Bead Game embraces the essential problems the province of Castalia suffers from: the exclusion of history results in corporate stagnation. Aleida and Jan Assmann?s theory of cultural memory offers a view of the Glass Bead Game-metaphor that illustrates the consequences of a radical separation of cultural memory and communicative memory. Thereby the transmission of meaning is cut off and the contents of cultural memory lose their significance for individuals in a particular society.

Last but not least it is discussed why Das Glasperlenspiel can be considered to be a ?Gedächtnisroman? (memory novel) and which narratological procedures of representation constitute it as such. The category of ?Gedächtnisroman? derives from Astrid Erll?s enhancements of Jan Assmann?s theory of cultural memory and emphasizes the social function of memory-narratives. In Das Glasperlenspiel two rhetorical modes, the cultural and the reflective mode, can be identified as being dominant. That leads to the conclusion, that Das Glasperlenspiel on the one hand formulates a collective memory that exists outside of historical time and on the other hand places it in the context of a cultural tradition through functionalising a variety of ?cultural paradigms?. In the reflective mode, the novel allows an observation of the contemporary ?Erinnerungskulturen? (communities sharing collective memories) to the reader and creates a fictional model of collective memory that exemplifies its problematic dimensions.

The cultural studies approach of this thesis and especially the combination with theories of collective memory extends the investigation of memory as an inner-literal phenomenon and involves ?Erinnerungskulturen? as space of effect of literary texts. In this respect literature is no longer only a written medium but literary texts get subsumable as cultural forms of expression that make the development and change of ?Erinnerungskulturen? observable. In this spirit, literature is not restricted to being a medium of ?Erinnerungskultur?, but also takes part in the generation of memory.
Das Motiv der Werbung in deutscher und russischer Gegenwartsliteratur - dargestellt anhand Raumers Viktor Vogel und Pelevins Generation P.
(University of Waterloo, 2005) Durczok, Gregor
This thesis is a the comparative analysis of the motifs of advertising concepts as found in the German novel Viktor Vogel, by Alexandra Raumer, and the Russian novel Generation P. , by Viktor Pelevin. For reasons of readability, the work utilized is the German translation of Generation P. However, both the original Russian text and the German language film (which was produced prior to the German novel) have been used, and chapters regarding their interpretation are included.

The analysis of both novels contains discussion of the topic, function, and task of advertising in the text, as well as the manner in which marketing theory has influenced its literary manifestation. Additionally the relationships between advertising executives and clients are explored.

While the aspects aforementioned form the basis of the comparative analysis of Viktor Vogel and Generation P. , the thesis also includes work-specific researches. Regarding Viktor Vogel, the motifs of advertising found in the novel are compared to those which are present in the film. Likewise, concerning Generation P. , the advertisements in the Russian original are examined in comparison to its German language translation, and its interpretation is completed by a summary of the Russian advertising culture.

The results of this analysis concluded that in the work Viktor Vogel a strong measure of realistic and real-word advertising is maintained. Additionally, it is revealed that the focus of advertising in this work is primarily concerned with the internal processes of the marketing agency as opposed to actual advertisements, whose inclusion is solely for decorative purposes. The original movie, however, puts more emphasis on the depiction of the motif of advertising, providing more information than mere visual icons.

In contrast to these findings, the advertising found in Generation P. is in keeping with the absurd literary reality as created by Viktor Pelevin. The portrayal of advertisement activity is here strongly influenced by the economic changes that have taken place after the collapse of the former system. The advertising concepts in Generation P. complete three main tasks: the description of the environment, the development of the protagonists, and the representation of irony and satire. Advertising for foreign products concentrates on items, which enchance the prestige of the user (such as textiles, alcohol and cigarettes) and emphasize the actual product, whereas advertising dealing with genuine Russian items focus primarly on the service sector. Looking at the original text reveals significant differences between the German and the Russian edition which cannot to be put down to the high quality of the translation itself but are rather the result of later changes by Pelevin. It has become evident, that advertisements such as those found in the Russian novel encompass phenomena, which would be contrary to those which are used in the West.
Learner Beliefs and their Implications for Language Learning
(University of Waterloo, 2006) McGregor, Janice
In this thesis, learner beliefs and their implications for second language learning were examined. Individual learner differences have traditionally been measured statistically by using age, motivation and other variables that have been studied within a quantitative research framework. Recently, second language acquisition (SLA) research has been experiencing a shift from the etic, or outsider perspective to the emic, or insider perspective that is characteristic of qualitative research. Benson (2005) states, "learners are individuals and that their individuality may have significant consequences for their learning" (p. 5). Larson-Freeman (2001) ended her assessment of research by calling for "more holistic research that links integrated individual difference research from emic and etic perspectives to the processes, mechanisms and conditions of learning within different contexts over time (p. 24). Learner beliefs thus demand further exploration.

In order to show the implications that learner beliefs have for language learning, I met with three beginner German students and asked about their language learning processes and their language learning beliefs and experiences over a period of three months. This was done by conducting several interviews with these students, which provided me with a wealth of data to explore. This collected material and its potential influence on language learning was analyzed and is discussed in this thesis. This work begins with an overview of existing research in the field and a description of the research questions and methodology. This is followed by a description of the learners' comments and concludes with my findings and a discussion that points toward future research in the field.
Die ,globale Provinz' ? Der Globalisierungsdiskurs am Beispiel von Arnold Stadlers Roman Ein hinreissender Schrotthändler (1999) und Andreas Maiers Roman Klausen (2002)
(University of Waterloo, 2006) Stengel, Julia
This thesis demonstrates how two literary works ? Arnold Stadler's Ein hinreissender Schrotthändler (1999) and Andreas Maier's Klausen (2002) ? can be read as part of the globalization discourse. As a theoretical basis for the textual analysis the thesis first develops an understanding of the concept of globalization which forms a background against which the two literary works can be read. By embedding literature into the sociological theories of globalization it is possible to examine to what extent the two novels reflect and/or generate particular aspects of globalization.

Both texts are set largely in provincial towns, and the regions themselves play commanding roles in the stories being told. This focus on the provincial takes on an ironic appearance in the era of globalization where one would assume that localities have lost meaning. It is therefore useful to look at theories that broach the issue of the tense relation between globality and locality. Since no universally accepted definition of globalization exists, it is necessary to establish the crucial aspects of the phenomenon to be applied in the analysis of the novels by examining the work of various theorists on the topic.

The prominent model of 'glocalization,' originated by the sociologist Roland Robertson to refer to 'global localization,' offers useful categories for the analysis of the provincial in the era of globalization. In this model the simultaneity of global and local processes is assumed and with it the alleged antagonism of the 'global' and the 'local' is overcome. Claiming those dynamics Robertson's model can serve as a confirmation of the arguments put forward in this thesis which looks at literature about the 'local' through the prism of globalization. Other theories relating to explicit local dynamics are presented to round out the model of 'glocalization. ' In addition, the thesis takes into account normative ideas regarding the province in the global era.

The textual analysis that follows the delineation of the model of 'glocalization' demonstrates how the novels illustrate the global and local processes postulated by the model. The investigation also explains how the literary texts themselves evaluate the provinces portrayed. The results of the examination show that selected aspects of the globalization discourse have found their way into two contemporary German-language novels and therefore into German literary discourse. Even though the two novels deal with different ideas from the discourse, and even reject to a certain extent some of these concepts, they each reveal a particular literary manner of echoing the processes of globalization. Finally, the thesis demonstrates that the globalization discourse is of use for the interpretation of literary texts.
Neologismen der 90er Jahre ? Kenntnis und Einstellungen unter Deutschsprecher/innen aus Kitchener-Waterloo
(University of Waterloo, 2006) Schmidt, Martin
In 2004, the Institut für Deutsche Sprache published the neologism dictionary "Neuer Wortschatz: Neologismen der 90er Jahre im Deutschen", which contains new words that entered the German language during the 1990s (for example "Elchtest" and "Handy"). Based on this dictionary this master's thesis examines to what extent those new words have reached the vocabulary of German speakers in the German language island of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. Moreover, it describes the attitudes of the local speakers of German towards these new words.

First, the term neologism is defined, different types of neologisms are presented and a review of research on German neologisms in general is given. Second, the historical background of the German speakers in Kitchener-Waterloo is described. The focal point of this thesis, however, is on the methodology of the study and on the results of the actual research coming from a data collection amongst German speakers of Kitchener-Waterloo. On the one hand, the focus of the analysis is on the question to what extent this language change in the German language in Europe has reached them. Hence knowledge and usage of the neologisms are examined. On the other hand, the focus is on the attitudes the interviewees have towards these new words. Both aspects are compared to the result of the same study administered to German speakers, who lived during the 1990s in Germany. Hence knowledge and attitudes of the Canadian German speakers can be compared to those of speakers in Germany.

The results show that the participants from Germany knew more neologisms than those from Kitchener Waterloo. Concerning attitudes, both groups showed a slightly positive attitude towards the neologisms with interesting differences regarding certain types of neologisms.
Die letzten Tage Adolf Hitlers --- Eine Darstellung für das 21. Jahrhundert in Oliver HIRSCHBIEGELs Der Untergang
(University of Waterloo, 2006) Kruger, Stefanie
The film Der Untergang (2004), directed by Oliver HIRSCHBIEGEL and written and produced by Bernd EICHINGER, is based on Joachim FEST's historical monograph Der Untergang (2002) and Traudl JUNGE's and Melissa MÜLLER's Bis zur letzten Stunde (2003). Taking place in April, 1945, the movie depicts the last days of Adolf Hitler and his staff in the 'Führerbunker'. The appearance of the film sparked wide-spread controversy concerning the propriety of Germans illuminating this most controversial aspect of their history. Specifically, the debate centred on the historical accuracy of the film and the dangers associated with the filmmakers' goal of portraying Hitler not as a caricature or one-sided figure but rather as a complete human being whose troubles and human qualities might well earn the sympathy of the viewers.

After surveying a variety of films that portray Adolf Hitler, the thesis analyses Der Untergang by focusing first on the cinematic and narrative aspects of the film itself and then on the figure of Hitler. It aims to demonstrate that the presentation of Hitler as a complex character reflects the circumstances of the film's time and culture. In particular, this thesis discusses two main aspects: first, it describes a figure of Hitler constructed in the film and conveyed to the viewers; second, it demonstrates that the film's construction of Hitler is embedded in the sociocultural context of the film's creation, thereby establishing that this is a Hitler for contemporary German society and the current state of German culture's reckoning with its fascist past.

The results of the analysis, in particular the depiction of Hitler and the representation of death and suicide, demonstrate that the film presents a multiple point of view. The film also faces the problematic issue of representing history adequately. The consideration of the German sociocultural context brings up some reasons that can explain the increased interest in the personal side of the perpetrators and especially in the figure of Hitler.

Finally, this thesis maintains that Der Untergang gives a complex but subsequently inconsistent picture of Adolf Hitler because it gets entangled by the attempt to be informative and entertaining at the same time. Though the film cannot replace historical investigation and analysis, it still informs Germans about Adolf Hitler and reflects how their society deals with its own troubled past.
Die Motivik und Struktur der Quest in Doris Dörries Geschichte und Film Paradies
(University of Waterloo, 2006) Addala, Michael
In the thesis at hand I will analyze to what extent Doris Dörrie constructed her story and film Paradies according to the structure of the quest. First of all, some background information will be provided concerning Dörrie's career. After that, a short summary of the important contributions that have been made in the area of the hero's journey and Dörrie's Paradies will be given. Following a depiction of the quest's mythological roots, the Jungian concept of the collective unconscious and its archetypes will be introduced. After that, Joseph Campbell's Monomyth will be explained step by step, for the structural analysis of the action will follow that pattern. The theoretical part will close with a description of the archetypal and mythological method that will be applied to the primary texts. In the practical analysis the theoretical foundation will be utilized to prove that Dörrie's texts are arranged according to the Monomyth. With the help of quotations from the primary works, it will be shown that the plot-device of the quest underlies the relevant story and its adaptation to the screen.

Furthermore, Jung's findings concerning the archetypes will be consulted to find out whether the characters the quester meets correspond to the archetypal roles that the classic seeker encounters. That is why the title includes the word Motivik. Besides that, a connection will be made between the seemingly inappropriate title Paradies and the quest-structure. First of all, the probable reason for Dörrie's choice concerning the title will be ascertained. Highly esteemed philosophers and authors have equated the fall of man with the birth of reason and curiosity. Eve's sin can be interpreted as the start of a quest. The aim of the latter is to return to the Garden of Eden. Furthermore, it will be shown that the hero meets the key archetypes of the shadow, anima and mother, which leads to the finding that the hero's external voyage is above all an internal one. Jakob or Viktor, respectively, is desperately searching for psychological equilibrium ? the archetypal self represented by Lotte.

The major outcome of this thesis will be that both versions of Paradies can be described as modern anti-quests. The reason for that lies in Dörrie's first following the classic pattern only to leave it prematurely in order to manoeuvre her characters into nemesis. Not only the male quest, which is analyzed in detail, but also the two searches of Lotte and Angelika end tragically. The only exception is Lotte's journey in the prose version, which Dörrie only provides incompletely.
Die ?asexuelle Witwe? im Identitätskonflikt am Beispiel von Arthur Schnitzlers ?Frau Berta Garlan? und ?Frau Beate und ihr Sohn?
(University of Waterloo, 2006) Murbeth, Susanne
The role of women in society was an important socio?cultural discourse explored in the literature of the late 19th century. The Austrian author Arthur Schnitzler was a key contributor to this discourse. He was well known for the psychological portrayal of his characters and the sexualization of his literary types, especially of his female characters, and in his writings he dared to break societal taboos. Schnitzler created a wide array of social types, such as the "integrated woman," the "ageing spinster," the "woman of the world," the "prostitute" and the widely discussed type the "süße Mädel" ("sweet girl"). In this thesis, however, I will focus on one of the less examined female types in Schnitzler's work: the "widow. " I will examine two narratives by Schnitzler that concentrate on the widow "Frau Berta Garlan" (1901) and "Frau Beate und ihr Sohn" (1913), to investigate this type and to examine the modes of gendered identity?formation as portrayed in the literary texts.

To examine the gender?types that the protagonists reflect in the search for their identity, I will undertake an intratextual analysis of the text, based on the central premises of Michel Foucault's discourse analysis and Judith Butler's analysis of gender as construct. Within this constructivist paradigm of gender and identity, I will undertake a textual analysis of character representation to demonstrate how identity is formed within the constraints of hegemonic discourses, and how resistance against these preformed modes of identity is predicated by fixed notions of social norms.

The texts focus on the lives of the two female protagonists. Both are widowed and fail to break out of the constraints forced upon them by society. With the awakening of their sexual desire, they are caught in an identity crisis, their desires standing at odds with the asexual identity they must assume as widows. In their attempt to combine their sexual desires with their desire to remain respectable in the eyes of society, the widows eventually fail since normative discourses of gender identity do not allow for alternative identities. Although the texts demonstrate the impossibility of living identities that contravene the central tenets of social norm, that the individual is not free to fashion its own identity, Schnitzler's texts also debunk the myth of a natural gender identity and subvert its fatalistic message by demonstrating clearly the constructed character of gender almost a century before the advent of poststructuralist gender?theory.
Uebersetzungsentscheidungen im kulturellen Kontext: Drei deutsche Uebersetzungen von J.D. Salingers Catcher in the Rye
(University of Waterloo, 2006) Thiele, Ulrich
This master's thesis examines the three German translations of J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951): Der Mann im Roggen, published in 1954 by Diana Verlag and translated by Irene Muehlon; Der Fänger im Roggen, published in 1962 and translated by Annemarie and Heinrich Böll, and Der Fänger im Roggen, published in 2003 and translated by Eike Schönfeld (both published by Kiepenheuer & Witsch). In recourse to polysystem theory, it is shown how translational differences can be explained through the translations' cultural and literary contexts.

First, polysystem theory's most important terms are explained in regard to the research objectives. In doing so, the existing research on German translations of Salinger is summarized. Second, with the help of an analysis by Irene Hinrichsen, the latest translation is compared to its predecessors in regard to language and stylistics. This analysis demonstrates that, unlike the earlier translations, Schönfeld's version retains nearly all of the American original's stylistic particularities and extreme content.

Then, building on the result of the linguistic-stylistic analysis, the societal and literary contexts of the three translations are summarized in order to find possible explanations for the translational differences. It becomes clear that the alleviative tendencies of the two earlier translations are very much in tune with the cautious approach to morality of the West Germany of the 1950s. In contrast, the latest translation was produced in a liberal, youthful environment that reflects a more tolerant German society. Therefore, it makes sense to trace the differences between the three translations back to their differing contexts.
Re-(en)visioning Salome: The Salomes of Hedwig Lachmann, Marcus Behmer, and Richard Strauss
(University of Waterloo, 2006) Chapple, Norma
Oscar Wilde overshadows the German reception of Salome (1891), yet his text is a problematic one. Wilde's one-act drama is a mosaic text, influenced by the abundance of literary and artistic treatments of the Salome figure during the fin de siècle. Moreover, Wilde did not write Salome in his native tongue, but rather in French, and allowed it to be edited by a number of French poets. Furthermore, the translation of the text proved problematic, resulting in a flawed English rendering dubiously ascribed to Lord Alfred Douglas.

However, there is a German mediator whose translation of Wilde's play is less problematic than the original. Hedwig Lachmann produced a translation of Salome in 1900 that found success despite having to compete with other German translations. Lachmann's translation alters, expands, and improves on Wilde's French original. In contrast to Wilde's underlexicalised original, Lachmann's translation displays an impressive lexical diversity.

In 1903 Insel Verlag published her translation accompanied by ten illustrations by Marcus Behmer. Behmer's illustrations have been dismissed as being derivative of the works of Aubrey Beardsley, but they speak to Lachmann's version of Salome rather than to Beardsley's or Wilde's. Indeed, the illustrations create their own vision of Salome, recasting the story of a femme fatale into a redemption narrative.

In Germany the play proved quite successful, and Lachmann's translation was staged at Max Reinhardt's Kleines Theater in Berlin. It was here that Richard Strauss saw Lachmann's version of the play performed and adapted it for use as a libretto for his music drama Salome. Despite being adapted from Lachmann's translation, Strauss' music drama is often cited as being based directly on Wilde's play, without mentioning the important role of Lachmann's mediation. Moreover, the libretto is often praised as an exact replica of the play put to music. Neither of these assertions is, indeed, the case. Strauss excised forty percent of the text, altered lines, and changed the gender of one of the characters.

I employ Gérard Genette's theory of transtextuality as it is delineated in Palimpsests (1982) to discuss the interrelatedness of texts and the substantial shift that can occur from subtle changes, or transpositions, of a text. Translation, shift in media, excision, the inclusion of extra-textual features including illustrations, and regendering of characters are all means by which a text can be transformed as Lachmann, Behmer, and Strauss transform Salome. Additionally, I will be using Lorraine Janzen Kooistra's term bitextuality, as described in The Artist as Critic: Bitextuality in Fin de Siècle Illustrated Books (1995) to reinforce Genette's notion that extra-textual elements are also significant to a text as a whole. Finally, I employ Jacques Lacan's theory of gaze as outlined in "Seminar on 'The Purloined Letter'" (1956) and "The Mirror Stage as Formative of the I Function as Revealed in Psychoanalytic Experience" (1949) to discuss the function of gaze within the three texts.

In this thesis, I will be addressing these three German intermedial re-envisionings of Salome and arguing for their uniqueness as three distinct representations of Salome. In this thesis, I will argue that Wilde's text is a problematic precursor and that Hedwig Lachmann's text not only alters, but also improves on the original. Additionally, I will argue that Marcus Behmer's images, while influenced by Beardsley, focus more closely on the text they are illustrating and thus provide a less problematic visual rendering of the play. Finally, I will argue that Strauss' libretto for Salome is mediated through Lachmann's translation and that it is further substantially altered.

In order to show the ways in which the texts differ from one another, I have chosen to focus predominantly on the motifs of the moon and gaze. By analysing the way in which each text represents these motifs it is possible to track changes in characterisation, motivation, and various other salient features of the text.
The Discursive Construction of Punk: Language and Identity in Russia’s Punk-Rock ‘Subculture’
(University of Waterloo, 2007-05-01T19:40:06Z) Tite, Matthew Charles Everingham
Beginning in the mid 1980s the practices of Soviet youth became a scene of heightened academic interest as western scholars eagerly turned their attention to the changing ‘subcultural’ realities of youth in the wake of the relaxations introduced under Perestroika and Glasnost. Unfortunately, despite this growing interest, the Russian punk community has remained, predominantly on the periphery of scholarly inquiry. One can surmise, however, that a dominant reason for this has been the over-reliance on New Subcultural Theory, which marks many of these studies and which seeks to understand ‘subcultures’ in terms of their homogeneous values and symbolic resistance to a socio-structural Other within a rigid and vertical cultural model. This paradigm, when coupled with prominent western themes exhibited in the behaviour of Russian punks, has led to a somewhat anomalous understanding of this group’s existence and has championed the apparent drive within the academy to discredit both the punk community and its membership as little more than cultural mimics. By drawing on data collected from a Russian punk internet forum located at http://offtop.ru/punkforum, this exploratory grounded theory study investigates (1) how the community exists as a discursive space (2) how individual participants construct and put forward their self-presentation and, (3) to what extent may we consider that these presentations of self both construct, and are constructed by the community? The overall concern of the study is to consider whether a conceptual break from the notion of ‘subculture’ permits a fuller understanding of how individual members’ identities are both constructed by, and construct this particular punk community. The findings suggest that while members exhibit some general commonalities, there is significant diversity among them as well. A key finding is how members become “authentic” in relation to the punk idea, while taking part in the construction of that idea and the group as a whole. This presents a significant departure from the notion of ‘subculture’ and from common-place ideas about punk, namely that being punk involves little more than a style of dress and behaviours. Thus, this exploratory study implies that this Russian punk community is a dynamic discursive space within which identity must continuously be negotiated and renegotiated through language.
The Discursive Construction of Russian-German Identity in Interviews with Russlanddeutsche University Students
(University of Waterloo, 2007-06-28T20:43:07Z) Wilkinson, Mark
In this sociolinguistic study, qualitative interviews were used in examining discursive identity construction among russlanddeutsche Aussiedler. The interview group was composed of russlanddeutsche university students attending the Universität Mannheim in Germany, differentiating it from much of the previous research. In my analysis, working from a social constructionist perspective, I primarily make use of Positioning Theory and Critical Discourse Analytic techniques to show how the interviewees 1) construct groups; 2) relate to language; and 3) position themselves in relation to existing discourses in contemporary German society, including instances of resistance to those discourses. Ethnically Germans, but living on Russian/Soviet/post-Soviet territory for generations, Aussiedler have special claims to German citizenship and began their return to Germany after suffering mass repression for decades under the Soviet regime. In the aftermath of WWII, their emigration to Germany was initially limited, but reached high levels in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, as travel restrictions were relaxed and the Iron Curtain fell. Expecting to find acceptance as Deutsche unter Deutschen [Germans among Germans], the opposite often occurs: they are frequently categorized as ‘the Russians.’ Indeed, one of the most frequent comments made by members of this group is: In Russland waren wir Deutsche, hier sind wir Russen [In Russia we were Germans, here we are Russians]. In many respects, they have a stigmatized identity in both countries, Russia and Germany, and for this reason represent a particularly interesting group for identity research. Recent publications, most notably Reitemeier (2006a), have made mention of this ‘stigmatized identity’ and also of the fact that many Russlanddeutsche possess hybrid identities. These two concepts, stigma and hybridity, are explored throughout the thesis. The work begins by outlining the migratory, legal, and linguistic history of Russlanddeutsche. This is followed by an explanation of theoretical and methodological approaches which used to study the data, including Positioning Theory, stigma theory, a variant of Conversation Analysis, and Critical Discourse Analysis. The bulk of the thesis is then spent on the analysis of the qualitative interview data using those theories and methodologies. I conclude by summarizing my findings and suggesting areas for further research.
Das Verhältnis von Mutter und Tochter in Theodor Fontanes Schach von Wuthenow und Effi Briest
(University of Waterloo, 2007-08-22T17:51:23Z) Kehler, Barbara Gabriele
Theodor Fontane’s famous novel Effi Briest (1895) has been widely discussed in secondary literature, and every single aspect of the novel’s complex content and style seems to have been analysed; however, the similarities in content and style between Fontane’s Effi Briest and his less known and discussed work Schach von Wuthenow (1882) have not yet been recognized. A remarkable and meaningful similarity between the two regarding the content is the portrayal of a close relationship between mother and daughter which is strongly influenced by the latter’s relation to the mother’s (former) admirer. The relationship of Josephine von Carayon and her daughter Victoire and that of Luise von Briest and her daughter Effi will be compared by means of an analysis based on Michel Foucault’s theories on discourse, truth and power; in particular, the discourse of beauty, illness, honour and love will be closely examined. A method based on Foucault’s theories facilitates an analysis of the female protagonists’ actions that is free of moral implications for the protagonists are understood in their non-freedom of action owing to their discourse-constructed identity. Since the constellations of power in which the female protagonists are living cannot be analysed without the male protagonists’ influence, the constitution of Schach and Innstetten’s characters will be closely examined, too. The analysis of the discourse of beauty and illness shows that those disourses are portrayed as inseparably connected. In the society outlined by Fontane in Schach von Wuthenow, Victoire is made an outsider due to the pockmarks in her face; during the private conversation at Prince Louis’ castle, however, the prince calls Victoire a beauté du diable whose beauty is based on the survival of a fatal disease which has resulted in a passionate character. Innstetten, on the contrary, considers Effi to be particularly beautiful when she looks pale, lethargic and frail for he connects Effi’s ill appearance with his wife finally becoming a woman. Beauty, however, is exposed as a construct in both of Fontane’s works: on the one hand, by the (in itself) contradictory argumentations of the characters; on the other hand, by the narrators who criticize and disprove the prince’s idea of Victoire, which is temporarily accepted by Schach, and Innstetten’s connection of illness, beauty and femininity. The examination of the discourse of honour and love reaches the conclusion that both of Fontanes’s works portray honour as a construct with changing truth. In Schach von Wuthenow honour is exposed and critiziced mainly by Josephine, in Effi Briest mainly by Innstetten and Luise because these characters are aware of the identity-constructing quality of the demands made by society. Nevertheless, Innstetten submits his love for Effi to the claims by the disourse of honour; Luise, however, realizes in her love for Effi a part of her human essence. Luise’s love for her daughter is completely accepted since it is considered natural; thus it turns out to be beyond the demands of honour. Josephine also acknowledges the greater truth of parental love and retreats from her strong wish to live a life in harmony with society in favour of her daughter. By means of their female protagonists, Fontane’s story Schach von Wuthenow and his novel Effi Briest demand a re-evaluation of the discourse of love. Not the love between a man and a woman but the love of a mother for her daughter is portrayed as natural and is thus considered beyond any demands of the disourse of beauty and honour.

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