Karin Ikas Livres

In the context of escalating global realignments and the complexities of a world (risk) society, the Third Millennium presents significant challenges amid advancing globalization. A range of geopolitical, social, cultural, economic, demographic, and ecological changes raises concerns about navigating a tumultuous landscape filled with uncertainty. This backdrop has sparked a renewed interest in the nation as a collective identity, challenging the notion that the concept of the nation has become obsolete. Sixteen essays by distinguished Canadian and European experts explore these themes, focusing on Canada as a multifaceted nation-state. Topics include Canada’s complex relationships with Europe and the USA, the redefinition of its national narrative, the dynamics of nations within the nation, and pressing geopolitical and ecological crises. The contributions highlight Canada’s progressive stance and offer insights for other nations reassessing their identities in a global context. This collection is valuable for academics, professionals, teachers, and students across various disciplines, as well as general readers interested in contemporary issues of national identity.

In sieben beeindruckenden Geschichten ermöglichen mexikoamerikanische Autor/innen der Gegenwart Einblicke in ihre Lebenswelt und zeigen die häufig konfliktreichen Erfahrungen der Chicanos/as in einer noch stark von Weißen dominierten US-Gesellschaft.

In the diversified and ambiguous, globally and glocally networked mobile present, national identities are challenged internally and externally in multiple ways. In Canada intellectuals and notable novelists have lately begun to remember and re-discover the significance of the First World War for their construction of a Canadian national identity. The book presents the first large-scale interdisciplinary analysis of these developments. The author of this Bourdieusian inspired literary-critical research work nails down the sociological foundations of the concept of the nation before then discussing aspects of the role of the First World War for (Canadian) national identity and the relevant memorial discourse. The reconstruction focuses on how remarkable Canadian authors – including Hugh MacLennan, Timothy Findley, Jack Hodgins, Jane Urquhart, Frances Itani and Joseph Boyden – have challenged, re-imagined and rewritten the Nation Forged in Fire-myth in the 20th and 21st century to bring to life the experiences of national minorities like women, indigenous people, migrants, war veterans, children and people with disabilities. The study shows that the literary workings on the myth, myth reconstruction and myth deconstruction is a fascinating though ambivalent and dynamic project in the Third Millennium.

Mit der vorliegenden Studie wird erstmals umfassend und genreübergreifend die zeitgenössische Literatur von mexikoamerikanischen Frauen (= Chicanas) auf der Folie der Interkulturalität erschlossen. Ausgehend von kulturwissenschaftlichen Überlegungen, die Aspekte der Rezeptionsästhetik, der Alteritätsforschung sowie des Women-of-Color-Feminismus integrieren, werden die literarischen und kulturkritischen Schriften von über 20 Autorinnen, u. a. Gloria Anzaldúa, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Ana Castillo, Denise Chßvez, Sandra Cisneros, Josefina López, Pat Mora, Cherríe Moraga, Mary Helen Ponce und Estela Portillo-Trambley, einer kritischen Betrachtung unterzogen und auch die soziokulturelle Situation der Chicanos/as in den USA angemessen diskutiert. Die Arbeit zeigt, dass es nicht mehr genügt, Chicana-Literatur lediglich als Reaktion mehrfach unterminierter Minoritätenfrauen auf ihre Situation in den USA zu begreifen. Vielmehr steht sie im Kontext einer Internationalisierung von Interessen, welche die ethnisch-kulturellen Grenzen überschreiten und zum offenen interkulturellen Dialog im globalen Dorf motivieren kann.