Readers and Refugees as World Citizens in the Contemporary German Literary Sphere

FAIN: FT-286060-22

Marike Janzen
University of Kansas, Lawrence (Lawrence, KS 66045-7505)

Research leading to a book examining the forms of citizenship promoted by German state-sponsored literary initiatives.

Since 2015, when 890,000 refugees arrived in Germany, the state has funded literary initiatives that feature their voices. This project explores how Germany's approach to bringing non-citizens into the public sphere relates to the ways in which the nation has historically prioritized books and reading as tools for developing the ideal citizen--an educated and worldly-wise individual. This research analyzes how state-funded literary projects in Germany's capital, Berlin, invoke this citizenship ideal as they seek to teach citizens about refugees and introduce refugees to German cultural norms. These projects serve the goal of cultural integration, but, as this book argues, they conflate the statuses of citizen, non-citizen, and world citizen, which hold distinct relationships to the state. This study offers key insights into the practice, possibilities, and limitations of literature and the humanities in addressing recent challenges related to the state's obligations of hospitality.