„Deutschsein. Eine Aufklärungsschrift“. Zafer Şenocak’s Essays on Cultural Identity in a Country of Immigration

This article examines Zafer Senoçak’s collection of essays entitled „Deutschsein. Eine Aufklärungsschrift“ (2011). It is a significant voice in heated German debates on integration and migration as well as a critical comment on the discussions about national and cultural identity. Senoçak, a writer of Turkish origin, explores the German longing for unity and homogeneity after the unification, which results in rejection of 'the others'. Outlining the increasing ethnic plurality, he shows the obsolescence of the construction of 'Germanness' and its lack of contact with the reality. As a proponent of hibridity theory, Senoçak suggests rethinking of national and cultural cathegories, and making diversity a constituent element of a new German identity.

This article examines Zafer Senoçak’s collection of essays entitled „Deutschsein. Eine Aufklärungsschrift“ (2011). It is a significant voice in heated German debates on integration and migration as well as a critical comment on the discussions about national and cultural identity. Senoçak, a writer of Turkish origin, explores the German longing for unity and homogeneity after the unification, which results in rejection of 'the others'. Outlining the increasing ethnic plurality, he shows the obsolescence of the construction of 'Germanness' and its lack of contact with the reality. As a proponent of hibridity theory, Senoçak suggests rethinking of national and cultural cathegories, and making diversity a constituent element of a new German identity.