The Power of Intellectuals in Contemporary Germany - Hardcover

Geyer, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226289869 ISBN 13: 9780226289861

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2002

Synopsis

A decade after reunification, with Germany laboring to define a new national identity, the defunct German Democratic Republic has gained a second life in the pages of history. The former GDR, and particularly the fate of its intellectuals, has become the subject of novels, memoirs, and films, and it has also become the backdrop for general debates over the power of intellectuals in contemporary media and society.

This new collection of essays considers the demise of the GDR and its impact on the place of intellectuals in Germany today. Distinguished contributors from Germany, Austria, and the United States survey aspects of high and low culture, including the current nostalgia for East German film, the demise of the GDR rock scene, the pivotal role of East German poets, the consolidation and privatization of German media, and the frightening new resurgence of right-wing violence. The result is a timely volume that charts Germany's rocky transition from one world to another.

Contributors:
Mitchell G. Ash
Simone Barck
David Bathrick
John Borneman
Dorothea Dornhof
Michael Geyer
Andreas Graf
Dietrich Hohmann
Andreas Huyssen
Konrad Jarausch
Alexander Kluge
Loren Kruger
Martina Langermann
Siegfried Lokatis
Patricia Anne Simpson
Frank Trommler
Katie Trumpener

About this title

About the Author

Michael Geyer is a professor of contemporary European history at the University of Chicago. He is the author of Deutsche Rüstungspolitik, 1860-1980 and Aufrüstung oder Sicherheit: Die Reichswehr in der Krise der Machtpolitik, 1924-1936, as well as coeditor of Resistance Against the Third Reich, 1933-1990.

From the Back Cover

A decade after reunification, with Germany laboring to define a new national identity, the defunct German Democratic Republic has gained a second life in the pages of history. The former GDR, and particularly the fate of its intellectuals, has become the subject of novels, memoirs, and films, and it has also become the backdrop for general debates over the power of intellectuals in contemporary media and society. This new collection of essays considers the demise of the GDR and its impact on the place of intellectuals in Germany today. The result is a timely volume that charts Germany's rocky transition from one world to another.

From the Inside Flap

A decade after reunification, with Germany laboring to define a new national identity, the defunct German Democratic Republic has gained a second life in the pages of history. The former GDR, and particularly the fate of its intellectuals, has become the subject of novels, memoirs, and films, and it has also become the backdrop for general debates over the power of intellectuals in contemporary media and society. This new collection of essays considers the demise of the GDR and its impact on the place of intellectuals in Germany today. The result is a timely volume that charts Germany's rocky transition from one world to another.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226289869
• ISBN 13: 9780226289861
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 392