About:

Since 2015, several hundred thousand people have arrived in Germany to escape war, hunger, catastrophes, persecution, or poor-living conditions. In the summer of 2015, more than ten thousand refugees arrived in Germany on a single day, which soon led several politicians and media outlets to speak of a “refugee crisis.” This talk will explain the underlying, problematic implications of this term, address how Germany’s past informs attitudes towards the current situation, and why this frequently makes dialogue between opposing camps difficult. Introducing a variety of examples that illustrate the broad spectrum of realities and social relations, this presentation will strive to provide a nuanced impression of the complex situation in this central European country.

Speaker:

NICOLE HIRSCHFELDER

Nicole Hirschfelder received her Master’s for American film and media studies from Goethe University, and spent one year of her graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Hirschfelder also conducted research in the course of Yale University’s PhD research scholar program and she then completed her dissertation at Eberhard Karls University Tübingen. In 2014, she published an edited version of her PhD thesis as her first book, Oppression as Process: The Case of Bayard Rustin.