Cultural Identity in Der Russe ist einer, der Birken liebt, by Olga Grjasnowa

Authors

  • Dionei Mathias Universidade Federal de Santa Maria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17851/1982-3053.12.22.68-79

Keywords:

Olga Grjasnowa, Russe ist einer, der Birken liebt, Cultural Identity

Abstract

The novel Der Russe ist einer, der Birken liebt (All Russians Love Birch Trees, 2014, English translation by Eva Bacon) written by Olga Grjasnowa and published in 2012 deals with a young Jewish woman who emigrates from Azerbaijan to Germany and who spends some months in Israel. The novel tackles the conflicts related to the process of immigration and redefinition in new cultural contexts. Thus, this article aims to focus on the problematization of cultural identity and agency, discussing this intersection in two contexts: firstly the Jewish cultural identity in a minority context and secondly the same cultural identity and its negotiation in Israel. In both contexts, the main character remains a foreigner, weaving an identity narration far from religious and national macro-narratives.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Dionei Mathias, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria

Professor da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria e Doutor em Letras pela Universidade de Hamburgo e pela Universidade Federal do Paraná.

References

BECK, Ulrich; BECK-GERNSHEIM, Elisabeth. Individualization: Institutionalized Individualism and its Social and Political Consequences. London: Sage, 2002.

BENMAYOR, Rina; SKOTNES, Andor. Some Reflections on Migration and Identity. In: BENMAYOR, Rina; SKOTNES, Andor (Ed.). Migration & Identity. New Brunswick/London: Transaction Publishers, 2005. p. 1-18.

BERGER, Peter L. Sehnsucht nach Sinn. Glauben in einer Zeit der Leichtgläubigkeit. Frankfurt am Main: Campus, 1994.

BRETTELL, Caroline B.; HOLLIFIELD, James F. Introduction. In: BRETTELL, Caroline B.; HOLLIFIELD, James F (Ed.). Migration Theory. Talking across Disciplines. New York/London: Routledge, 2007. p. 1-29.

DEMUTH, Carolin; KELLER, Heidi. Culture, learning, and adult development. In. HOARE, Carol (Ed.). The Oxford handbook of reciprocal adult development and learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. p. 425-443.

GRJASNOVA, Olga. Der Russe ist einer, der Birken liebt. München: Carl Hanser Verlag, 2012.

KEUPP, Heiner et ali. Identitätskonstruktionen. Das Patchwork der Identitäten in der Spätmoderne. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt, 2002.

RUMFORD, Chris. The globalization of strangeness. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

WATZLAWIK, Meike. Cultural identity markers and identity as a whole: Some alternative solutions. Culture & Psychology, v. 18, n. 2, p. 253-260, 2012.

Published

2018-05-31

How to Cite

Mathias, D. (2018). Cultural Identity in Der Russe ist einer, der Birken liebt, by Olga Grjasnowa. Arquivo Maaravi: Revista Digital De Estudos Judaicos Da UFMG, 12(22), 68–79. https://doi.org/10.17851/1982-3053.12.22.68-79