| Popis: |
This dissertation seeks to contribute to current studies of minority cultures in Germany by examining dramatic works and staged performances by Turkish-German artists. As the first comprehensive study of its kind, it offers an overview of the forty-year-history of Turkish-German theater and cabaret with reference to the socio-cultural and economic conditions of its development and examines plays and performances with regard to influences, motives, and narrative strategies. In particular, I explore the following issues: the process of creating a space within the German culture scene; the tension between traditions and experimental innovation; the staging of identities and the performance of ethnicities in drama and theater; the strategies of expressing oneself in a foreign idiom, thereby creating a 'new' language; and the reaction of the mainstream German audience to Turkish-German cultural expressions. The work consists of four parts: Chapter 1 examines contexts relevant to the reception of Turkish minority art in Germany, such as the German reaction to Ottoman and Turkish societies and the images produced over the centuries, and draws comparisons with Jewish minority culture and migrant theaters outside of Germany. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the history of Turkish theater, presenting both traditional and modern forms as points of reference for Turkish-German artists. Chapter 3 describes the emergence and development of a Turkish theater scene in Germany, paying special attention to the socio-historical context of the labor migration and the distinct national theater traditions. Chapter 4 outlines the history of Turkish-German Kabarett focusing on the 'self'-representation of the artists and the strategies employed to articulate and discuss questions related to (cultural) identity. As the hyphenated title of my dissertation suggests, all projects described are multicultural productions resulting in what could be called 'variegated' forms of art or 'art with an accent,' i.e., kaleidoscopic expressions that probe the boundaries of what a German audience will accept as 'German' art. My approach establishes drama and theater as sites of contact allowing minority artists to stage and constitute identities whilst probing concepts of cultural and political integration and exclusion. |
