Has German Unification Failed?

The DAAD-University of Cambridge Research Hub for German Studies and the Centre for Geopolitics are delighted to welcome Professor Dirk Oschmann to Cambridge to give a lecture on 'Has German Unification Failed?'.

Professor Oschmann’s lecture will mainly deal with the question of 'Belonging': does East Germany belong to Germany at all? It will focus on the public discourse and its effects, a discourse that is dominated by West German perspectives, West German Media, West German politicians. Hence this framing produces multiple forms of separation and exclusion that are devastating for the social cohesion of the entire country.

Professor Oschmann, born in 1967 in Gotha in East Germany, studied German, English, and American Literatures, received his PhD in 1998 in Jena and became a Professor for German Literature in 2011 in Leipzig. He taught as guest lecturer and visiting professor at the University of Kent in Canterbury, the UC Davis, the University of Notre Dame, and at Brown University. His main field of research is German Literature from the 18th to the 20th century. He has written and edited several books, among them: Poetry in Motion. Theory of Language and Poetics in Lessing, Schiller, and Kleist (2006); Freedom and Estrangement. Kafka's Novels (2021); The East: a West-German Invention (2023).

Introductory remarks will be made by the Professor Brendan Simms, Director of the Centre for Geopolitics. There will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the lecture. We would be delighted if you could join us for what promises to be a very informative occasion.

The event will take place at 5.30pm on 20 November in the Lecture Theatre at Trinity Hall (Trinity Ln, Cambridge CB2 1TJ) followed by a drinks reception.

Please be aware that photographs of the event will be taken. If you would not like to be photographed, please make yourself known to us at the event.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Trinity Hall Cambridge, Trinity Lane, Cambridge, United Kingdom