About the lecture
Contemporary narratives which foreground stories of migrants in borderspaces often tell of conditions and situations which are comparable to the ones narrated in the parable Before the Law (1915) by Franz Kafka.
In this contribution Siller will explore two selected fictional and non-fictional narratives, namely The Gurugu Pledge (Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel 2017) and Lights in the Distance. Exile and Refuge at the Borders of Europe (Daniel Trilling 2018) by employing Kafka’s metaphor of the man waiting in front of the door.
Further insights in the narrated borderspaces are gained through Simmel’s understanding of the door and Balibar’s thinking about borders.
Whereas often in the public discourses of political elites the border appears as an abstract entity, these narratives transform the border into a palpable entity as they foreground the perspective of those who experience them.
To grasp the structure and the deeper meaning of the border, it is crucial to listen also to these voices.
The lecture is arranged in collaboration with the research groups Border Readings and Migration, Borders and Identity in Discourses and Narratives.
Cited Bibliography
- Balibar, Étienne: We, the people of Europe? Reflections on Transnational Citizenship. Princeton/Oxford 2004.
- Kafka, Franz: Vor dem Gesetz. In: Der Prozess. Zürich 2008, 182-189.
- Laurel, Juan Tomàs: The Gurugu Pledge. A Novel. Sheffield/London et al. 2017.
- Trilling, Daniel: Lights in the Distance. Exile and Refuge at the Borders of Europe. London 2018.
- Simmel, Georg: Bridge and Door. In: Theory, Culture & Society. London, Vol. 11. 1994, 5-10.
About Barbara Siller
Barbara Siller is Lecturer in the Department of German and the Programme Director of the MA Applied Linguistics within the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures.
She is the co-convenor of the Cluster «Rethinking Spatial Humanities» (casilac.ie).
Her research interests lie in the areas of literary multilingualism, literary topographies, memory studies, identity narratives, Austrian and Comparative literature, translation and self-translation.
Recent publications
- (Forthcoming) Poetic niches and deep times in Sepp Mall's poetry (2023). Utopian Studies. Pennsylvania State University Press.
- Mehrsprachige Texte in der 'deutschsprachigen' Literatur (2023): Barbara Siller, Sandra Vlasta, Áine McMurtry (eds.). Open access: https://www.peterlang.com/document/1246814.
- Multidirektionale Erinnerungsnarrative und gendersensible Erzählperspektiven in Sabine Grubers Roman Stillbach oder Die Sehnsucht (2022). In: Markus Ender; Ulrike Tanzer; Anon Unterkircher (eds.): Mitteilungen aus dem Brenner-Archiv, 41, 53-66.
- Contaminated soulscapes and landscapes in Maja Haderlap’s Engel des Vergessens/Angel of Oblivion (2020). New German Critique, 47 (1):197-215
- Literarische (Mehr)Sprachreflexionen (2020). Barbara Siller & Sandra Vlasta (eds.). Wien: praesens Verlag. http://www.praesens.at/praesens2013/?p=7121.