Presentation of Racism in Contemporary German and Austrian Theatre

Description

Explores the representation of ethnic minorities and the construction of national identities in contemporary plays written by German and Austrian women. The study draws on approaches of cultural and postcolonial studies, African-American and other minority feminist criticism as well as Anglo-American and German feminist scholarship. The plays examined in the book include Kerstin Spechts Lila , Elfriede Mllers Goldener Oktober , Bettina Flesss Asyl , Gundi Ellerts Jagdzeit , Marlene Streeruwitzs Bagnacavallo , and Elfriede Jelineks Stecken, Stab und Stangl . This book evaluates the characters in terms of visual representation, the way in which they communicate with other characters, and the characters involvement in the development of the play. The work demonstrates that the playwrights assign minority characters a restricted verbal capacity that limits their influence on the action of the play, thereby reducing such characters to function merely as catalysts for problems of the German and Austrian communities. The playwrights write with a well-meaning intention but some cannot avoid the trap of their position as self-appointed spokesperson while other offer new positions from where they speak and avoid reproducing stereotypes of the Other. This work will appeal to scholars in German studies, feminist studies and drama.