Abstract

Since Unification and the end of the Cold War, Berlin has witnessed a series of uncommonly intense social, political, and cultural transformations. While positioning itself as a creative center populated by young and cosmopolitan global citizens, the “New Berlin” is at the same time a rich site of historical memory, defined inescapably by its past even as it articulates German and European hopes for the future. Cultural Topographies of the New Berlin presents a fascinating cross-section of life in Germany’s largest city, revealing the complex ways in which globalization, ethnicity, economics, memory, and national identity inflect how its urban spaces are inhabited and depicted.

“…an indispensable resource for any scholar who works on Berlin, and any person who is interested in the changing dynamics of urban space. The collection is thoughtfully conceived, and extremely well edited, as many of the wide-ranging contributions are cross-referenced and intertextual. The footnotes offer a wealth of useful material and the chapter bibliographies combine to form a complete picture of English-language literature on Berlin, while highlighting relevant disciplinary sources.” • German Studies Review

“This timely and stimulating book provides fresh insights into many issues of today’s Berlin. Its contributions have been carefully selected and aligned with one another, and their combination makes for an entirely unique approach to the topic.” • Peter McIsaac, University of Michigan

Jennifer Ruth Hosek is Associate Professor of German at Queen's University, affiliated with the departments of Film, Gender, and Cultural Studies. Her scholarly projects include the monograph Sun, Sex, and Socialism: Cuba in the German Imaginary, the documentary Rodando en La Habana: Bicycle Stories, articles on a range of topics, and the telecollaborative learning platform www.linguaelive.ca.

Karin Bauer is Professor of German Studies at McGill University and former editor of Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies. Her publications include Adorno’s Nietzschean Narratives: Critiques of Ideology, Readings of Wagner and Everybody Talks about the Weather: We Don’t, along with numerous articles on critical theory and contemporary German literature and culture.