Frank Mehring Livres

Why has the promise of American democracy been so persuasive to immigrants despite prejudice regarding cultural inferiority, a history of slavery and genocide, violations of human rights, media manipulations, and imperial self-righteousness? How can we analyze, understand, and evaluate the response patterns of immigrants, which evolved after the shock of arrival in the United States and the encounter with severe democratic shortcomings? This book investigates patriotic dissent of naturalized German immigrants to overcome what I call „the democratic gap,“ namely the discrepancy between democratic ideals and practices. By turning to six force fields (abolitionism, female emancipation, cultural pluralism, patriotic performance culture, the civil rights movement, and Holocaust consciousness), a comparison of democratic criticism between German immigrants and African American writers reveals the underlying premises of transcultural confrontations and hidden motives behind declarations of Americanness. The response patterns discussed are also relevant for other immigrant groups such as Asian Americans, Arab Americans, or Hispanic and Latino Americans.

Gezeigt wird, wie Ives und Cage durch die transzendentalistische Umdeutung des Mythos der Sphärenmelodien zu einer ästhetischen Gegenposition zur europäischen Musikkultur gelangen.

Winold Reiss (1886-1953), a German-American artist, defies easy categorization as a painter, designer, and teacher, remaining an enigma to art critics. He is pivotal in the emergence of American Modernism, particularly in portraying African American culture. In 1920, during a personal and creative crisis, Reiss embarked on a two-month journey through Mexico, documenting his experiences in a diary that reveals his thoughts and feelings. This diary, paired with his drawings, provides insight into the significance of Mexican art, folklore, and the history of mestizaje within the cultural landscape of what James Weldon Johnson termed “Black Manhattan.” The Mexico Diary presents Reiss's text in original German alongside English and Spanish translations, complemented by sketches and paintings. An audio CD features key diary excerpts set to music by Jens Barnieck and Frank Mehring. Reiss's reflections illustrate his journey beyond American materialism towards a nature-based spirituality, highlighting his multiculturalism. However, he found greater resonance with the New Negro and New Mexico than with the New Woman, showcasing the complexities of twentieth-century modernism. Reiss emerges as both a romantic, rejecting commercialism, and a realist, acknowledging the dual influences on native peoples.

Betr. Karl Follen als Professor an der Universität Basel 1821-1824