Anne Fuchs Livres

A Space of Anxiety engages with a body of German-Jewish literature that, from the beginning of the century onwards, explores notions of identity and kinship in the context of migration, exile and persecution. The study offers an analysis of how Freud, Kafka, Roth, Drach and Hilsenrath employ, to varying degrees, the travel paradigm to question those borders and boundaries that define the space between the self and the other. A Space of Anxiety argues that from Freud to Hilsenrath, German-Jewish literature emerges from an ambivalent space of enunciation which challenges the great narrative of an historical identity authenticated by an "originary" past. Inspired by postcolonial and psychoanalytic theories, the author shows that modern German-Jewish writers inhabit a "Third Space" which poses an alternative to an understanding of culture as a homogeneous tradition based on (national) unity.The study is of interest to students of German literature, German-Jewish literature and Cultural Studies.

Time in German Literature and Culture, 1900 – 2015 is an interdisciplinary volume that explores the social, psychological, and historical impact of acceleration through the medium of culture. New interpretations of modernist and contemporary works of literature, visual art, architecture, film and popular culture highlight the wide range of cultural responses to social acceleration. In so doing, they call into question dominant theories of acceleration, which can be excessively totalising and pessimistic.The volume includes original readings of works by classic modernist authors Franz Kafka, Thomas Mann, Robert Musil, Peter Altenberg and Robert Walser; contemporary writers Angela Krauss, Clemens Meyer, Wolfgang Herrndorf and Karen Duve; filmmaker Christian Petzold; artists Wassily Kandinsky and Umberto Boccioni; and photographers Umbo, Gyorgy Kepes and Paul Schuitema. This exciting volume shows that cultural expressions of and responses to acceleration are varied, and offer the spaces of resistance to the ongoing onward rush of our twenty-first-century lives.

Anne Fuchs traces the aftermath of the Dresden bombing in the collective imagination from 1945 to today. As a case study of an event that gained local, national and global iconicity, the book investigates the role of photography, fine art, architecture, literature and film in dialogue with the changing German socio-political landscape.

Exploring the resurgence of family narratives, this analysis delves into contemporary German literature, film, and discourse, highlighting shifts in cultural memory. It critiques the limitations of Germany's memory culture and identity debates, presenting essays that connect fiction, autobiography, and heritage films. The work offers a compelling theory of family stories and evaluates generational discourse, providing a comprehensive understanding of how these narratives shape and challenge the collective German identity.

The Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH), central to Lenneberg's 1967 work, explores the biological foundations of language acquisition, particularly in relation to growth and maturation. Lenneberg examines evidence from studies involving children with disabilities and neurological insights. Notably, the case of Genie, a girl confined and deprived of language exposure, serves as a poignant example that would later highlight the implications of the CPH. This paper delves into Lenneberg's theories and the significance of language development within a biological framework.

The seminar paper explores the engaging and accessible narrative style of David Mitchell's "The January Man," highlighting its entertaining plot and colloquial language. Beneath its seemingly simple surface lies a complex story that captivates readers. The analysis reflects on the dual nature of the text, combining an easy entry point with deeper themes, showcasing the richness of Mitchell's storytelling.

In Precarious Times, Anne Fuchs explores how works of German literature, film, and photography reflect on the profound temporal anxieties precipitated by contemporary experiences of atomization, displacement, and fragmentation that bring about a loss of history and of time itself and that is peculiar to our current moment. The digital age places premiums on just-in-time deliveries, continual innovation, instantaneous connectivity, and around-the-clock availability. While some celebrate this 24/7 culture, others see it as profoundly destructive to the natural rhythm of day and night—and to human happiness. Have we entered an era of a perpetual present that depletes the future and erodes our grasp of the past? Beginning its examination around 1900, when rapid modernization was accompanied by comparably intense reflection on changing temporal experience, Precarious Times provides historical depth and perspective to current debates on the "digital now." Expanding the modern discourse on time and speed, Fuchs deploys such concepts as attention, slowness and lateness to emphasize the uneven quality of time around the world.

Interdisciplinary views of the debates over and transformation of German cultural identity since unification.

Phantoms of War in Contemporary German Literature, Films and Discourse offers an up-to-date and comprehensive analysis of fundamental shifts in German cultural memory. Focusing on the resurgence of family stories in fiction, autobiography and in film, this study challenges the institutional boundaries of Germany's memory culture that have guided and arguably limited German identity debates. Essays on contemporary German literature are complemented by explorations of heritage films and museum discourse. Together these essays put forward a compelling theory of family narratives and a critical evaluation of generational discourse.

W. G. Sebald, frequently mentioned in the same breath as Franz Kafka and Vladimir Nabokov, is one of the most important European writers of recent decades. He has been lauded by such major cultural commentators as Susan Sontag and Paul Auster, and he has combined wide public appeal with universal critical acclaim. His work is concerned with questions of memory, exile, representation, and, above all else, history. But his approach to history is strikingly different from conventional historiographical writing on the one hand, and from the historical novel on the other. His texts are hybrid in nature, mixing fiction, biography, historiography, travel-writing and memoir, and incorporating numerous photographic images. This volume seeks to respond to the complexities of Sebald’s image of history by presenting essays by a team of international scholars, all of whom are acknowledged Sebald experts. It offers a unique and exciting perspective on the dazzling work of one of the major literary figures of our times. Anne Fuchs is Professor of German Literature and Culture at University College, Dublin J. J. Long is Professor of German at the University of Durham, UK