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Lecture by Josh Klein

Lecture by Josh Klein

Lecture by Josh Klein

School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures | German Studies | Language House Wednesday, November 9, 2016 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm St. Mary’s Hall, Multipurpose Room

, “Von der Kristallnacht bis zur Flüchtlingskrise:,

,

, Der 9. November und die Suche nach der deutschen Identität”,

,

,  ,

,

, “From the Night of Broken Glass to the Refugee Crisis:,

,

, November 9th and the Search for a German Identity”,

,

,  ,

,

, Lecture will be in German,

,

, Snack and refreshments will be served,

,

, What does it mean to be a German?  German nationalism has seized the hearts and minds of Germans since the 19th century, but defining the boundaries of the German nation has been a fluid and contested process. Thus, from Herder to Hitler and up until the refugee crisis of today, German national identity has changed dramatically. However, national identities are always tied to the past. In this way, November 9th – both the infamous date of the Kristallnacht pogrom as well as the day on which the Berlin Wall came down – has had multiple meanings for German national identity. Which November 9th is informing Germany’s treatment of refugees today? Come to discuss on November 9th.,

,

, Josh’s lecture will be a historical survey of German nationalism. He will summarize the various contested meanings of German national identity, which have gripped the hearts and minds of Germans since the 19th century. The emphasis, though, will be on the last 70 years since the Nazi period with an eye towards the current refugee crisis. Further, Josh will show how the refugee crisis is connected to what we might call a ‘German identity crisis’ since World War II. In particular, he will illustrate how defeat in that war, and the radical shifts in German culture which ensued, have created an atmosphere in which Germans have been torn between, on the one hand, older notions of cultural and/or ethnic exclusivity, and on the other hand newer notions of an inclusive, pluralistic, and sometimes even non-German, national identity. This ambivalence, he will argue, has strongly informed the current refugee crisis. ,

,

, Josh was born and raised in Utah, where he completed his Bachelor’s degree in history and German at Brigham Young University from 2008-2013.  Halfway through his undergraduate degree he left for a 2-year humanitarian and ecclesiastical mission to Germany (LDS/Mormon).  Before beginning graduate school, Josh married his wife, Mandi, with whom he now has a 2-year old daughter named ‘Berlin’.  He is now a 4th-year Ph.D. student in Modern European History at UMD.,

Add to Calendar 11/09/16 3:00 PM 11/09/16 4:00 PM America/New_York Lecture by Josh Klein

, “Von der Kristallnacht bis zur Flüchtlingskrise:,

,

, Der 9. November und die Suche nach der deutschen Identität”,

,

,  ,

,

, “From the Night of Broken Glass to the Refugee Crisis:,

,

, November 9th and the Search for a German Identity”,

,

,  ,

,

, Lecture will be in German,

,

, Snack and refreshments will be served,

,

, What does it mean to be a German?  German nationalism has seized the hearts and minds of Germans since the 19th century, but defining the boundaries of the German nation has been a fluid and contested process. Thus, from Herder to Hitler and up until the refugee crisis of today, German national identity has changed dramatically. However, national identities are always tied to the past. In this way, November 9th – both the infamous date of the Kristallnacht pogrom as well as the day on which the Berlin Wall came down – has had multiple meanings for German national identity. Which November 9th is informing Germany’s treatment of refugees today? Come to discuss on November 9th.,

,

, Josh’s lecture will be a historical survey of German nationalism. He will summarize the various contested meanings of German national identity, which have gripped the hearts and minds of Germans since the 19th century. The emphasis, though, will be on the last 70 years since the Nazi period with an eye towards the current refugee crisis. Further, Josh will show how the refugee crisis is connected to what we might call a ‘German identity crisis’ since World War II. In particular, he will illustrate how defeat in that war, and the radical shifts in German culture which ensued, have created an atmosphere in which Germans have been torn between, on the one hand, older notions of cultural and/or ethnic exclusivity, and on the other hand newer notions of an inclusive, pluralistic, and sometimes even non-German, national identity. This ambivalence, he will argue, has strongly informed the current refugee crisis. ,

,

, Josh was born and raised in Utah, where he completed his Bachelor’s degree in history and German at Brigham Young University from 2008-2013.  Halfway through his undergraduate degree he left for a 2-year humanitarian and ecclesiastical mission to Germany (LDS/Mormon).  Before beginning graduate school, Josh married his wife, Mandi, with whom he now has a 2-year old daughter named ‘Berlin’.  He is now a 4th-year Ph.D. student in Modern European History at UMD.,

St. Mary’s Hall