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TWIN PEAKSA NEWSLETTER FOR AMERICAN STUDIES

17th Issue Winter 2004University of Leipzig

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TWIN PEAKS

Dear Readers:

Stay mellow, get savvy. - This is the motto we would like to share withyou for this semester and all the challenges it has brought and is going tobring: from introductory tests and cram-full classrooms to stressful Christmasshopping and necessary exams. And for those long, dark winter nights wewant to offer you some cheerful glimpses.

This issue of the Twin Peaks Newsletter features an interview with theauthor Richard Powers. He visited Leipzig earlier this year when his novelThe Time of Our Singing hit the German bestseller lists. He talked aboutmusic, novel research and being featured in the Norton Anthology of Ame-rican Literature.

We also approach the Bush administration and the presidential electionfrom different perspectives. In our Academic Views we take a look at aspecial minority, not defined by their ethnic but by their auditory background.

For those of you who have not been able to get a printed copy of the TwinPeaks Newsletter for American Studies, we now also offer a PDF-versionof it at the American Studies website. You can find the most recent issuesat:

http://www.uni-leipzig.de/~amerika/Twin%20Peaks/twin_peaks.htm

Thanks to Anne Keysel, secretary at the American Studies Department,for her technical support to offer you the electronic version of our newsletter.

We would also like to thank our sponsors, the American Studies AlumniAssociation, the Fachschaftsrat Anglistik/Amerikanistik and theConnewitzer Verlagsbuchhandlung for their support. Moreover, our thanksgoes to everyone who contributed their articles and thoughts to this issue.

We hope you will enjoy reading.

Editorial

The Editors

Stine & Katja.

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CONTENT

TALKING HEADS

Discovering a New Life ..................................................................................... 4An Interview with Richard Powers

LOCAL COLOR

Ist nach der Wahl wieder vor der Wahl? ...................................................................................... 9Die nächste ASAA-Lecture

Sachsen kann schön sein .................................................................................................. 10News zur FSR-Fahrt

STAARS greift um sich .................................................................................................. 12

Introductory Tests ........................................................................................................................ 13Katja Kanzler Explains Why They Are There

ACADEMIC VIEWS

Who’s Not Here ....................................................................................................... 14Lessons in American Disability Studies - by Susan Burch

E-MAIL FROM AMERICA

Social Protest in San Francisco.................................................................................... 22Kirsten Jörß schreibt aus San Francisco, Kalifornien

WANDERING THOUGHTS

Ein Wendepunkt für die Vereinigten Staaten ....................................................................... 24Gedanken zur Präsidentschaftswahl 2004 - von Andrew Goodhart

Of Mice and Elephants ............................................................................................. 27Judging U.S. Olympic Basketball Performance - by Georg Keller

Hip Hopper ............................................................................................................ 30Cologne Exhibits Edward Hopper’s Enigmatic Paintings - by Stine Eckert

Tall Coffee in Small Cups ............................................................................................. 32What Creates the Starbucks Experience - by Katja Wenk

ON THE SHELF

Nicholson Baker ....................................................................................................... 36Checkpoint - by Stine Eckert

Richard Powers ................................................................................................ 36The Time of Our Singing - by Katja Wenk

CONTEST ............................................................................................................. 26

CALL FOR EDITORS ............................................................................................. 40

I MPRINT ............................................................................................................. 39

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TWIN PEAKS

Twin Peaks: What is your favorite tune?

Richard Powers: My favorite tune ...(laughs). That’s a good one. You know, I havetrouble fitting five thousand songs on mylittle mp3-player, so, I almost feel like I haveto eliminate 4,900 in order to chose one.(thinks) You know, there’s a duet from Bach,Cantata 78. It’s quite a famous one. I know,I’m gonna sound like I‘m buttering up theLeipzig audience here, but I use it in the novel.It’s a soprano and alto duet. It’s one of themost exhuberant and lively Bach has everwritten in it. And whenever I hear that tune,no matter what’s happening in my life, I feellike all will work out in the end. It’s reallyquite a beautiful, optimistic joyful tune.

TP: What music do you listen to in gen-eral?

RP: I listen to everything and one of thegreat pleasures of writing this book, whichtreats really a thousand years of Westernmusic history was that it gave me an excuseto spend a long time, a couple of hours everyday, immersed in music and not feel guilty

about it because it was part of my work. So Icould listen to everything from and eventu-ally it would work its way into the story atsome place.

TP: Since you began talking of the novel,where did you get the idea for it?

RP: The inspiriration originally came tome about twenty years ago, when I was writ-ing my first book. And it came in the form ofa news-real, an old documentary film made ofMarian Anderson’s concert on the Washing-ton Mall in 1939. The story probably isn’tvery well known to Europeans. Basically,Marian Anderson was an African-Americanwoman from Philadelphia, from a workingclass home in Philadelphia who, through veryhard work and the gift of an extraordinaryalto voice, conquered Europe in the mid 1930swhen she sang on a many-country tour andwon the admiration and adulation of the mu-sic world from Austria to Scandinavia.Toscanini said: “A voice like hers only comesaround once every hundred years.” Whenshe sang Sibelius’* songs for him up north,he said: “My roof is too low for you.”

Richard Powers’ eighth novel The Time of Our Singing is his first book released inGerman. For the German release, Powers went on a book toor throughout the countryand visited Leipzig as well. Katja Wenk interviewed Powers in his hotel room onJune 8, 2004, prior to his reading session that evening in the Haus des Buches.

Discovering a

Richard Powers about physics,leaps of faith and musical pilgrimages

New Life

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TALKING HEADS

Anderson was a woman who was not par-ticularly well-known in the United States. Shehad to come to Europe to have this kind oftriumphal discovery. When she went back tothe United States and tried to repeat her suc-cess in her own country, she was denied ac-cess to Constitution Hall in Washington D.C.on the basis of race. So, when EleanorRoosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt’s wife, foundout about this, she was completely scandal-ized and publicly declared that this was anoutrage and resigned her membership in the“Daughters of the American Revolution,”which was the group that had preventedAnderson from using this concert hall.

And the idea occured to then Secretaryof State that they could have MarianAnderson sing outdoors for free as a kind ofprotest for this racial discrimination. 75,000people turned up for this concert, the largestsolo concert until that moment. And I sawthis on a documentary news-real footage inthe mid 1980s while I was working on my firstbook. And what really shook me was herchoice of first song to open up this concert.She began the concert with the old Americanpatriotic hymn “My country ‘tis of thee,sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.” So, here’sthis woman who’s just been locked out ofthe concert hall, humiliated, forced to singoutdoors and she issinging of the “sweetland of liberty”.

And I knew thatsome day I would haveto try to tell this storyand have to try to tell astory that would ex-plore what future America she was dreamingabout when she sang the song.

TP: When did you actually start writing

the novel?

RP: I started writing the novel back in1997/98. And it took about four years of re-search and writing and rewriting in order tobring it from the first words to publication.

TP: What did your research on this novelinvolve?

RP: The book describes a mixed race fam-ily: a German-Jewish refugee physicist whoescapes Hitler’s Europe, goes to New Yorkand begins life as an academic there. Andanother younger African-American womanwho, inspired by Marian Anderson, tries toform a career for herself in concert classicalmusic. This experience of the mixed race cou-ple and their three children - all slightly dif-ferent ages and slightly different tones, com-ing of age in the 40s, in the 50s, in the 60s -lies at the hearf to the book. Thus, the re-search dealt mainly with the mixed race expe-rience in the United States: What does it feellike to come of age in a racists society withone parent from each race - neither fish norbird, belonging to neither the black world northe white world but somehow in the middle?What was that experience like?

My initial studies involved reading manyhundreds of histories,autobiographies, andmemoirs of mixed racepeople, and also con-ducting research intothat experience withmixed race people thatI knew or was able to

hunt down. That research led naturally intoan exploration of history of race relations fromthe mid-century on to the end of the 20th cen-tury, the Civil Rights movement and the prin-cipal landmarks in black-white relationshipin for second half of the century. It’s a very*Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer (1865-1957)

I knew that some dayI would have to try

to tell this story

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TWIN PEAKS

big topic, it’s an endless topic. I’ve writtenseven other novels before this one on manycomplex themes: molecular genetics, virtualreality, photography, medicine. All of theminvolved a lot of research.

Race was by far the hardest subject ofresearch because it’s never ending and eve-rything that you read only makes the subjectmore complicated.

TP: You’ve just mentioned complexthemes, one of which also is physics. Youstudied physics at one point. How does onego from physics to literature?

RP: (laughs) I guess, when I was a childand in my teenage years, I had a great hun-ger to be as free as possible and to pursue asmany interests as I could just for the sheerjoy, the sheer pleasure of them. School, ofcourse, required some commitment, somespecialization and this was the hardest pe-riod of my life, my college years from about18 to 21, because every farther choice to spe-cialize felt like a choice to say no to hundredsand hundreds of other possibilities. Each fur-ther increase in this professionalization feltlike I was putting to deathall these other hypo-thetical lives that I wouldnever lead. And I movedtoward physics, I guess,in the belief that thiswould be a place where Icould somehow put to-gether the big picture,the aerial view, the explo-ration of very large questions: How does itall work? How does it all fit together?

Of course, I discovered, after some yearsof studying physics, that it, too, requiredgreat specialization and maybe more speciali-zation than many of the other fields that Ihad already said good-bye to. It wasn’t untilI kind of had left school and had been mak-

ing a living for a while as a computer pro-grammer that I happened upon the possibil-ity of story telling. And that discovery waslike a new life for me because it meant, for theperiod of time that I spend writing each story,I could embark, at least hypothetically,vicarously, in all these other lifes that I wouldnever lead myself. For a couple of years Icould be a musician, and for a couple of yearsI could be an historian or a moleculargenetecist or a virtual reality programer. Itstill seems to me like the luckiest possiblecareer because it gives me the possibility tofollow all these roads not taken at least hy-pothetically.

TP: An excerpt of one of your novels,Galitea 2.2, is actually featured in the NortonAnthology of American Literature. Howdoes it feel, as a living author, to be part ofthe Norton Anthology?

RP: (laughs) That’s pretty scary. And, ofcourse, the possibility is that the next editionwill have some other author in there insteadof me. I never want to feel too frightened bythe attention paid - or not paid - to you, from

year to year. Basically theday-to-day reality of writ-ing is that you keep yourhead down and you keepworking on the project im-mediately in front of you.And when the audienceis there you feeltremedously grateful, andwhen it’s not you keep

telling the story.

TP: How important is critical praise foryou then?

RP: Well, I think, I do want to feel thatthere are readers there, that somehow theselittle messages in a bottle are being picked

I had a great hunger tobe as free as possibleand to pursue as manyinterests as I could justfor the sheer joy of them.

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TALKING HEADS

up and read and responded to somehow outthere. On the other hand, you can’t really dothe mathematics to find out exactly what ef-fect your books are having on people’s lives.There is a kind of leap of faith that the read-er’s story will intersect the story that you’vetold in a way that’s resonant and useful forthem.

A good review in a news-paper can be a wonderfulmotivation to keep working,but if you believe the goodones, you have to believe thebad ones, too, right? So, youhave to make sure that youremember that a review is asmuch about the reviewer as it is about thebook. A certain kind of distance and perspec-tive is required, I think, in order to keep work-ing month after month, year after year. I wouldsay that a letter from a reader, who tells somestory about the way their lives have beenchanged by reading the book, can mean asmuch or more as good critical praise.

TP: And is this a reason, too, for you togo on a reading tour ?

RP: Interesting question. I did absolutelyno publicity until about my fifth book. I hadbeen writing for over ten years before I evenhad a picture of me on any of these books orbefore I really conducted any kind of inter-views.

Why did I come to Germany for the Ger-man translation of this book? It’s a leap offaith, I think, on the part of a German pub-lisher to pick up an American book and wantto go through the difficulty and expense oftranslating. You know how long and difficultit is to transpose a book from one languageto another. And it’s very important to me, andin particular this book which deals so muchwith the question of cultural ownership andcross-cultural theft and influence and the

ways in which one world influences andchanges another world that seemingly isacross some iron-clad border.

It’s particulary important to me to feel thatthe work can enter into other conversations,the conversations of literature in German, theconversation of European literature today.

My book is about the waysin which European culture istransformed in America bythe experience of Africans inAmerica to create this strange,hybrid culture called Ameri-can culture, which is neitherbird nor fish, yet somehowboth bird and fish. And it’s

very important to me to think that Americanculture can somehow now give back in a wayto one of the cultures from which it emergerd,European culture.

I also like the notion of supporting thepublisher that has taken a chance on me, andI like the notion of cross-cultural fertilization,but I also know that when I come to Europeand I do visit these cities there is a high pos-sibility that there might be some small expe-rience that could plant the seed for anotherbook down the line.

TP: Did you have any influence on thetranslation at all?

RP: Not much. They did ask some ques-tions in the course of working on the book,but the translation is a work of art in its ownright. There’s an old joke about translationthat is rather sexist, so don’t scold me: Atranslation is like a woman. If it’s beautiful,it’s not faithful. And if it’s faithful, it is notbeautiful. But, in fact, there is this wonderfulart of trying to make something that some-how evokes the original, but also succeedsin completely different terms, the terms ofthe target language, the terms of the targetculture.

A review is asmuch about thereviewer as it isabout the book.

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TWIN PEAKS

Even when you look at the title of thebook in English it’s “The Time of Our Sing-ing” and in Germanit’s “Der Klang derZeit” – very differentsuggestions. Andyet, they’re almostlike twins separatedat birth and raised onseparate continents,which is again alovely idea with re-gard to this book,this book that ex-plores the idea that allculture is theft, thatsomehow these different groups really maynot be all as different as we think but aresomehow jumping over the fence at night andtaking something away and turning it intosomething that the original owners wouldnever recognize. And then the original own-ers jumping over the fence the following nightand stealing back and turning it into some-thing else.

TP: You mentioned the title. Do you think“Der Klang der Zeit” is an adequate trans-lation of “The Time of Our Singing”?

RP: I think it is an ingenious one. It givesa very different feel. It sacrifices the sugges-tion of the biblical quote that the English titleis based on, but it creates a kind of epic sensethat this book is going to try to tell the storyof many decades, of half a century and do itin a kind of operatic way.

My understanding is “Klang” is a littlebit archaic. It has a slightly literary associa-tion to it; it’s not an everyday word neces-sarily. But that’s quite nice, too, that sense,that this is a book about memory, about long,slow changing processes. The book has, asit’s shape, a double rondo, where certain

motives keep coming back into this family’slife again and again and again. I think it does

have many wonder-ful suggestions forthe shape of thestory inside.

TP: Does beinghere in Leipzig haveany special meaningfor you?

RP: Oh, my word,it’s like a pilgrimage.And this is my firsttrip to the city, but as

a music lover and specifically as an incurableBach-lover this is quite exciting for me. I lookforward to prowling around the city for a fewhours before the reading tonight.

TP: So where do you plan to go?

RP: Well, I guess the Thomaskirche isstop number one and then the Nicolai as well,and perhaps we can look into the museumand the Bach archive. And I know it’s ne-glectful of many of the other sights in thecity to go directly towards these little pilgrim-ages and spend my precious time there first.But you have to remember that this is a kindof mythical place that I’ve had in my mind formy whole life really. It’s quite exciting to gotrace it down and see if my mental image isanything like reality.

TP: Mr Powers, thank you very muchfor this interview.

* * *If you are interested in The Time of Our

Singing, you can find more about RichardPowers’ novel on page 38.

This is a kind of mythicalplace that I’ve had in mymind for my whole life re-ally. It’s quite exciting to gotrace it down and see if mymental image is anythinglike reality.

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TALKING HEADS

Alu

mni

New

s Ist nach der Wahl

Die nächste ASAA-Lecture steht auf dem Plan.Das Thema: Die transatlantischen Beziehungen nach den US-Wahlen

+ + + Ankündigung: Die nächste ASAA-Lecture + + +

Was kommt nach den US-Wahlen? Hal-ten die deutsch-amerikanischen Bezie-hungen vier weitere Jahre George W.Bush aus? Was passiert, wenn JohnKerry gewinnt? Wie entwickeln sich dieBeziehungen zwischen Deutschland undden USA?

Fragen über Fragen. - Antworten gibtes am 30. November. Dann spricht Kar-sten Voigt, Koordinator für deutsch-amerikanische Beziehungen im Auswär-tigen Amt, über die TransatlantischenBeziehung nach den US-Wahlen.

wieder vor der Wahl?

Die transatlantischen Beziehungen nach den US-Wahlen

zu Gast:

Termin:Ort:

Karsten Voigt, Koordinator für deutsch-amerikanischeBeziehungen im Auswärtigen Amt

Dienstag, 30.11.2004, 15 UhrZeitgeschichtliches Forum

Karsten VoigtKoordinator für deutsch-amerikanische

Beziehungen im Auswärtigen Amt

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TWIN PEAKS

Wie verbringen Studierende ihre Wo-chenenden? Fleißig sein und etwas fürs Stu-dium tun – weggehen, feiern, Freunde tref-fen – nach Hause zu den Eltern oder nachBerlin (wo man jemanden kennt) fahren?Wir haben da etwas, das alles drei verbin-det – es hat was mit dem Studium zu tun,man kann Leute kennen lernen und feiern,und gleichzeitig wegfahren. Nebenbei be-steht die Möglichkeit Sachsen außerhalbLeipzigs kennen zu lernen. Und das kanndann ziemlich schön sein.

Dieses vielseitige Phänomen nennt sich„FSR-Fahrt“ – bereits zweimal gab es dieGelegenheit für Anglistik-/Amerikanistik-Studierende teilzuhaben an einem kleinenfeinen Erlebniswochenende.

Ende Oktober 2003 – SchlossAugustusburg – eine gepäckbeladeneGruppe stapft im windigen Dunkel einenBerg hinauf. Hinter ihnen liegt eine Qdyssee– per Bahn und Bus, mit einer Seilbahnund zu Fuß durch das sächsische Hinter-land. Auf dem Berg angekommen sind sieam Ziel ihrer Reise und stehen imSchlosshof. Zwei Stunden später nachdem abendlichen Essen – Kennenlernrundemit Musik, Chips und Bier... Am nächstenMorgen ein übliches Frühstück –Schlossrundgang und Besichtigung einesziemlich alten und tiefen Brunnens – da-nach geht’s in kleineren Grüppchen durchden umliegenden Wald – inklusive Gesprä-che über die Essbarkeit der anwesenden

und verwesenden Waldpilze, Filme dervergangenen Jahre und andere Skurilitäten.Kulinarische Aspekte desWochenendausflugs – Döner in Augustus-burg und eine typisch kleinstädtische Gast-stätte mit entsprechender Gesellschaft. Wirwaren auch sportlich – zumindest teilwei-se. Eine Erkenntnis ist, dass man Tisch-tennis auch mittels eines Linguistikbuchsspielen kann, und nicht auf die handelsüb-lichen Schläger angewiesen ist. Um dasinzwischen ansatzweise entstandeneKlassenfahrtsgefühl zu vervollständigen,fanden sich ein paar Freiwillige zur Nacht-wanderung zusammen, welche sich bis indie Morgenstunden hinzog… ja und dannstanden wir im Kühlen vor verschlosse-ner Tür. Eine andere beliebte Beschäftigungwährend unserer Fahrten ist musikalischesExperimentieren, eine Gitarre ist immer da-bei, manche Stimmen sind verdächtig gutund geübt. Am letzten der drei Tage be-suchten wir die nah gelegene legendäreSommerrodelbahn – anschließend ging eszur Seilbahn – und dann zur durchschnitt-lichen normalen Bahn. Wer jetzt nur Bahn-hof versteht – auch egal, und das nächsteMal besser mitkommen.

* * *

Mitte Juni 2004 irgendwo auf der Au-tobahn in Sachsen – ein kleines schwar-zes Auto, voll bepackt, drei Insassinnen,dementsprechend eng und extrem warm

SACHSENKANN SCHoeN SEIN

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LOCAL COLOR

(weil schwarz und klein). Langsam krie-chen wir durch die Gegend, ein Tape löstdas nächste ab, Entspannung macht sichbreit. Dann auf einmal das Unfassbare –wir sind schnell, extrem schnell, soschnell, wie es mit diesem kleinen briti-schen Auto eigentlich nicht möglich ist.Wir rollen bergab und stellen einen neuenpersönlichen Rekord auf – denn diesesAuto hat Persönlichkeit. Der eigentlichePlan war mit dem Auto noch vor den Zu-greisenden anzukommen, eventuell schonEssen zu kochen und Kaltgetränke bereit-zuhalten. Aber es war Freitag und wirnicht allein auf den Straßen unterwegs.Völlig fertig kamen wir dann ungefähr einehalbe Stunde vor dem Rest unsererWochenendsausflugsgruppe in Oberauan. Auch diesmal in Schlossnähe, be-wohnten wir drei Tage lang ein OffenesHaus. Besagtes kleines Auto musste zwei-mal für unsere Essens- und Getränkeein-käufe herhalten, wir legen wert auf aus-gewogene, gesunde Ernährung – Pasta,lecker Frühstück und großes Grillenunterm Baum. Und immer wieder Sport– Fußball, Federball, Frisbee undJonglierkurse mit Erfolg. Des nachts imGemeinschaftsraum… rauchige Stimme,rauchige Luft und Hände, die sagenhaftin die Saiten einer Gitarre greifen. Dem-entsprechend widmeten wir einen Abendvoll und ganz der handgemachten Mu-sik. Am andern Abend wurde diskutiert –über den Streik im vorherigen Semester,über Studiengebühren und hochschulpo-litische Veränderungen, das Schaffen desFachschaftsrats und ob das jemanden in-teressiert, Feedbackmangel und so. Trotzoder gerade wegen der kleinen Rundewurde es ziemlich hitzig bis wir uns ir-gendwann im Kreis drehten und danndoch wieder zur Gitarre und zum Bier

griffen. Die obligatorische Nachtwande-rung wurde spontan ausgeweitet und sogab es dann auch in den Morgenstundennoch ein – hey komm, wir schau’n unsmal den Sonnenaufgang an, aber von wosieht man den eigentlich am besten? Ir-gendwann ist dann auch das schönste Wo-chenende am Ende, das hieß dann Sachenpacken, sauber machen und zurück nachLeipzig.

Wegfahren macht Spaß, auch mit uns.Und auch dieses Semester soll es uns undeuch irgendwo nach Sachsen verschlagen– vielleicht auch mal über die Ländergren-zen hinweg. Definitiv fest steht schon derTermin – vom 19. bis zum 21. November.Der Ganze kostet euch nur 25 Euro, dasist eure Beteiligung an Hin- und Rückfahrt,Unterkunft, Essen und Getränken, even-tuell anfallenden Eintrittsgeldern… es lohntsich also. Günstiges Wegfahren, gutes Fei-ern und alles ganz studentisch.

FSR-FAHRT19.-21.11.2004

Weitere Ínformationen gibt esbeim Fachschaftsrat Anglistik/Amerikanistik.

* * *

FSR-STAMMTISCH

jeden ersten Montag imMonat um 20:00 Uhrim Beyerhaus, Ernst-Schnel-ler-Straße 6

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TWIN PEAKS

Es hat nichts zu tun mit einem von Geflü-gel übertragenen Grippevirus, der mehrfachin Südostasien in Erscheinung tritt. Vielmehrkursiert STAARS an der Universität Leipzigund macht sich besonders zu Semesterbeginnbemerkbar. Betroffen von STAARS sind eineimmer weiter anwachsende Gruppe von Stu-dierenden der Anglistik und Amerikanistik.Zum einen gibt es da Studierende höhererSemester, die sich noch gut an ihre Anfangs-zeit erinnern können und sich inzwischen pro-blemlos in der Uni zurechtfinden – zum an-deren gibt es jedes Halbjahr eine Menge Erst-semester, die immer wieder vor den gleichenoder ähnlichen Fragen und Problemen stehen.Und genau hier schlägt STAARS zu.

Diese Buchstabenkombination steht fürStudents of Anglistics and American Studiesfor Resources and Support und beschreibt einMentorenprogramm von und für angehendeAnglistInnen, AmerikanistInnen undEnglischlehrerInnen. Studierende höhererSemester werden zu Mentoren, indem sie sichbereit erklären, Studienanfänger oder auchStudiengangwechsler (dann Mentees) in derAnfangszeit und darüber hinaus durchs Stu-dium zu begleiten. Zwar trifft man ja immerirgendwo auf Studierende, die ein Stück wei-ter sind als man selbst und einem auch malweiterhelfen – Ziel von STAARS ist es aller-dings, diesen Kontakt schon herzustellen,bevor überhaupt Fragen oder Probleme auf-tauchen. Diese ersten Kontakte zwischen denMentoren und Mentees werden über denFachschaftsrat Anglistik/ Amerikanistik her-gestellt.

STAARS gibt es an den Leipziger Insti-tuten der Amerikanistik und der Anglistik jetztannähernd ein Jahr. Angelehnt ist das Ganzean ein ähnliches Programm der Uni Freiburg.Während der Bundesfachschaftentagung

2003 in Bremen stellte der Freiburger Fach-schaftsrat sein Mentorenprogramm, dessenSinn und Erfolg vor. Nachdem wir in den letz-ten zwei Semestern STAARS nicht wie ge-wünscht umsetzten konnten, soll sich in die-sem Semester einiges ändern. Bisher warendie Mentees gefordert, auf ihre Mentorenzuzugehen, was leider nicht so häufig ge-schah, manche Kontakte schliefen völlig ein.Daher sollen sich die Mentoren besonders zuAnfang stärker einbringen. Wir wollen häufi-ger gemeinsame Treffen organisieren undanregen – zum gemeinsamen Frühstücken,Kaffeekränzchen, Filme ansehen, Bücher dis-kutieren...

STAARS soll und muss nicht immer undüberall sein, vielmehr wollen wir es euch er-leichtern, Kontakte quer durch die Semesterzu knüpfen und das eben nicht nur oder erstinnerhalb der Seminarräume.

STAARS GREIFT UM SICH

... UND STECKT VIELLEICHT AUCH DICH AN

wer MENTEE werden will ...… melde sich unter:

fsr-gb-usa@gmx.deBetreff: mentee2004

wer MENTOR/IN werden will ...… melde sich unter:

fsr-gb-usa@gmx.deBetreff: mentor2004

* * *

Bitte gebt Euren Namen, E-Mail-Adresse und Euer Studienfachan, wenn ihr wollt auch eine Tele-fonnummer

13

We decided to use such tests for a number of reasons:

Our primary concern was - as always - the question how to manage ascarce resource: our teaching capacity. Whereas in previous semesters,the students' degree of organization and a good deal of coincidenceregulated access to classes (as you know, places were usually allottedon a first-come-first-serve-basis), this semester's procedure rewardsthe most commited students. As this gives students greater controlover the organization of their education, we think this is a fair solution.

The tests will make sure that all participants share the same basicskills and knowledge in areas relevant for the respective classes. Webelieve the class-work will greatly benefit from this.The tests will require students to make a commitment before thebeginning of classes. We hope this will reduce the considerablefluctuation we usually see in classes.

Finally, the tests will prepare everybody involved for the changes theintroduction of the new BA-/MA-programs will bring about (regularevaluation of student performance; clear, consecutive structure of studyprograms, etc.).

- Katja Kanzler

This is what some of you might have asked themselves when theylookend at this semester’s Vorlesungsverzeichnis for the first time becausethe American Studies Department introduced Introductory Tests for allliterature seminars in the Grundstudium. On behalf of all her colleagues, KatjaKanzler has told us why:

Introductory Tests?

LOCAL COLOR

Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?

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In Washington, DC, I teach at GallaudetUniversity, which is the only liberal artscollege in the world exclusively servingdeaf and hard of hearing students. I amaccustomed to giving talks in signlanguage, in a manner consistent withclassroom instruction at Gallaudet. It alsomeans that I will not talk at you for anextended period. My Gallaudet studentsdemand interactive discussions because itis just too hard on their eyes to endurelectures all day long. So with yourpermission, I’ll outline the changingunderstandings of Disability, show howDisability represent the next civil rightsmovement, and also how it relates to ideasof multiculturalism in America. Then I’dlike to open up the rest of the time for adialogue with you.

As an historian, I’m interested in howwe study the past, and how we expressour understanding of it. This tells us asmuch who we are today as about the pastitself. And by re-visiting our history withan understanding of Disability, I suggestthat more complex and more accurateimages appear.

In the past, scholars and otherprofessionals commonly talked aboutdisability using a specific model of

interpretation. Today we call theirperspective a “medical model” ofdisability, and it is still present today.Simply put, this interpretation regardsdisability exclusively or primarily aspathology. Advocates of this methodexamine and express disability as a defector sickness which requires medicalintervention in order to “cure” theproblem. A related approach has been the“rehabilitation model,” which viewsdisability as a deficiency that could bealleviated by professional, rehabilitativeassistance. In both of these paradigms,disability, and all complications related toit, reside within the individual. They bothimply or state explicitly that if disabilitiescould be “cured” all related problemswould also be “cured.” This has broadimplications. To wit, disabled people areseen as dependent on the authority of themedical profession not just to “get better”but to “be better”.

As you may know, the Civil Rightsmovement of the 1950s and 1960sproduced massive changes in the UnitedStates, including the way we study andtalk about our history. Civil Rights activismhelped spark a new study called „socialhistory“, which emphasizes peoples’

Who is Not

here ?Lessons in American Disability Studies.*

* The text is based on a speech given by Susan Burch during the Fulbright Lecture Seriesin the summer semester 2004 at Leipzig University. Burch was signing the whole speechwhile Ian Sutherland, a colleague, was reading the text.

by Susan Burch

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experiences in the past. In America, race,class, and gender have been the dominantmodels for studying social history. Byincluding these three paradigms in theirwork, scholars have produced invaluablematerials and methodologies. Theirconspicuous impact can be seen in Ame-rican history classes across the nation;today, thankfully, it is inconceivable to writeAmerican history textbooks withoutincluding the important role of racialminorities, the working class, or women.

Disability Studies is a natural extensionof these models. Beginning in the 1980s,scholars began to look more seriously atthe experiences of disabled people inAmerica. They found that the medical andrehabilitation models of interpretation notonly limited—meaning they did not offerenough—but were limiting—meaning theresults of these interpretations undermineddisabled peoples‘ opportunities and status.Disability scholars believe that Disabilityis a socialconstruct ion.Some of mycolleagues havesummarized itthis way:disability is oftenless aboutphysical or men-tal impairmentsthan it is abouthow societyresponds to impairments. Language playsan important role for scholars in DisabilityStudies and it’s important to state at theoutset that my peers in Disability historyfrequently argue about terminology. Forthe sake of this presentation, I will clarifythe following words and definitions, andperhaps during the discussion we can

come back to why language remains socontentious.

The first term is Disability: Disabilityis generally believed to be a mental orphysical impairment that substantially limitsone or more of the major life activities ofan individual; it is also a record of such animpairment; and being regarded as havingsuch an impairment. Disability, as inDisability Studies, expands and challengesthis pathological perspective by focusingon its social construction, meaning thehistoric processes that have “accordedparticular meaning to disability and thathave determined the treatment and positingof people with disabilities in society.” ForDisability scholars then, the experience andhistoric “condition” of disability constantlychanges. In written works, we oftendelineate these concepts by using “d” forthe medical understanding of disability anda “D” for its cultural understanding—muchlike “b”lack for the skin color and “B”lack

for the culturaland racialidentity. Its e e m spar t i cu la r l yapt, though,that in theformat of ap u b l i cpresentation,you theaudience will

not be able to see whether disability is “d”or “D”, just as many disabled people passand don’t pass as able bodied individuals.We often call this the present absent, andI’ll come back to that later.

Another important term is Handicap.Handicap is a disadvantage for a givenindividual, resulting from an impairment

Deafness has “d”/ “D” qualities:

“d”eaf is an audiological condition;

“D”eaf refers to a particulargroup of people who shareAmerican Sign Language (ASL) asa primary means of communication.

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TWIN PEAKS

or disability, that limits or prevents thefulfillment of a role that is normal,depending on age, sex, social and culturalfactors, for that individual. There are alsosocially constructedhandicaps that mayd i s a d v a n t a g etemporarily ablebodied as well asdisabled individuals.

The last term I wish to describe is Deaf:Deafness, like disability, has “d”/ “D”qualities. “d”eaf is an audiologicalcondition; “D”eaf refers to a particulargroup of people who share American SignLanguage (ASL) as a primary means ofcommunication. Many of these “D”eafattend state residential schools for the deaf,associate primarily with other Deaf people,join social and political clubs that promoteDeaf cultural awareness, read Deaf-produced publications, have a commonfolklore, and see themselves as separatefrom mainstream society. Deaf Americansalso generally reject the label “disability”and I’ll come back to the deeper meaningof this for scholars in the field of Disabilityand Deaf history.

From its inception Disability Studies haschallenged the medical model of disability.Scholars have successfully demonstratedthat by focusing on the deficiency ofdisabled people,medical interpretationsgenerally fail to addressthe lived experience ofdisability, and avoidvery real factors. Toname just a few: 1)many disabilities and chronic medicalconditions cannot be cured; 2) disabledpeople, like all people, are social beingswith social needs—they have spouses and

partners, children and colleagues, andreligious and political affiliations, all ofwhich may influence the individual’s senseof self and quality of life; 3) moreover,

many medical andrehabilitation analysesare themselvesstrongly influenced bycultural values. Whatqualifies as disability?

What are appropriate accommodations fordisabled individuals? What are reasonableexpectations of disabled people?Throughout our history, social values andcultural perceptions have strongly framedthese questions and influenced theresponses.

The social model in fact rejects thenotion that people with disabilities areinherently “defective” and solely in needof rehabilitation; rather, disability is seenas a normal factor in life. Demographicsbear this out. According to the US censusin 1997, roughly one out of every fiveAmericans qualified as disabled. That is 55million people; 33 million people qualifiedas severely disabled. The numbers areprobably much higher than this. And asAmericans live longer, the chances of theirbeing at least temporarily disabled risesignificantly. Yet the irony of disability isthat it is both present and absent. As Doug

Baynton eloquentlyexpresses it:“Disability iseverywhere inhistory, once youbegin looking for it,but conspicuously

absent in the histories we write.” I will betright now, in this room, all of you eitherhave or had some kind of disabilityyourselves, know someone who has a

Disability is seen as anormal factor in life.

The irony of disability isthat it is bothpresent and absent.

17

disability, or—you’re not going to likethis—will become disabled at some pointin your life. How America has respondedto physically and mentally disabled people(or people perceived as such) tells us muchabout our cultural values, our economicstatus, our sense of governmental powerand responsibility. In short, our being Ame-rican.

How Disability is the next wave of theCivil Rights Movement:

Disability Studies‘ evolutiondemonstrates its specific Americancultural roots. As with other studies ofminority groups, DisabilityStudies has been closelyaligned with civil rightsactivism. Like AfricanAmericans, many disabilityactivists have devoted muchof their energy in thetwentieth century to endingsegregation. George Will hasaptly described the DisabilityRights movement as “thegreat inclusion”—the active recognitionand integration of Disability and disabledpeople into our academic study, as wellas our classrooms, businesses, andgovernment.

Similar to other minorities, DisabledAmericans began fighting for their rightsand resisting oppressive forces long beforethe 1950s. A few examples: in 1864, DeafAmericans, united with hearing allies,convinced the federal government toestablish Gallaudet University; in the 1920sand 1930s, they successfully combatedefforts to deny deaf people the right todrive cars; in the long term, DeafAmericans also outlasted efforts toeliminate their sign language and eradicate

their culture; blind people compelledCongress to pass laws protecting blindpeddlers, founding sheltered workshops,and supporting kiosks in cities so blindindividuals could have greater employmentoptions; blind people also have publishedjournals to educate employers andempower members of their community;in addition they have protected blindschools from closing; meanwhile, in the1930s, individual disability groups andconfederations of diverse disabled activistsstaged sit-ins to protest employmentdiscrimination in federal governmentprograms; others have empowered

wounded veterans bydemanding improvedrehabilitation services as wellas larger federal pensions.The list goes on and on. Mypoint? Individuals withdisabilities, like all othermarginalized people, werenot merely passive victims ofoppression in America. Evenin the margins of society,

they actively participated in their lives andinfluenced those around them. Althoughtheir progress was slow and resisted bysociety, ultimately disabled people helpedsucceeding generations come closer toexperiencing true equality.

Among many factors, including generalCivil Rights reforms and specific Disabilityactivism, American society can see thefruits of those efforts much more clearlynow. In the 1950s,Gallaudet Universitylinguist Bill Stokoe proved by academiccriteria that American Sign Language is anauthentic language. Deaf people of coursehad always known this, but Stokoe’s workchanged the status of ASL in the academicworld, and ultimately in mainstream

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TWIN PEAKS

society. At the same time, deaf people wereinventing TTYs—telecommunicationdevices for the deaf—and defeating effortsby our majorphone company—ATT—to limit itsdistribution. Thisi m p o r t a n ttechnology allowedthe deaf toc o m m u n i c a t edirectly bytelephone. Theircommunicationswere no longerlimited to writing,face-to- face meetings, or by assistancefrom hearing people on the telephone. In1967, deaf people supported theestablishment of the Registry ofInterpreters for the Deaf (RID), anorganization committed to promoting pro-fessional training for sign languageinterpreters, as well as a code of ethicsand standard practices. This was valuablebecause interpreting was previously seenas merely a charitable act, delivered mainlyby volunteers to needy deaf people, ratherthan as a respected profession, translatinga formal language for members of adistinct linguistic group.

Blind people, meanwhile, haveestablished extensive libraries of books ontape, providing access to works forthousands of their peers. Guide dogprograms have flourished, camps, blind skiteams, and tandem bicycling competitionshave proliferated. People with mobilityimpairments have benefited from lighteras well as electrified wheel chairs,negotiating sidewalks more swiftlybecause of curb cuts. Since the 1970s,they can reside in independent living

centers (ILCs), enabling them to work andattend school, enjoying lives outside theconfines of nursing homes, where many

had been sent forcare andsupervision.

E x t e n s i v ec o l l a b o r a t i o namong disabledgroups haveresulted in some ofthe most significantsuccesses. Forexample, in the1970s legalcampaigns resulted

in new federal laws that provided for “theleast restrictive environment” for disabledstudents. Often, these laws were used topromote mainstreaming—or totalinclusion—of disabled children with non-disabled peers in public schools.

In 1988 Gallaudet University itselfunderwent a fundamental change. Alumni,students, faculty and friends marched inprotest when the Board of Trustees pickeda hearing person as the new universitypresident instead of one of the deafcandidates. Signing in unison “DeafPresident Now!,” these activistsdemanded that the university appoint itsfirst deaf president. Support from all overthe nation, including from diverse disabledgroups, made the story front page newsin newspapers and national television. Af-ter several eventful, emotional days, I. KingJordan, a deaf dean at Gallaudet, wasnamed president. He remains our presidenttoday.

Fueled partly by this civil rightssuccess, disabled groups across Americajoined together to promote the passage ofour most significant legislation for disabled

Interpreting was previouslyseen as merely a charitable act,delivered mainly by volunteersto needy deaf people, rather thanas a respected profession,translating a formal languagefor members of a distinctlinguistic group.

19

citizens yet: the 1990 Americans withDisabilities Act (or ADA). This act makesit a crime to discriminate against a deaf ordisabled person on the basis of theirphysical condition in any government-funded schools and workplaces. The ADArepresents the finest civil rights legislationfor disabled citizens to date, showing thataccommodation to disability is a right, notmerely a charitable act. Yet for a varietyof reasons, including communicationbarriers, physical barriers, and social andstill legal barriers, most Americans at homeknow very little about the history ofdisabled people. Many don’t even think ofdisabled people as another minority groupin America (or more accurately, as apotential majority group in America). Theiraccess to their story remains barred.Imagine what we could learn from thisuntapped resource if itmoved from the marginsto the mainstream?

Which brings me tothe topic ofmulticulturalism. Oneresult of civil rightsactivism is the popularityof multiculturalism as away of understanding andexpressing Americanidentity. Inmulticulturalism, we cansee that manymarginalized people haveentered the mainstream.Today in the States, forexample, we celebrate Martin Luther KingJr. Day and Kwanza; children—white andblack—attend schools named after Benja-min Banneker, Booker T. Washington, andIda B. Wells. Young and old people tap their

feet joyously to music by Billie Holiday,Jimmy Hendrix, and Coolio. Museums ofAfrican American history, and courses anddepartments of African American studiesproliferate, and today poetry by PhyllisWheatly (a slave whom Washington andJefferson both considered “a master”writer), as well as works by LangstonHughes, and Nicki Giovanni. Their literarycontributions, as well as many others byracial minorities, are considered part of ourliterary cannon. It is no longer conceivableto think of American history withoutincluding the crucial role African Americanshave played. And this enriches everyone’sunderstanding of America, regardless oftheir own racial identity. But genuinemulticulturalism ultimately demands morethan what Gerda Lerner called “add andstir history.” Lerner meant that academic

fields (and I would arguesociety at large) are nottruly enhanced merely bymentioning minorities, oreven by noting theircontributions or celebratingtheir distinct identity.America is still learning thatwe are both one nation andan ocean of diversity, thatperhaps what we mostshare in common is that weare all different. Such a fullerappreciation of the place ofdiverse populations inAmerica alters not just thetraditional stories of thepast, but the way we study

them.Ultimately, multiculturalism not only

forces us to recognize the diversity evenwith minority groups—like immigrants oldand new—but reminds us that diversity is

America is stilll e a r n i n gthat we are bothone nation andan ocean ofd i v e r s i t y ,that perhaps whatw emost share inc o m m o nis that we areall different.

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TWIN PEAKS

what we most share in common. I’ll repeatthat, since it is an underpinning of thispaper: The reality is that diversity is whatwe most share in common. And that hasbold ramifications for telling our Ameri-can story as well. I can say that after 15years of working with deaf people—as aninterpreter, ski instructor, teacher,advocate and friend—my own sense ofbeing American has changed. My culturallyDeaf students would argue that they werenot created equal and that the goal is notto be “equal”—meaning the same—ashearing people. They have a sign for this.They don’t want to be forced to try andspeak and read lips to be seen as fully Ame-rican. These techniques are extremelydifficult and usuallyunsuccessful, but theyalso ignore the culturaland linguistic identity—Deafness—that myfriends cherish. Theywant to use ASL, teach their children Deaffolklore, and they want to work in visuallyaccessible places. They want to be “equal”,meaning that they want the sameprivileges, rights, status and opportunitiesas hearing people. And they have a signthat differs for this, one that really meansequal, as in fair. I bet you never know thatyou could be primarily defined by yourhearing, right? But that’s anotherdiscussion. The kind of equality my Deaffriends describe literally demands newlanguage for conceiving identity and Ame-rican-ness. I like that American SignLanguage itself boasts its nationalidentity—American—at the same time itsuse often denotes a significant separationfrom the mainstream. Most hearingAmericans don’t know ASL.

For me, studying disability is one of

the ultimate multicultural-Americanprojects because it forces me to remembertwo things: the inherent worth and dignityof every human being, and that I mustgive full attention to the individual and onhis/her context. Studying eugenics—thepolitical-pseudo scientific movement thatbegan in the late 1800s and continues invarious forms today—has provided vividlessons of multiculturalism, or moreaccurately, the damning lessons ofdenying diversity and the inherent dignityof every person. In American, betweenthe early 1900s and the 1960s, more than30,000 people were forcibly sterilizedbecause they were considered “poor instock”; I need not recount here the

European story of eugenicapplications—the Nazisleft much more powerfultestaments. But whileapplying the same valuesof integration and

celebration to disability thatmulticulturalism offers to other minorities,cultural values that have never beenquestioned appear—questions that cut tothe very issue of essential worth anddignity, and to the very issues of what itmeans to “be American.”

As I mentioned before, I ampersonally drawn to studying Disabilitybecause it emphasizes individuality,suggesting that we share more in ourdifferences than in a common notion ofnormalcy (which is its own elusiveanimal). In simple terms: there is nomonolithic “thing of deafness.” AtGallaudet I have students with somehearing and some with no hearing,students who were born deaf from deafparents and those who became deaf intheir teens. Context also matters: some

There is no monolithic“thing of deafness“.

21

of my students see themselves mostly asculturally Deaf before they see themselvesas racial minorities, or part of religiouscommunities etc. Yet contexts shift all thetime. Right now, for example, I may feelespecially American since I was invited totalk about American history in a place farfrom my home country. But I am also atthe same time many other things: female,white, middle class, Temporarily AbleBodied, over-educated, a Yankee, not veryold although my students insist that Iam…But when I leave here, I may perceivemyself differently—more religious, moreliberal or conservative, more handicappedthan able. All this is to say that at any giventime we might be more mindful of certainpersonal characteristics, but we are alwaysall of them, and the sense of self and self-identification changes. In my field, we callthis “situational identity.” And it specificallyacknowledges the complexity of peoples’sense of self, highlighting whymulticulturalism is so complicated. Whilewe struggle to acknowledge the diversenature of America, we also now muststruggle to realize that even our categories:race, class, gender and so forth, ebb andflow for the people labeled as such.

This has very tangible ramifications.In my field of disability, is means that thekind of education which best serves deafpeople and other disabled people must anddoes vary widely; it means that how wecreate access and equality for them comesdown virtually, sometimes literally, toindividual accommodation.

And imagine the responsibilities thatthis kind of knowledge demands: that, forstructures in this city, questioning forexample, the type of door knobs used sowheelchair users and people withprosthetic devices can get in here, where’s

the real time captioning, the computerizedBraille text readers, ramps, bathroom sinksor tables low enough for people of smallstatue to reach them…Resistance todiversity, to inclusion, even in this room,even with the reality of our multiculturalnature, remains. Even, especially(?), whenwe don’t acknowledge it.

There are some who argue thatmulticulturalism is dangerous because itmay weaken the ties that bind us, becauseit focuses on diversity over unity. Perhaps.But perhaps the rise of multiculturalismcompels America toward greater andcreative in-clusiveness, towards more fullyembracing the ideals expressed, butnarrowly defined, by the Founding Fathers.What marginalized people in America havesought —from the nation’s beginning—isan enhanced version of Lincoln’s famousline: to create “A more perfect union.”

Americans today are the fortunate andresponsible heirs of the arrogant and sub-lime ideal that all men are created equal.How, and to what degree, we make thatideal a reality will define not only who weare in this generation, but what is ourlegacy to the future. And our legacyultimately is our greatest potential successor failure.

For Disability scholars and advocateswho actively seek “the great inclusion,”there is much left to do. Disability historyhas asked us to consider “who is not yethere?”— both in our scholarship and inour classrooms. In order to create a posi-tive legacy, Disability scholars mustcontinue to ask that question, and likewisewe as a society must continue to broadenour recognition, acceptance, andunderstanding to help answer it.

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TWIN PEAKS

After six years I finally made it again to America. As I find myself on thehighway to San Francisco after the flight, I just can not stop smiling. With 65miles per hour we pretty soon see the skyline of San Francisco. There is notmuch more I need to be happy. San Francisco is not only said to be the mostliberal city of the world, people from all nations seem to be on the streets -young and old, businessmen and crazy ones, rich and poor.

All I want to do now is quickly check into my hostel, get rid of the heavybags and discover the city. Traffic jam, skyscrapers and noisy cars let merealize that I am not in Leipzig anymore. But the further downtown we get,the more people we see who are on strike. When I realize that all of themare in front of hotels, I get a bit worried about our reservation. But fortunatelythere are no people striking in front of our hostel. So everything seems to beperfect.

Yet, the next morning I wake up from the sirens of a fire-engine. A bitterrified I think of an earthquake or a fire, but than the noise of the fire-engine pretty soon stops and all I hear is bumping noises of striking people.I look outside the window and see that right across the street there is a bigHilton hotel. About 12 to 15 people run around in circles in front of it. Theyall hold signs that say ‘on strike’ and sing loud songs like ‘Don’t check in,check out’. With baseball bats they bump on their signs or on buckets andtry to be as loud as possible. Every time a fire-engine, an ambulance, a cablecar or even a police car passes by they honk their horn to show that theysympathize with the picket lines. While being so noisy they try to get theguests out of the hotel to put their employers under pressure. That so manypeople sympathize with them, shows how serious the strike really is. Thesepeople are not just striking for more money, but for social issues.

From their low wages they get, they have to pay for their health-care-benefits pretty much themselves. Almost no one could afford, living in oneof the most expensive cities of America and paying for retirement benefitsand health care issues themselves.

E-Mail from America

San Francisco -

It’s very liberal,

but is it social, too?

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E-MAIL FROM AMERICA

Unlike in Germany, American employers don’t have to pay half of thehealth care insurance. Therefore, a lot of American employees have to dealwith two jobs or more to survive.

But the people in front of my hostel are not the only hotel employees inSan Francisco who where on strike. In front of almost every big hotel thereare picket lines who strike for social issues.

It all began when employees of four hotels started to strike on Septem-ber 29th. The thing that hit me most, was that the day after the first fourhotels were on strike 10 other hotels – belonging to the hotel group- decidedto lock out all their employees who are in the union as well. I can notremember any aggressive employer like that in Germany. I have never heardbefore that someone was not allowed to come to work anymore because hewas in a union from which other people were on strike.

After more than three weeks now, nothing has changed for the strikingpeople. They are still in front of their hotels trying to convince the guests tomove to other hotels. The union provided grocery bags with eggs, rice andvegetables for the members who are locked out. At least the hotel groupwants to negotiate with the union now. But still when I came back and heardpeople moaning about Hartz IV I was a bit ashamed, but at the same timequite happy how well we are off in Germany.

Kirsten Jörß

Kirsten (second from right) talking to employeeson strike in front of a hotel in San Francisco

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TWIN PEAKS

Ein Wendepunkt für die Vereinigten Staaten?

In der ganzen Welt ist fast kein Gesicht so bekannt wie das von George W.Bush. Seine Amtsperiode begann zu einer der schwierigsten Zeiten der US-amerikanischen Geschichte—dem 11. September 2001. Die USA wurden aufbrutale Weise angegriffen, und Menschen in der ganzen Welt fühlten sich davonbetroffen, vor allem auch in Europa. Drei Jahre später sieht die Welt anders aus.Die transatlantischen Beziehungen sind angespannt, und die Welt wartet gespanntauf die Ergebnisse der Präsidentschaftswahl im November. In den Staaten gibtes ein wiederentdecktes politisches Engagement, das besonders an den amerika-nischen Universitäten zu spüren ist.

An der Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, wie an vielen anderen Universitä-ten, merkt man deutlich, dass die große Bedeutung der Wahl von den amerikani-schen StudentInnen erkannt wird. Jeden Tag wird man sowohl vonKommilitonInnen als auch von Professoren angesprochen, ob man sich schon fürdie Wahl registriert hat, und politische Flugblätter, Diskussionen und Reden ge-hören nun zu unserem täglichen Leben. Besonders wichtig in dieser Zeit ist dieRolle der ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). Die ACLU ist eine dereinflussreichsten Bürgerrechtsorganisationen der USA, und an der Ohio Universityversuchen wir, das öffentliche Bewusstsein dafür zu wecken, was diese Wahl fürdie Bürgerrechte in den Vereinigten Staaten bedeutet. Zu diesem Zweck vertei-len wir Flugblätter, die die Positionen beider Kandidaten darstellen, und bemühenuns mit Filmen, wie z.B. Unconstitutional, zu zeigen, wie groß der Verlust anRechten unter dieser Regierung gewesen ist. Mit Ohio als einem der wichtigsten„Swing States,“ die Bundesstaaten, die noch nicht deutlich für Bush oder Kerry

Gedanken zur Präsidentschaftswahl2 0 0 4

von Andrew Goodhart

25

stehen, bleibt es nur abzuwarten, wasfür einen Effekt auf die gesamte USA-Politk solche Versuche haben werden.

Meiner Meinung nach hat der 11.September eine neue Ära für die Verei-nigten Staaten eingeleitet. Wir wurdenzum ersten Mal seit 1941 hier ‚zu Hau-se’ angegriffen und mussten mit einerneuen Art von Krieg und neuen Vor-stellungen von Sicherheit zurecht kom-men. Unsere Rolle in der Welt wurdein Frage gestellt. Warum wurden wirangegriffen? Wie sollten wir auf dieAnschläge reagieren? Wie sollte unse-re künftige Außenpolitik aussehen? DieAntworten von Bush auf diese Fragenhaben viele enttäuscht.Die Präsidentschafts-wahl 2004 sollte dasamerikanische Volk er-mächtigen, sich alsLand und Volk neu zudefinieren, doch tut siees nicht. Statt dessenist der Wahlkampf zueinem Streit um ver-richtete Militärdiensteund Steuerpolitik abge-flacht. Diskussionen über Themen wieder Kampf gegen den Terrorismus unddie Zukunft der US-amerikanischen Au-ßenpolitik werden in der Öffentlichkeitzur Seite geschoben, und viele US-AmerikanerInnen suchen einfach nacheiner Alternative zu Bush. Meiner An-sicht nach hängt das größtenteils damit

Die Präsidentschaftswahl2004 sollte das amerika-nische Volkermächtigen, sichals Land und Volk neuz ud e f i n i e r e n ,doch tut sie es nicht.

zusammen, dass die Demokraten esnicht geschafft haben, einen Kandida-ten zu finden, der das Volk inspiriert.Das Beste, was die Demokraten aus-graben konnten, ist ein Mann, der seineeigenen politischen Positionen ständigändert, je nachdem, mit wem er spricht.Von Inspiration ist kaum zu reden. Mei-ner Ansicht nach herrscht ausreichendUnzufriedenheit im Volk, so dass dieRepublikaner die Wahl im Novemberverlieren sollten. AmerikanerInnen ausallen gesellschaftlichen Schichten sindenttäuscht über einen Präsidenten, derihre Kinder unter falschen Vorausset-zungen in den Krieg geschickt, ihre Bür-gerrechte verletzt und die Sicherheit der

Vereinigten Staatenund der Welt in Fra-ge gestellt hat. Je-doch geht es bei derWahl nicht mehr dar-um, wer unserenWerten, Hoffnungenund Wünschen ent-spricht, sondern nurnoch darum, werdas kleinere Übelrepräsentiert. Im

ganzen Land wollen enttäuschteWählerInnen eine Verbesserung deramerikanischen Politik. Die Frage ist,ob die Demokraten sie von John Kerryüberzeugen können werden. Sicher binich mir dessen noch nicht.

WANDERING THOUGHTS

26

TWIN PEAKS

It is embarrassing, but true:

We did not receive one single answer to the contest

in our last issue. But we don’t give up this easily.

Thus, the question remains:

What does „Twin Peaks“ stand for?

To spark your imagination we can offer you unique

treats - we are not only going to publish your ideas

in the next issue of the Twin Peaks Newsletter, but

we will also reward your support with books by

award-winning writers, among them Jeffrey

Eugenides, Richard Powers, and Margaret Atwood,

sponsored by the Connewitzer Verlagsbuchhandlung.

We are looking forward to your contributions. If

you have any ideas or simply want to comment on

the Twin Peaks Newsletter,, send us an e-mail to

twinpeaksnews@hotmail.com

All contributions should be submitted by March 15, 2005.

27

Of Mice and Elephants

by Georg Keller

What Brazil is to soccer, the UnitedStates is to basketball. While neithercountry did actually invent the respectivesport both have championed it since timeimmemorial. And although the glorious ageof the original Dream Team that tookbasketball to another level at the 1992Olympics as their opponents watched inawe are long gone, anAmerican national teamis still an amazingassembly ofextraordinarily talentedplayers from thestrongest basketballleague this side of Mars,the NBA (National Bas-ketball Association).

When it was announced that the USOlympic squad would play a couple ofpreparatory games in Cologne thissummer, tickets sold almost as fast as thelatest Harry Potter adventure. The eventwas designed as a mini tournamentbetween Italy, the USA and host Germany(including their NBA All Star DirkNowitzki) and would be played at thenewly constructed Kölnarena, amultifunctional sports complex seating upto 18.500 spectators.

Because many of the best US players

- The U.S. Olympic Basketball Team’s Perfomances

withdrew from taking part in the OlympicGames in Athens citing security concernsor fatigue after the long NBA season, theteam was left with only two establishedtop stars: two-time league MVP (MostValuable Player) Tim Duncan and formerscoring champion Allen Iverson. Theremainder of the squad features young and

gifted but internationallyinexperienced players likeLeBron James andCarmelo Anthony. Thefact that the team had onlybegun training camp twoweeks prior to the Colognegames didn’t help mucheither in the quest to forma smooth outfit out of therough mess of individual

talent. Still, German fans were lookingforward to finally seeing many of theirsports heroes live in action.

In this first week of August, hundredsof basketball enthusiasts, many of themclad in replicas of their favorite players,roamed the streets of Cologne sight-seeing, shopping and enjoying the warmweather and hotly anticipating the mainevent of the day: USA vs. Italy. Since thegame was scheduled to start at 8 p.m.players from both teams appeared aboutan hour early for warm up, easily

What Brazil is tos o c c e r ,the United States isto basketball.

WANDERING THOUGHTS

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TWIN PEAKS

connecting on shots from in and outside thethree-point area with the accuracy of veteranmarksmen. Under the thunderous roars of thecrowd several US players showcased theirrepertoire of slam dunks, essentially powerfulyet elegant as Russian ballet dancers.Security staff had their hands full withpushing back the stream of rushing fanstrying to catch a glimpse of their idols asthey disappeared through the tunnel into theinvisible bowels of the stadium.

They re-emerged fifteen minutes later,enthusiastically welcomed by the excitedchants of the populace. Next, as the lightswere dimmed and only spots remained, theplayers wereintroduced inA m e r i c a nfashion, eachone receiving awarm round ofapplause or inthe case of USco-captain Al-len Iversonwhose nameadorned manya fan’s back adouble dose ofchants, cheersand claps. Theaudience thenwas asked tostand up for the national anthems which wereinterpreted traditionally but desperatelyemotionless by an American chanteuse.

The game itself, unfortunately, proved tobe of the same quality, at least as far as theAmerican attitude was concerned. TheItalians, led by their agile playmaker GianlucaBasile who constantly rotated around the axisof the American defense, jumped out to anearly lead that in the course of the game they

should never surrender. Quick passing anddeadly outside shooting proved to be toomuch for said weary and uninspired USdefense. Time and time again, the Italiansused their small players to slash into the laneand kick the ball out to one of their reliablethree-point-shooters. On the other side ofthe court, although athleticallydisadvantaged, the Squadra Azzura guardedtheir antagonists passionately, heavilyrelying on their zone defense that oftenproved an obstacle too high to overcome forthe uncreative ball movement of the US team.Sloppy passes and several instances ofcarelessness with the ball led to turnovers,gifts the Italian squad graciously accepted

by convertingthem into easylay-ups, thusbuilding ac o m f o r t a b l ehalf-time lead.Right from theget-go theanimated play ofthe Italianssilenced theaudience, about90 per cent ofthem being USs u p p o r t e r s .Here and there,US chantspopped up but

most of the time the crowd was stuck in awe,non-believing how lethargic the Americanteam acted.

New half, same game. Apart fromindividual efforts by the likes of Tim Duncanand Shawn “The Matrix” Marion, the firstone a nearly unstoppable force under thebasket, the latter rather versatile andequipped with strong leaping ability; theAmericans didn’t show that they are a

29

serious contender for the Olympic gold medalas they never got into a rhythm even whentheir opponents blundered. The end resultof 95-78 was ratherflattering for the Ameri-can team who tookadvantage of some lateerratic play by theItalians to cut the deficitto 17 points. In spite ofthese last-minuteefforts, basically for thewhole night the USoffense remainedpredictable andharmless while Italydisplayed swiftness and creativity. Inzoological diction, the US was the clumsyelephant scared of the limber mouse.

Crowd reaction after the game wasmoderately mixed. The US squad earned afew boos as they left the court dazed fromtheir own incapacity while the small numberof Italian supporters and unbiased spectatorsshowered the Italians with applause forseveral minutes. The well-deserved win forItaly marked not only the fourth Americanloss during the course of a year but also thehighest one since USA Basketball is sendingprofessional athletes to internationalchampionships and Olympic Games.Nevertheless, head coach Larry Brown’syoung ensemble went on to claim victory intheir next four exhibition games including alast-second win against Germany. It remainsto be seen whether the short period ofpreparation will prove sufficient for them totake gold in Athens. But unless the elephantdrops his fright and learns new tricks totrample the mice consider this a hard road...

Fast forward three weeks. The OlympicBasketball final is just over. Joyous scenesof players dancing on the court, popping

champagne and hugging everyone in theirvicinity are being broadcasted via satelliteinto millions of homes around the globe.

Fifteen minutes later,avid supporters in theranks of the HellinikoSports Center proudlystand up as the nationalanthem is played and itis safe to say that thesmiles on the players’faces will last at leastuntil September. Likemany of their fellowcountrymen expected,the team rose to the

occasion and rightfully earned the gleaminggold medals the players now delightedly holdinto the cameras. Continuing the tradition ofBarcelona, Atlanta and Sydney, it is onceagain an American team that leaves the Gamesas Olympic champion. Unfortunately for theUSA, it is not the North American team, butSouth American Argentina.

After an Olympic tournament of mostlymediocre performances that included twolosses in the preliminary round, the US teamat least partly redeemed itself by winning thebronze medal against the strong Lithuanians.Still, the players looked not too happyaccompanying Italy and Argentina on therostrum. Knowing their Mission: Gold hadmiserably failed, they will return to the US aslosers. As unfortunate as this may seem forthe players personally, the meagerachievement of the team might turn out to bea healthy shock for the organizational systemof US Basketball and trigger much neededchanges. If not, the rest of the world hasevery reason to rejoice for the USsubscription of gold in internationaltournaments will officially be over.

The meagera c h i e v e m e n tof the team mightturn out to be ahealthy shock.

WANDERING THOUGHTS

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TWIN PEAKS

She is sitting on a bed; her kneesdrawn to her body; her arms enclosingthem. She is sunbathing with open eyesstaring out of the window. I am staringat her. What is she thinking?

The girl wearing a soft pink dressinhabits a picture by American painterEdward Hopper. He is one of the mostimportant painters of American 20thcentury art. Moreover, he is famous forpainting ordinary situations but creatingodd atmospheres in his pictures. Hismost-cited picture Nighthawks features

three lonely people sitting in a late nightdiner and served as catchy advertisementfor the MoMA-Exhibition. However, hisoeuvre offers much more than this as hasbeen proved in a large retrospectiveexhibited at the London Tate ModernGallery just recently.

There are ambiguous pictures likeNight Windows painted in 1928. Thepainting shows three windows. Thecentral window offers a glimpse at thebottom of a bend-over woman. Onecannot see what the woman is doing. The

by Stine Eckert

Hip Hopper- Cologne Exhibits Edward Hopper’s Enigmatic Paintings

Betraying her human features: „Morning Sun“ (1952)

31

left-hand window is open; a curtain isbillowing outwards. Therefore, the scenesparks imagination. The Guardian Stu-dent even found, “it is hard to avoid theconclusion that she is farting … whichsuch tremendous force as to blow thecurtain into the night.” Another paintingdepicts an Office at Night (1940)furnished with a boss and his secretaryleaning lasciviously against a filingcabinet. What is the story behind thosehints?

Hopper, who lived from 1882 until1967, does not tell. He was a man whokept to himself. His companion for lifewas his wife Josephine who was also apainter and model for the women Hopperpainted. Rather than in human beings, hewas interested in atmosphere and light.Often white or icy yellow sunrays fallsharply against walls like in one of hislast pictures titled Sun in an Empty Room(1963). The stillness of the picture is likethe simmering silence of a summerafternoon. Nothing is happening.Nevertheless, something is there and itis hard to stop staring at the picture.Other works create scary vibes; usuallybusy city streets are completely empty,without life. It is the audiences` duty orrather chance to answer the questionsthe pictures suggest. The more Hopperhides, the more he activates hisaudience’s mind. And indeed, it is fun tocreate a story around a scene. Maybethe girl on the bed has just learnt that sheflunked the last exam or lost her job.Maybe she carries an even more absurdsecret inside because her dark stone-likeeyes and clumsily painted body betray

Hopper in Cologne

Museum LudwigBischofsgartenstr. 150667 KölnTel: (0221)221-26165-2382

Opening HoursTue-Thu: 10 am-6 pmEach 1st Fri of the month:10 am-11 pm

AdmissionAdults: 7,50 EuroReduced: 5,50 Euro

For more informationwww.museenkoeln.de/ludwig

her human features.

In general, Hopper`s pictures triggersolemn but also pessimistic solutions.Rarely do they elicit smiles from theviewer. An exception is his painting witha couple of comedians dressed in whitewho are standing in the spotlight of a stagebowing before the audience. It is almostas if he and his wife want to say thankyou for the visit.

Edward Hopper’s paintings can bevisited at the Museum Ludwig in Cologneuntil January 9, 2005. The largeretrospective is the last opportunity toview this special collection of 70 artworks that have been lent from Ameri-can museums and private owners.

WANDERING THOUGHTS

32

TWIN PEAKS

Walking past a small café in downtown San Francisco, the German tourist turnsaround to his girlfriend and points to the next corner: “Look! There’s a Starbucks.” Shelooks, but does not see with all the traffic on the street and people on the sidewalks.“There, look, there it is.” he points again towards the green sign showing a mermaid.Then she sees the long line coming out of the Starbucks coffee shop - and smiles. Thecouple has passed the small café, waits for the traffic light first and then stands in thelong line to get their morning coffee. The Starbucks coffee shop bursts at the seamswhile the small café was almost empty. Still, the German tourists chose big corporate,seat-less Starbucks where they have to get their coffee and breakfast at the counterover a small comfortable café where coffee is being served for less money. Why isthat?

“The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people withno decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisionsjust to buy one cup of coffee. So, people who don’t know whatthe hell they’re doing or who on earth they are, can - for only$ 2.95 - get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely definingsense of self.“ - Tom Hanks in You’ve Got Mail (Warner Bros. 1998)

T A L LC O F F E EIN SMALL CUPS

What Creates the Starbucks Experience

33

No, it is not only the German touristswho act like this. Tourists from all overthe world as well as people on their wayto work will do the same thing to get theirdaily caffeine shot. Walk into a Starbuckson Berlin Friedrichsstraße and mostcustomers present do not speak German;look at all the Starbucks on airports andtrain stations - and what you see will notbe much different, no matter whichStarbucks branch you look at.

Starbucks started out as one singlecoffee shop on Pike Place Market in Se-attle in 1981 when cafés were still forEuropeans and drinking Lattes too fancyfor the average American. Within 23 yearsthe company developed into an importantpart of popular culture just like Coca Colaand McDonald’s.

One reason for the company’spopularity is probably its pervasiveness.No matter where you go in the U.S., thereis at least one Starbucks in the city. Moreoften, there is one branch every couple ofblocks and one can hardly walk through acity like New York or San Franciscowithout passing a Starbucks coffee shopat least once. In fact, it is more likely topass two branches within a five-minutewalking distance in most parts of big cities,particularly those that are popular both withbusiness people and tourists. In Vancou-ver, Canada, Starbucks even competeswith itself: On a downtown intersection,there are two Starbucks branches onopposite sites of the same street. Severalmore are within a five-minute distance.Still, it is busy in all these stores.

In fact, it is part of the company’sphilosophy to build new stores alongpeople’s daily paths. Out of habit, mostpeople use the same way everyday on theirway to work, to school, to the grocerystore, and back home. Similar toMcDonald’s, Starbucks “puts its sugaralong the trail of ants” because “you neverwant to make the trail turn” as PatrickDuffy, the president of the Florida real-estate firm Colliers Arnold, noted in arecent Newsweek article. Hence, thecompany built increasingly more brancheswithin close proximity, sometimes evencompeting with other branches, along dif-ferent trails of ants - potential customers,that is. Yet, the company’s success provesits real-estate team and executives right.

Another reason for Starbucks’popularity certainly is its design. Walk intoa Starbucks on Broadway or into a branchon Main Street in Huntington Beach, Cal.,and apart from the view outside thewindow, neither what’s on the menu northe service in the store will be much diffe-rent. Thus, customers around the worldcan always enjoy a feeling of familiarityas well as certainty about the quality whenthey visit Starbucks for their morningcoffee.

And Starbucks is a fancy place to enjoya cup of coffee. Mellow Jazz music, cozyinteriors and the smell of freshly roastedcoffee beans in the air make mostcustomers feel comfortable inside aStarbucks shop. Different fromMcDonald’s branches, Starbucks shopsinvite customers to stay, read the daily

WANDERING THOUGHTS

34

TWIN PEAKS

newspaper or a good book, or evenwork on their computers while enjoyingtheir coffee (if they can find a seat in thenotoriously crowdedstores).

M o r e o v e r ,Starbucks hasdeveloped a fancycorporate image andthus becomeimportant to popularculture. It is chic todrink coffee frompaper cups on theway to work or whilestrolling in the parkon a Sundayafternoon. Think ofall the movies andtelevision shows in which people walkaround with Starbucks paper cups(You‘ve Got Mail is just one among many).It is almost as if you are missing animportant part of your body without oneof these paper cups. It is the extension ofyour self and shows that you are bothopen-minded and thinking globally. Andyou know how to order a coffee atStarbucks’ which, at times, is not all thateasy because the coffee does not simplycome in small, regular and large, but astall, grande and venti respectively. Yet, itis sophisticated and trendy once you und-erstand the Starbucks language and canorder a Grande White Chocolate Cappuc-cino (hot), a Venti Caramel Frappuccino(cold) with whipped cream or just a TallCoffee of the Day (hot, but small,remember?).

However, the Seattle mermaidrepresents more than fancy coffee in papercups and an important part of popular

culture. For anti-g l o b a l i z a t i o nactivists Starbucksis just anothervicious companybleeding to deathfarmers ind e v e l o p i n gcountries andemployees fromethnic minoritiesfor their ownprofits. Starbucksstores have beenattacked anddamaged repeatedlyby anti-globaliza-

tion activists.

However, the Seattle companypromotes an image boosting diversityamong and equal opportunity foremployees, benefits for health care, as wellas conservation initiatives and Fair Tradepolicies with coffee farmers in developingcountries. Now, Starbucks’ record is notas clean as the company has its customersbelieve as the union and communityorganizer Kim Fellner observed earlier thisyear in the ColorLines Magazin, calling itthe Starbucks Paradox.

Yet, Fellner also noticed that“employees and habitués of Starbucksseemed far more diverse by race and classthan the American anti-globalizationmovement.“ By talking to employees atStarbucks, she found out that most people

Starbucks’ coffee sizes maybe a little confusing

35

working there received better paymentthan in similar jobs for other companiesas well as full benefits once they workedmore than twenty hours a week.According to the company, two thirds ofall employees qualified for these benefits.However, with some Starbucks‘contractors the situation was not as rosy,Fellner discovered. There employeesworked overtime and were still only paidminimal wages without any benefits -something which contradicts Starbucks‘official image.

When it comes to trade policies, theUS/Labor and Education in the AmericasProject (US/LEAP) and Global Exchangeconcede approvingly that Starbucks hasmade important changes in its policies andpractices within the last years. However,„they don‘t move faster than you pushthem“ Steve Coats of US/LEAP toldFellner. This suggests that Starbucks is,in general, willing to adjust its policies andpractices, but only when its own economicinterest is concerned. Hence, the Seattlecompany might be willing to change itscontractor and trade policies once publicconcern with these issues threatens thecompany‘s sales figures, which has themermaid‘s image appear brighter and moresplendid than that of other global playersagain.

This image, in return, also letsStarbucks appear more attractive tocustomers. Who would not like to drink agood cup of coffee in a comfortableatmosphere while knowing it does at leastsome good to the people who work for

the company?

The corporate image, a comfortableatmosphere combined with good service,and one Starbucks always just a corneraway - all of this is part of what thecompany calls the Starbucks Experience.Coffee is the most defining ingredient ofthis experience, but Starbucks has becomemore than a global coffee shop chain. Af-ter all, their coffee does taste excellend,but one can find much more on the menuthan just coffee: There is tea, cold drinks,bakery goods, and sandwiches. One canbuy Starbucks mugs, glasses, chocolatesand even the music played in stores.Moreover, the company wants to offerits customers more services, among themin-store CD-burners so that customerscan create their own CDs while havingtheir daily coffee.

And the Seattle mermaid is nowherenear to being stopped. The company plansto triple the number of stores to 30,000globally with the next decade. More thanhalf of those are supposed to be createdin the United States. According tocompany plans, there will even be drive-through Starbucks. More Starbucks areto come to airports and train stationsaround the world as well. While thecompany’s plans for the nearer future inGermany only suggest one new store inaddition to the thirty-one Starbucks coffeeshops already in existence all overGermany, the global plans suggest that itis only a matter of time until Starbuckswill also be an important part of Germancoffee drinking culture.

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TWIN PEAKS

This dialogue outlines the core of theslim book by American author NicholsonBaker. It has provoked a great debateabout literary limits in midst of theongoing presidential election campaign.Even before the book was published inAugust 2004 American media reacted toit.

Checkpoint is a novella which reads likea two-man-drama. Similar to his formerwork Vox* (1992) Baker’s new bookconsists of one single tape-recordedconversation. Outcast Jay has called uphis friend Ben, a professor for Americanhistory, into a hotel room to talk to himabout something important. The crazyautopilot in Jay’s head has taken over andthe target is set: President George WalkerBush. Jay wants to kill the man who in hiseyes is responsible for the killing ofinnocents. “By causing a minor blip ofbloodshed in one human being I’m goingto prevent further bloodshed,” Jay says.Ben is shocked and by debating tries toprevent Jay from carrying out his plan. In

the end Ben convinces his friend to actout his murder fantasy by smashing ahammer onto a photo of Bush pinned to acushion. Yet, the end of the book isdesigned for further interpretation.

Baker’s thin book of 115 small-sizedpages whisks facts with fiction.Reasonable thinking has stopped thinkingat all. The details of his plan reveal Jay’sunbalanced mental state. His weapons ofdestruction are “radio-controlled flyingsaws” and “Bush-seeking bullets”. Fictionhits reality; Jay’s contemplation meets theconstitution. - How far is literature allowedto go?

The Washington Post writes: “Thoughit is against the law to threaten the presidentin real life, a work of fiction is usuallyprotected by the First Amendment.” Thenewspaper cites Paul Bogaards,spokesman of the publishing house AlfredA. Knopf: “Baker is using the frameworkand story structure as a narrative deviceto express the discontent many in Americaare feeling right now.”

The National Review Online takes upthe argument of Knopf and Baker “that

Killing Mr. President

May 2004Adele Hotel and SuitesWashington, D.C.

Meet Jay. - “I’m going to assassinate the president.”Meet Ben. - “You’re shitting me, right?”

by Stine Eckert

Nicholson Baker’s new book Checkpointsparks debate about literary limits

* This book pushed Baker`s fame. It containsa sex-chat on the phone and served MonicaLewinsky as a gift to Bill Clinton.

37

they are expressing an emotion, not anintention (which would be illegal)”. But theNRO spins on this argument-ation. “Theproblem is, intentions emerge out ofemotions. A powerful enough emotion,validated and popularized by a prominentbook by a seemingly respectable publisher,can be taken as an incite-ment.”

The Village Voice reads the story in acontrary way.Titled with “TheBroken Pickle” –an image that Jayuses to describePresident Bush –the book reviewconcludes “if oneof our supremechroniclers ofmild manners canbe roused to suchp a t r i o t i ci n d i g n a t i o n ,democracy yethas a fightingchance.”

Moreover, theNew York Timesdraws attention tothe fact that Bakeris only asymptom for thewhole movementof “Americanl i b e r a l i s m ”which,” may be losing its head” because“whether or not Bush is Hitler, he is a devil.This is what now passes for smart.”

In contemplating his political position,Baker used the help of two alter egos: an

angel on the left, a devil on the rightwhispering the dialogue for Ben and Jayrespectively. Around this pivot circle manytopics of importance: ignoring currenthistory, abortion, and abolition ofexecution. The author is taking a snapshotof the US-American world today, whichis torn between two sides that havedeveloped extreme attitudes in this dead-

lock situation.

Sympathy orantipathy for“The Extremitiesof NicholsonBaker” (NewYork Times)depends onone’s ownpolitical opinionmore than withany other workof fiction.

Furthermore,Baker hasaroused thequestion: What isthe function andtask of literaturetoday? A thoughtthat may stilllinger in the airwhen thep r e s i d e n t i a lquestion will longbe settled.

* * *

Nicholson Baker’s Checkpoint ispublished by Alfred A. Knopf. Thehardcover edition costs Euro 14,10.

ON THE SHELF

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TWIN PEAKS

If a review is as much about the revieweras it is about the book itself, this short reviewwill tell you certain things about me as well,even though at this point in time I am notfully capable of reviewing Richard Powers’The Time of Our Singing for I have not yetfinished the 631 pages of his eighth novel.However, there are certain observations Iwould like to share with all of you, as muchas the limited space here allows for.

Those who have had the chance yet tolisten as Richard Powers reads from his novelswill be reminded of his vibrant voice as theyread the first sentences of The Time of OurSinging. Richard Powers allows the readerto hear music where only words are written.His every word is capturing and drawing youinto his story of music, memory, and time.

It is the story of Delia and David Strom.She an African-American, he a German-Jewish immigrant, they fall in love as MarianAnderson sings on the steps of the LincolnMemorial. Yet, David and Delia are the birdand the fish, who may love each other butcan never share a home. Powers uses thisanalogy repeatedly as the three Stromchildren grow up and are confronted with whothey are and what they are.

Yet, the color of their skin only plays alittle role as the children grow up. Jumpingback and forth through time, music is the onlyconstant. It is their life as the whole Stromfamily plays „Crazed Quotations“ every night.It is their refuge as the children rather practicewith their mother than play outside on thestreet. It is their hope as Jonah, the secondchild, shows promising and becomes afamous singer.

The Fish that Loved the BirdThe Time of Our Singing written by Richard Powers

by Katja Wenk

However, then come the Civil RightsMovement and racial turmoil and one canwatch the Strom children as history unfolds.

Racial discrimination and the beauty ofmusic are Powers’ main themes, but manyothers - such as time - blend in as well.

At times, one may feel lost when it comesto the musical as well as certain historicaldetails Powers intersperses. Yet, his writingis so clear and definitive that he alwaysmanages to draw the reader back into thestory.

Powers can dwell in the beauty of musicand time for pages and pages and managesto put the horror of racial discrimination intohalf a sentence. And while some sentencesstretch way long, Power’s train of thoughtalways stays clear and his sentences rarelylose the melody and rhythm that make readingThe Time of Our Singing such a pleasure.And one is always looking forward to thenext sentence, the next page, the next chapter.

* * *The Time of Our Singing by Richard

Powers is published as paperback byVintage and costs Euro 11,90.

39

Twin PeaksA Newsletter for AmericanStudiesBeethovenstraße 1504107 Leipzig

EditorsKatja Wenk (V.i.S.d.P.)Stine Eckert

DesignStine EckertKatja Wenk

Title PhotographKatja Wenk

Technical SupportMatthias John

Contacttwinpeaksnews@hotmail.com

Stine Eckert:Phone: 0341 - 1499 0634

Katja Wenk:Phone: 0341 - 2278 051

* * *

Printed byZIMO druck und kopie KGBeethovenstraße 1004107 Leipzig

IMPRINT

The Authors

Dr. Susan Burch is a professor at GallaudetUniversity, Washington D.C. - the only col-lege for deaf, hard of hearing as well as hear-ing students. She recently completed herPh.D. with a dissertation, entitled "Biding theTime: American Deaf Cultural History from1900 to WWII"

Andrew Goodhard is a student at OhioUniverstiy in Athens. He spent two years asan exchange student in Göttingen and nowmajors in Political Science at OU.

Kirsten Jörß, majors in American Studiescombining it with French Studies and Com-munication and Media Science at the Uni-versity of Leipzig. She currently writes onher master thesis about the use of languagein this year’s presidential election campaign.

Dr. Katja Kanzler has written her disserta-tion about the Multicultural Evolution ofStar Trek. She currently teaches American Lit-erature at the American Studies Departmentat the University of Leipzig.

Georg Keller majors in Arabian Studies atthe University of Leipzig, combing it withAmerican Studies and Political Science.

Jan Saeger studied Journalism and Ameri-can Studies at the University of Leipzig. Heis now working as a public relations advisor.

* * *

Stine Eckert majors in Journalism andAmerican Studies at the University of Leipzig.

Katja Wenk majors in American Studies atthe University of Leipzig, combining it withJournalism and Psychology.

40

TWIN PEAKS

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