Austrian Studies, 19 (2011) Call for Papers
The Austrian ‘Noughties’:
Texts, Films and Debates 2000-2009
In the English-speaking world, the first decade of the new millennium has
been christened ‘The Noughties’, thus suggesting that this decade had a
discernible character of its own. ‘Die Nullerjahre’ is an emerging term in
German-speaking Europe, and the end of the decade is now giving rise to a
reflection on what exactly has characterized the new millennium so far.
Were the Austrian Noughties a culturally distinct decade? Do the Austrian
Noughties have a signature? Did the new millennium witness new departures,
new trends, new names, or do familiar figures such as Handke, Ransmayr and
Menasse still dominate the literary scene? Will the Noughties be remembered
for the award of the Nobel Prize to Elfriede Jelinek in 2004 or perhaps for
the achievements of filmmaker Michael Haneke?
In particular, the following questions might offer themselves to critical
evaluation:
· Did the trauma and world-wide notoriety caused by the Fritzl case
and before it the scandal around Natascha Kampusch leave discernible traces
in literature and general artistic expression?
· What has been the impact of global concerns, from the events of
September 11th and the ‘war on terror’ to climate change and economic
volatility, on Austrian culture?
· Has Vergangenheitsbewältigung, the poking into public and private
pasts à la Ludwig Laher or Arno Geiger, run its course? Or are new themes,
battlegrounds and approaches being identified?
· Do sexual politics, gender roles and journeys of self-discovery
still occupy centre stage in literary and cultural debates?
· Has the rapid expansion and refinement of new media had an impact
on literary production and artistic expression?
· Has the 5th EU enlargement, which saw the accession of Austria’s
neighbours Hungary, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, given rise
to a new sense of Europeanness, or led to a re-definition of Austrian identity?
· Did the sudden death of Jörg Haider in 2008 signal an end to the
reflection of political protest in Austrian culture?
· What makes contemporary Austrian literature distinctly Austrian, or
are Austrian writing and other forms of cultural production increasingly
part of the global mishmash of hybrid identities, displacement and
disorientation, all packaged in translatable / filmable styles?
For volume 19 of Austrian Studies we invite contributions on questions such
as those mentioned above and on any other aspects relevant to the overall
topic. Surveys of particular themes, discussions of individual authors’
output during the noughties, investigations of genres (including film,
theatre and new media), trends and styles are encouraged, as are treatments
of non-literary texts and debates. This issue is co-edited by Allyson
Fiddler and Florian Krobb.
Proposals should be sent to Florian Krobb ([log in to unmask]) by 1 May
2010. It is anticipated that the deadline for completed articles will be 10
January 2011. Notes for contributors are available at
http://www.rhul.ac.uk/Modern-Languages/AustrianStudiesNotes.html
Florian Krobb
Professor of German
Head of School
School of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures
National University of Ireland Maynooth
Maynooth
County Kildare
Republic of Ireland
Tel. 00353 1 708 3702
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