Research Project

The Discourse of Ukraine in contemporary German-language Literature:  intercultural encounters – intertwined memories – transcultural potentials

Prof. Dr. Ievgeniia Voloshchuk

The project aims to use fictional and non-fictional text examples to explore the specifics and dynamics of the development of the Ukrainian discourse in contemporary German-language literature from an intercultural and transcultural perspective.

The project will address the following questions: 1) What kind of political, historical, and cultural potential does the Ukrainian discourse in contemporary German-language literature have for the cultural reappraisal of Ukrainian history and the present? 2) What kind of intercultural differences, cultural-geographical patterns, topoi and imagological stereotypes can be recognized in the current literary reception of Ukraine in German-speaking countries? 3) How are Ukrainian images and aesthetic-linguistic means of representation transformed under the influence of intercultural and transcultural experiences in works by German-language authors with a Ukrainian (post)migrant background?

The project is divided into three parts. In the first, fictional and non-fictional literary journeys to Ukraine after 1989/1991 will be examined from the perspective of intercultural encounters. In the second part, the Ukrainian narrative in the works of German-language authors with Ukrainian (family) migration experiences will be analyzed. The focus here is on interwoven memories and the interaction between "Ukrainian material" and narrative patterns shaped by German-language literature. The third part explores the transcultural potential of the Ukrainian discourse in the fictional texts, diaries and essays that reflect on the war in the context of transcultural writing.