BLACK GERMAN HERITAGE & RESEARCH ASSOCIATION
BGHRA at davidson college
Black German Art & Resistance
Course Description
Taught in English, this class explores contemporary literature, music, film, poetry, theater, and activism that has been written, created, performed, and enacted by Afro- and Black-Germans. Taking special care to center the voices and works of Afro- and Black-Germans and the work of BIPOC scholars, our topics will include (re)unification and (German) identity, memory culture, the politics of representation, East Germany, racisms, resistance and forms of activism, coalition- and solidarity-building, and more. Central to the class is our collaboration with the Black German Heritage & Research Association (BGHRA) and its president, Dr. Rosemarie Peña.
Black Germans: Race, Gender, Migration
Course Description
Using the tools of Critical Race Studies, Postcolonial Feminist Thought, and Cultural Studies, this class explores the intersections and interconnectedness of concepts of race, gender, and migration (as well as citizenship/nationhood in Europe). How did these ideas emerge (in new ways) in the 18th and 19th centuries, and how did they inform Nazi ideology and experiences of the Holocaust/Porajmos? How have people responded to and rethought these relationships in the late 20th and early 21st centuries? How do people produce art, enact politics, and just generally live their lives in the face of these forces, discourses, and ideologies?
We will approach these topics and time periods by focusing our attention on the African diaspora in Europe. Who belongs, where, and how? What role(s) do (and have) borders played in articulating and understanding our lives, and the lives of people constructed as different from ourselves? Who defines our identities, for what purposes, and to what end(s)? What histories drive us forward, and what histories are (intentionally) forgotten?
Our class will collaborate with and co-create a learning community together with Dr. Rosemarie Peña and the Black German Heritage & Research Association (BGHRA). We will attend the BGHRA’s free, online virtual conference (in February), and have an opportunity to work behind the scenes in order to better understand how academic conferences function. Our final projects (which we will create in accordance with BGHRA objectives and values) will ultimately feature on the BGHRA website, and add to the growing BGHRA archives.
ALL BLACK LIVES MATTER
Event Series Playlist
donate
BGHRA is a 501(c) 3 volunteer organization dependent upon on grants and donations. We welcome your gift to support our endeavors. There are three ways you can support us:
- Donate to help support our operating expenses
- Donate to support the BGHRA Conference
- Donate to support the BGHRA Scholarship fund.
When you click on the paypal button, you will have to option to select your preference, and also to choose a one time gift or monthly donation.
Thanks in advance for your generosity and appreciation for the work of the BGHRA.
