The presentation of “foreign” and “own” in the novels “nirgendwo in afrika”(translated as nowhere in africa) authored by stefanie zweig and “die weissagung derahnen” (translated as the prophecy of the forefathers), authored by daniel mepin

Abstract

The concepts of “foreign” and “own” have in recent research gained currency, especially against the background of increased global movements and migrations. The perceived fluidity of national borders (as witnessed by the recent expansion of the EU, for example) and the contradictory increase in cultural, religious and national chauvinism lend these concepts even more urgency. While the increased urgency may imply that these concepts are novel to this day and age, they have actually existed for a very long time, as witnessed by the texts chosen for analysis in this research which are both set in the early to late 1900s. The renewed currency of the concepts may be explained by the rise of new theories and concepts (e.g. Homi Bhabha’s “hybridity” and “third space” and intercultural literary theory in general) dedicated towards the study of the phenomena of increased migrations and new perceptions of borders. To contribute to this discourse, my research proposes to analyze the presentations of the “foreign” and “own” in two selected works; one from Germany and the other from Cameroon. Not only do the circumstances surrounding the authors’ migrations from their own countries similar (forced migrations as a result of political problems) and therefore present an entry point for comparative research, the settings of the texts also present interesting entry points for an intercultural analysis, as the German family finds itself in Kenya and the Cameroonian man finds himself in East Germany. In order to analyze the concepts of “foreign” and “own” as envisaged in this project, my research will focus on analyzing and discussing the strategies of representations and the narrative strategies as related to the themes “foreign and own” in the novels “Nirgendwo in Afrika” and “Die Weissagung der Ahnen.”