Bøger af Matthias Dickert

Scientific Essay from the year 2024 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Other, , language: English, abstract: This paper concentrates on two diasporic Iranian writers and their memories in order to show how their personal experience can be understood and read as a kind of self-orientalisation and purgary of their own lives. It is these two personal stories which unfold an intensive grip on the reader while also leaving space for a generalisation of the terrible situation of the many Muslim women who have to struggle daily.For centuries East and West have been interested in understanding, discussing and criticising each other's religions, cultures and ways of life ¿ both with suspicion and curiosity alike. Of special interest for both sides in past and present can be seen in matters of gender dichotomy since the West too often (above others) focused on the exclusion of female members of society from the public spheres whereas Eastern representatives heavily criticised female emancipation processes in the West which were seen as steps to destroy traditional family structures. One result from this was a stereotyped picture of Muslim women as obedient, silent or abused victims of patriarchal structures originating in an Islamic past.This picture of the female has interestingly changed over the last decades, especially in the aftermath of 9/11 when more and more female authors from the Middle East literarily speaking un-veiled and dismantled these stereotyped concepts of all female. The protests in Iran in 2022 after the death of Jina Maahsa Amini on September 16th can therefore be considered to be the preliminary highlight of this new development within Iran which so far considered itself to be the perfect Islamic state erected following the throwover of the Shah in 1979.The new group of Muslim female writers (so to speak novelists disposing of an Islamic background) at home or abroad started a new trend of hundreds of publications which included various presentations of female Muslim life of Arab, African or - as in our case ¿ an Iranian background. Most of these novels were, however, written from an exile position, thus throwing light on female characters where past and present were interwoven from a new home. It is exactly this in-between-ness of now and then where female self-orientation and re-orienatation are placed ¿ glued together by memory as a central element of narration.

Scientific Essay from the year 2023 in the subject Theology - Islamic theology, Leuven Catholic University, course: LEST XIV: 60 Years Vatican II: The End of the Western Church?, language: English, abstract: Vatican II and its progressive declaration of the Roman Catholic Church in dealing with other religions, "Nostra Aetate", meant a turning point for the traditional Christian ¿ non Christian relationship. This traditionally mostly negative relationship between the Catholic Church and other religions was now radically discussed anew and put on another scale with the aim of an improvement between all religions. A special focus hereby was put on a new approach with Judaism and above all Islam.The history between Islam and Christianity for centuries was accompanied by political and religious conflicts and wars, which were marked by the notions of jihad and crusade.It was in this antagonistic atmosphere where the famous four "Cs" of the West (Conquest, Commerce, Civilization and Christianity) were followed by terrorism and fundamentalism on the Muslim side.Fundamental thinking, in fact, has not left the relationship between Islam and Christianity and the attitude to the West and Christianity in the Muslim world have turned to a more radical attitude since the Shah was overthrown in 1979 in Iran. One can take this date as the beginning of events such as 9/11, the Gulf Wars or the wars in Afghanistan and Syria where the Islamic State proclaimed a new and even more radical era between Islam and Christianity with the establishment of the caliphate, the geographical, political and religious expression of fundamental Islamic thinking.Things have not yet improved to the better since developments like globalization processes are presently challenging traditional religions with a tendency to fundamental thinking as the (seemingly) best adapted form of the religious in times of globalization and massive migration waves due to war, poverty, hunger or environment pollution.All these developments are constantly challenging the positive basis of an interreligious dialogue between Muslims and Christians, which during the last sixty years was marked by progress and regression on both sides alike.

Essay from the year 2023 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, , language: English, abstract: The manifold reflections of loss of home or migration are complex in the displacement histories and narratives because they contain difficult, untraceable journeys and experiences of immigrants and refugees involved. At present, this also concerns the largest religious community linked to massive migration movements worldwide ¿ Muslims. Most Muslim immigrants coming to Europe, Canada or the United States carry their national, cultural, religious and above all their personal past which taken together create an ideal basis for narrating their stories.Things are worse in their own way when people at present cannot leave Afghanistan after the Taliban came back into power in 2021. Most Afghan people trying to escape from their mother country carry classical colonial or postcolonial topics such as matters of loss, expulsion, displacement, border crossing, exile, diaspora and home. These are ¿ as in the case with female characters ¿ often linked to intolerance, gender injustice or the inferior role of women in the Muslim world, which at present can be seen in the ongoing protests against the Mullah regime in Iran as well.Nadia Hashimi's novel "The Pearl That Broke Its Shell" (2014) is set against a different background, reflecting the necessity to stay in Afghanistan against a Sharia background. The narration centers around (among other women) two female characters named Shekiba and Rahima. Both are family members of different time periods whose female role and struggle is set against Afghanistan's historic, cultural and religious background. The novel in parts can be seen as a literay addition to Khaled Hossein's "The Kite Runner" (2003) or Nadeem Aslam's "The Wasted Vigil" (2008) since both novelists also place their characters into an Afghan background.

Essay from the year 2023 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, University of Marburg (Marburg Centre for Canadian Studies), language: English, abstract: The manifold reflections of loss of home or migration are complex in the displacement histories and narratives because they contain difficult, untraceable journeys and experiences of immigrants and refugees involved. At present, this also concerns the largest religious community linked to massive migration movements worldwide ¿ the Muslims. All Muslim immigrants coming to Europe, Canada or the United States carry their national, cultural, religious and above all their personal past which taken together create an ideal basis for narrating their stories.Things are worse in their own way when people at present are trying to flee from Afghanistan since the Taliban came back to power in 2021. Most Afghan people trying to escape from their mothercountry carry classical colonial or postcolonial topics such as matters of loss, expulsion, displacement, border crossing, exile, diaspora and home. These are ¿ as in the case with female characters ¿ often linked to intolerance, gender injustice or the inferior role of women in the Muslim world, which at present can be seen in Iran as well.Nadia Hashemi¿s novel ¿When the Moon is Low¿ (2015) is set against this background and offers an impressive story of an Afghan family's escape from the Taliban governed Afghanistan through the eyes of the main character Fereiba Waziri. Fereiba is a bold Afghani woman who decides to leave her homecountry after her husband's assassination by Talibani radicals. Crossing transational boundaries, the novel is a description of the plight of contemporary migrants who are set between the crisis of displacement and emplacement, all told from a female perspective.

Scientific Study from the year 2021 in the subject American Studies - Linguistics, , language: English, abstract: Matters of ethics and morality have always had a fixed place in crime writing since solving cases like murders is embedded between decision making processes which are bound between good and bad. To focus and reflect ethic and moral decisions and to place them within the policeforce itself is, however, uncommon in crime writing since the policeforces represent the status quo of the state. Corrupt policemen or 'bad cops' are (still) the exception and to set good and bad policemen against each other is still some sort of taboo in this genre since good and bad are normally set between criminals and the police.Both analysed novels hereby "How the Light Gets In" (2013) by Louise Penny and "A Deadly Divide" (2019) by Ausma Zehanat Khan, however, are concerned with this topic and show that contemporary Canadian crime writers do include these matters into their work.

Scientific Essay from the year 2020 in the subject Literature - Canada, Comenius University in Bratislava (Philosophische Fakultät), language: English, abstract: This paper compares various contemporary Muslim writers from Canada and their negotiation with their identity. The choice of works tries to focus on the last decade and wants to show the multiple and flexible way these writers treat the key topic identity. All novels offer a comprehensive and detailed investigation into the concept of identity in contemporary literature from writers with a migrational background whose basis lies in the Muslim world and who know Canada since they have lived there or still do so. The generic and thematic diversity which is reflected in these books show the importance of these writers and throws light on their pluralistic concepts of identity which has and still enriches Canlit.To better present the development of this part of Canlit the first and the last novel are discussed in more detail. The aim of this is to show the development this group of writers has made in such a short time. Contemporary English literature investigates a wide range of issues such as theoretical and conceptual debates over modernity and contemporary, the history and practice of reviewing and / or writing in relation to nationhood, gender, religion or postcoloniality. ¿Muslim Writing¿, as one branch of contemporary English literature is part of 'Postcolonial Writing¿ which includes sub-genres such as the 'Postcolonial', 'Black British Writing', ¿British Jewish¿ or 'British Asian'. The novelists which form 'Muslim Writing' dispose of a Muslim background which is first of all geographical and cultural and not necessarily religious. It is necessary to point this out that it is not Islam nor the religious as such which shape this term since some important writers like Salman Rushdie or (for the Canadian background Rawi Hage) are not religious in the sense that they are Muslims although India and the Lebanon dispose of a large Muslim community (in the case of Rushdie) are part of a large Muslim world (or in the case of Hage). Many of these writers such as Hanif Kureishi, Nadeem Aslam, Khaled Hosseini, Hisham Matar, Monica Ali or Anna Perera attempt to bring in this geographical, cultural or religious element by discussing and reflecting topics such as postethnicity, multiculturalism, minority, race, class, gender, religion, diaspora, community, universalism, particularism, Britishness language hybridity, belonging and above identity making. Although 'Muslim Writing' in general and 'Canadian

Scientific Essay from the year 2020 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, Comenius University in Bratislava, language: English, abstract: ¿South Asian literature¿ is a literary term closely connected to countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives or Bangladesh. Afghanistan here holds an outside position because of the fact that Afghan writers at home face an extremely difficult situation. So it is mostly the exile position from which they write about their country. Afghanistan nevertheless is often picked by migrant writers as a setting of their novels because it is ideal to reflect the 9/11 development for both character development or plot. It is therefore logical that this country is not only a neglected part of South Asian literature it is also hardly mentioned by critics. It is simply speaking difficult to label Afghan writing as 'colonial' or 'neo-colonial writing'. Many Muslim writers sometimes make use of female characters as being central parts for the narrative it is interesting to note that the female presentation plays a marginal role in history making or in the sense of ordering and interpreting past and present thus theorizing matters in general. However, growing female issues in many novels such as oppression, prostitution, rape, domestic violence or birth control slowly seem to change the traditional female role as being inferior to man. This present trend is not only seen by feminist anthropologists, Western radical feminists or gender studies but also more and more by writers from both sexes. Thus, matters like patriarchy, culture, class, religion or nation are newly discussed making ¿South Asian Literature¿ an extremely energetic field of contemporary migrant writing. They fulfill that what other critics see in three areas while reading postcolonial contexts. The first area they reflect is "reading texts produced by writers from countries with a history of colonies". The second element they discuss lies in the fact they write texts "produced by those that have migrated from countries with a history of colonialism, or those descended from migrant families". And the last area they cover lies in the fact that they are "re-reading texts produced during colonialism ... addressing the imperial experience or not". So one can conclude from this that ¿South Asian literature¿ has become not only one important element of ¿Postcolonial writing¿ it also includes many political aspects which are of importance for this essay.

Academic Paper from the year 2019 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Miscellaneous, University of Marburg, language: English, abstract: While picking up foreign languages teenagers all over the world are directly (or indirectly) confronted with environmental issues. Ecological matters and problems are not only presented and discussed in non-fictional but also in fictional texts, a clear hint at their relevance. It is here where personal interests, experience and expectations often meet with a high emotional energy which supports language learning. The use of environmental issues in teenage fiction can be regarded to be a positive by-¬product of reading in the sense of a further motivation or a challenge to reflect fixed and traditional attitudes. One consequence from this is what some critics consider to be 'ethic thinking' or an 'option of kids' participation of their own opinions, attitudes or value systems' all of which are focused on something which is seen as environmental learning in the widest sense of the word (see movement Fridays For Future started by Greta Thunberg).Books for early learners can be seen as starting points for this development and the confrontation with these problems in teenage fiction is one form of introduction into ecological learning. Pupils between 12 and 13 years of age already dispose of an attitude in connection to environmental issues and to discover, discuss and present them in a literary Canadian context can be considered to be a further motivation for their future reading habits. To choose a book set in the region of the Vancouver Islands is based against this background. The work will be done with the help of several projects which accompany the analysis of The Secret of Whispering Island simply because of the higher motivation for the students involved. The work will first be done in individual web quest work which is accompanied by group work and an exchange of selected material. The projects themselves are based on given questions (2 - 3) which should help students to focus on specific matters. It is also important to leave it open to students what the output of their results will look like. The range here includes posters for presentations, power point presentations, essays, newspaper articles or the option of a website. In short students here should / could be creative.

Scientific Essay from the year 2018 in the subject American Studies - Literature, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Anglistik), language: English, abstract: The traditional literary coverage of border and frontier in American and Canadian literature has always been closely linked to war, survival, trauma, trauma time, immigration as well as exile and has re-gained interest of many contemporary writers and critics after 9/11. Since that date both terms have been discussed on a collective, national or individual level thus throwing light on the manifold consequences of this new interpretation of the complex term border which is of special interest here. The literary dealing with border and its consequences in El Akkad's novel American War (2017) must yet be seen in a close relationship between border and war. The incorporation of war into English speaking literature itself has a long tradition since wars as such form ideal literary backgrounds for plot, character development or political criticism. In times of civil uproar, political insecurity, outer enemies or ongoing wars this incorporation of war as a literary means has always been present. This is recently perhaps best shown by the events of 9/11. They have not only taken American literature out from its long involvement in local matters such as family, village or town but pushed it into new directions which formed completely new types of novels such as the 9/11 Novel, the post-9/11 Novel or Ground Zero Fiction where war gained a new dimension which is so different from war literature of the First World War, the Second World War or the Vietnam War. In many cases this literary coverage of 9/11 has mostly remained in American families or matters and it lacked an appropriate coverage of foreign perspectives.EI Akkad's novel American War (2017) exactly fits into this background not only because it is written by an author originating from a Muslim background it also brings the topic war back to America to discuss it here. This is new and radical in the sense that readers suddenly are confronted with problems such as war, terrorism, suicide bombers or chemical warfare which so far have been placed on foreign battlegrounds. El Akkad combines two main trends of Muslim writing which are characterized by bringing the narration into the West or by taking it back into the former colonies. By choosing a civil war as the setting for his novel he mixes both trends while importing terror back to the USA which is to blame for it.

Scientific Essay from the year 2018 in the subject Didactics - English - Literature, Works, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, language: English, abstract: The incorporation of war into English speaking literature has a long tradition since wars as such form ideal literacy backgrounds for plot, character development or political criticism. In times of civil uproar, political insecurity, outer enemies or ongoing wars this use of war as a literary means has always increased. This is recently perhaps best shown by the events of 9/11. They have not only taken American literature out from its long involvement in local matters such as family, village or town but pushed it into new directions which formed completely new types of novels such as the 9/11 novel, the post-9/11 novel or Ground Zero Fiction where war gained a new dimension which was so different from war literature of the First World War, the Second World War or the Vietnam War. In most cases this literary coverage of 9/11 has mostly remained in American families or matters of 'home' and it lacked an appropriate coverage of the Muslim side and it is here where the novel analyzed here steps in. Omar EI Akkad's novel American War (2017) exactly fits in this background not only because it is written by an author originating from a Muslim background it also brings the topic war back to America to discuss it here. This is new and radical in the sense that readers suddenly are confronted with problems such as war, terrorism, suicide bombers or chemical warfare which so far have been placed on foreign battlegrounds. It is now the USA which is used to discuss matters which were formerly used under American Presidents with slogans such as 'Crusade' or 'Holy War'. Omar El Akkad thus combines two main trends of Muslim writing which are characterized by bringing the narration into the West or by taking it back into the former colonies. By choosing a civil war as the background for his novel El Akkad mixes both trends while importing terror back to the USA which is to blame for it. American War is a novel which contains several elements thus being an important representative of contemporary English speaking literature.

Document from the year 2017 in the subject Didactics - English - Literature, Works, Comenius University in Bratislava, language: English, abstract: This essay is about Rawi Hage's novel "Cockroach", which at first sight is, according to the Daily Telegraph, 'A tale of murder, intrigue and sex from the exuberantly talented Hage'. However, Cockroach embodies more than this (negative) one-sighted approach. It is also a novel of migration, exile, diaspora and being unwanted because of being a foreigner of migrant background and Hage - like Rushdie - explores the hinterland between fantasy, trauma and realism. The unnamed narrator of the novel takes the reader by the hand and exposes this immigrant life in a chilly surrounding. Chilly because people are cold and chilly because the climate is cold, too. The fact that Hage as a Lebanese born person uses a Canadian setting as the place of action already hints at two conditions of contemporary Muslim writing in general. This refers to the autobiographical basis which many novels have and the use of the city as the background of the narration, two presuppositions of Muslim writing since Rushdie and Kureishi. Hage, in Cockroach, explores Montreal and presents it as an alien and hostile topography of menial jobs, hidden or open xenophobia, a mix of foreigners, insect behaviours and class hostilities. This narrator, an exotic foreigner himself, despises the world around him and takes the reader through a nightmare of Canadian reality on the basis of his violent childhood, the death of his sister, his exile situation and the helplessness of Canada which fails in the person of a court-mandated psychiatrist. His traumatic past and his inability as a man to protect the female members of his family are also symbols for a failed integration and the personal crisis of the narrator who seeks to find identity and a life at the border of physical and psychological death.

Scientific Essay from the year 2016 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, Comenius University in Bratislava (Englische Literatur), language: English, abstract: This paper is about Salman Rushdie and two of his major works. The approach to work on "The Satanic Verses" and his latest publication "Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights" (2015) tries to (critically) reflect Rushdie's development as a writer within the time span of almost three decades. Twenty-seven years for a writer and his community might be an eternity since the world has tremendously changed since then. Rushdie himself, however, in both novels sticks to major themes of his interest. Among them are the parameters used here. Identity, metamorphosis and (religious) fanaticism can be found in both novels and it is the focus on these three which will be central here. To do so not only helps to reflect major literary topics Rushdie is concerned about it also shows the development these matters have taken within Rushdie' s literary work and the world it reflects. In is exactly the historical framework which Rushdie uses which helps to understand his literary attempt because he said in an interview with the German magazine "Stern" in 2015 that he understands himself as an author who lives in a certain period of time and who therefore has to write about it. The dualistic concept that links the narrative in both novels analysed here must also be seen in this historical framework. Rushdie sees modern man in a globalized world as homeless, hybrid, bound to metamorphosis, caught between the rational and the irrational yet open for positive options which he can choose provided he uses his freedom. So identity, metamorphosis, religion and fundamentalism are closely connected to personal freedom and it will thus be interesting to see how Rushdie's ideas have been worked into both novels. The structure of this book is therefore as follows: A first part will consist in some sort of background information on Rushdie and his position in contemporary English literature. A second major part will consist in a short introduction of the postcolonial setting. This helps to place Rushdie's work in a literary background. A next step lies in a closer analysis of chosen parameters such as the use of the hybrid Islamic spirituality, transcendence, identity formation, failure and powerlessness. The next important step lies in a close interpretation of both works. This will be followed by an outlook.

Scientific Essay from the year 2016 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, Comenius University in Bratislava (Comenius University), language: English, abstract: This essay is meant to give some sort of introduction into topics female Muslim writers are responsible for at the moment. It offers some sort of overview on important female Muslim novelists whose works significantly feature female perspectives of women's themes which range from matters of gender roles, patriarchal structures, life under Islam and Sharia law, emancipation or one of the key elements, hybrid existence. The essay starts with some general notes before it moves on with a closer analysis of the hybrid. It ends with some sort of outlook where female Muslim writing might head to. The bibliography at the end lists up recommended literature by the author of this text.

Scientific Essay from the year 2021 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, Comenius University in Bratislava (Philosophische Fakultät), language: English, abstract: Canada for many people is considered to be an ideal country to live in. Unspoiled nature, friendly people, a booming industry, an astonishingly convincing kind of immigration politics and democratic governments are all parts of the so called 'Canadian mosaique' which create the image of a paradise north of the United States of America. A closer look at Canadian history does, however, present a different and more neglected side. Historical events like the conquest by the French or the British are two examples of how Europeans treated the First Nations for their own sake, a treatment whose negative consequences can still be seen today. Or the sacrifice of nature for economical interests which has amounted in environmental exploitation or disasters like the Exxon Valdez catastrophe in 1989 next to the toxic consequences of tar sand industry in Alberta. The treatment of children and teenagers and their sexual abuse which go by the catchphrase of 'The Duplessis Orphans' already hint at the topic of Joy Kogawa's novel Obasan which was first published in 1981 namely the mistreatment of people of Asian background who did not have public support. The destiny of Japanese-Canadian citizens which is portrayed here reflects another dark chapter of Canadian history during World War Two, the mistreatment of an ethnic minority after the attacks on the American Fleet in Pearl Harbour on December 7th, 1941. The novel does not only destroy the constructed image of a friendly encounter between East and West but also shows how we treat human beings of another culture in a seemingly open and democratic society.

Scientific Essay from the year 2015 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, Comenius University in Bratislava, language: English, abstract: The key position of Muslim writers in the contemporary English speaking novel is undoubted. Muslim writing itself is a logical consequence of postcolonial writing which has been marked by Carribean, African and Muslim authors at the same time. Whereas Carribean writers focus on concepts such as nation or nationalism,.Black writers seem to reflect a notion which is widely understood by 'cultural memory'. Muslim writing on its behalf centers on the catchphrase 'identity' since it considers Islam as a perfect identity marker for the novel. This (Muslim) 'otherness' is rooted in a religion which hasfor too long been looked upon from Said's concept of 'otherness' which is based on Foucault's notion of 'power and knowledge'. lt is here where the dualistic concept of East and West is constructed which sees both sides as antagonistic spheres. lt also in this background where author and reader finally have to discuss this Muslim 'otherness' apart from their minds. lt is therefore this (religious) 'otherness' based on religion which makes it extremely difficult for Western readers to fully understand Muslim characters. This is due to the fact that Islam is not only a religious idea of the world, it is also a total concept of Muslim existence since it covers all spheres of Muslim existence, the religious, the social, the legal and the political. The intention of this essay therefore is to give a short survey of Muslim writing over the last 30 years. The aim is to shortly reflect the incorporation of Islam into the novel , a development which has been marked by Nünning/Nünning with the term 'cross-fertilization' thus refering to the close link between narration and religion. The focus of the chosen novels hoowever lies on 'identity', a term marked by the concept of modern man being a migrant or a nomad, thus also reflecting the consequences of migration waves and the phenomenon of globalization. The paper starts with a sociological and religious background before it shortly deals with "The Satanic Verses", "The Black Album", "Brick Lane", "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" and "Guantanamo Boy". The aim ist o give a short survey oft he question of Muslim identity during the last 30 years.