The complete interview in German language is available as text pdf and audio recording at deuschlandradiokultur.de.
Category Archives: Talks & Lectures
06/24/2015, Lecture: Paul Michael Lützeler – The Emperor’s Matter of Priority? German Art at the 1904 World Fair in St. Louis (Des Kaisers Chefsache? Deutsche Kunst bei der Weltausstellung von 1904 in St. Louis), Potsdam
Paul Michael Lützeler
Rosa May Distinguished University Professor in the Humanities
at the Washington University in St. Louis, USA
Des Kaisers Chefsache? Deutsche Kunst bei der Weltausstellung von 1904 in St. Louis.
Wednesday 24 June 2015, 2:00 PM.
Location: Universität Potsdam, Campus am Neuen Palais, Haus 9, Raum 102.
The Lecture will be presented in German language.
Content of the paper:
The World Expo 1904 was organized to commemorate the purchase of the Louisiana territory by Jefferson in 1803. Kaiser Wilhelm was keen to maintain good relations with the US, and vice versa, the United States were interested in the presence of a Central European Great Power. The emperor perceived himself as a patron of the arts and wanted to make sure that German painting would be well represented. The artists wanted to be represented by a many-sided “Art Parliament”. When Kaiser Wilhelm, who despised newer styles like Impressionism and Art Nouveau, found out about it, he dictated the terms: only the academic art with their images of a glorified Prussian or German history, with its landscapes or religious motives, should be sent to St. Louis. These resctrictions provoked some uproar in Germany and led to new secessions. The Imperial Commissioner at the World Exhibition, Theodor Lewald, had to place some favored images at the Palace of Art (today St. Louis Art Museum), which were officially selected by Anton von Werner (court painter to the Emperor). However, Lewald succeeded to accommodate examples of modern trends in architecture, decoration and plastic in the exhibition building “Varied Industries”. The paper will show many of the exhibited paintings and works of art in order to emphasize the importance of the relationship between politics and art.
Published @ Vimeo: Interview with Emine Sevgi Özdamar on Berlin, translingual poetics and literatures without a fixed abode (German)
Wegbeschreibungen [Narratives of movement]. Ein Interview mit Emine Sevgi Özdamar on Vimeo.
Interview with the author of “Das Leben ist eine Karawanserei” [Life is a Carawanserai] and “Die Brücke vom Goldenen Horn” [The Bridge of the Golden Horn] Emine Sevgi Özdamar. The interview was conducted in German and filmed in the winter of 2012 at the foyer of the famous Berlin theatre Volksbühne. In conversation with Jan Homberg, Emine Sevgi Özdamar tells the story of her first years in Berlin and reflects upon the poetics of her writings and the criss-crossing of languages that is so typical for her literary work. Continue reading
08/29/2013, Double feature book launch: “LebensMittel” (diaphanes) & “Roland Barthes. Landschaften der Theorie” (konstanz university press), Basel

08/29/2013, Double feature book launch: “LebensMittel” (diaphanes) & “Roland Barthes. Landschaften der Theorie” (konstanz university press), Basel
Event flyer (PDF)
The double feature book launch will take place at the Café Frühling in Basel. Two books will be presented:
- Ottmar Ette, Yvette Sánchez, Veronika Sellier (Hg.): LebensMittel. Essen und Trinken in den Künsten und Kulturen. Zürich: diaphanes 2013.
- Ottmar Ette: Roland Barthes. Landschaften der Theorie. Paderborn: Konstanz University Press 2013.
The evening follows the motto “Musik, Gespräche, Rezept” [Music, Talks, Recipes]. Its guests are the confectioness Wencke Schmid, the artist Katja Jug, the book editors (Ottmar Ette/Yvette Sánchez/Veronika Sellier) as well as other authors of LebensMittel.
Time: August 29, 2013, 6:30 p.m.
Location: Café Frühling, Klybeckstrasse 69, CH-4057 Basel

08/29/2013, Double feature book launch: “LebensMittel” (diaphanes) & “Roland Barthes. Landschaften der Theorie” (konstanz university press), Basel
Book details Continue reading
Published @ Vimeo: Interview with Gesine Müller on TransArea Studies and the Transcolonial Caribbean (German)
Aufbrüche aus dem Zentrum oder Literatur(en) jenseits des Tellerrandes. Gesine Müller über TransArea Studies on Vimeo.
Interview with Gesine Müller, Head of the DFG-Emmy Noether Junior Research Group “Transcolonial Caribbean” at the Universität Potsdam, Germany. The interview was conducted in German and filmed in 2012 at the “Tempelhofer Freiheit” on the ground of the former Tempelhof Airport, Berlin. In conversation with Benjamin Loy, Gesine Müller explains and reflects upon the theoretical approach of TransArea Studies and her research focus “Transcolonial Caribbean”. On this subject, Müller has published in 2012 her monograph Die koloniale Karibik. Transferprozesse in hispanophonen und frankophonen Literaturen [The Colonial Caribbean. Literary and Cultural Transfer in Hispanic and Francophone Literature] (De Gruyter).
The video interview was drafted, prepared, and produced by Benjamin Loy, Sarah Wiesenthal, and Catharina Wirsching. It is the result of the project seminar “Broadcasting Science: Video-Interviews zu Schlüsselkonzepten der TransArea Studies” (instructor: Tobias Kraft) and is part of the Master Degree studies program for Romance Studies at the Universität Potsdam.
Technical assistance and consulting: Audiovisuelles Zentrum (AVZ), Universität Potsdam
Published @ Vimeo: Interview with Ottmar Ette on TransArea Studies (English subtitles)
TransArea: Ottmar Ette on Caribbean Literatures, Fractal Gardens and Tropical Microcosms on Vimeo.
Transcript
Ottmar Ette (OE): My name is Ottmar Ette, I was born in the Black Forest region of Germany and was raised bilingually. I live in Potsdam, though not here in the Botanical Garden. I have been working here in Potsdam for many years, studying the works of Alexander von Humboldt for over three decades. Humboldt was very familiar with gardens like this one. So this is a very special place for me. I would describe myself as a scholar in Comparative and Romance literature, and I have always understood Romance Studies to be a global science. It has fascinated me since my days as a student and still does today.
I wrote my PhD thesis on a Cuban poet and my „Habilitation“ on a French theoretician. I am passionate about what I do, and I try to share that passion with others.
Nina Hübner (NH): Thank you so much for this nice introduction, Mr. Ette. As you just mentioned, we are sitting here in the Botanical Garden of the University of Potsdam. We chose this place because you have been working for many years now on the tropics and the Caribbean. You recently published a book concerned with TransArea Studies.
In a nutshell: What exactly does TransArea mean? Continue reading
Published @ Vimeo: Interview with Ottmar Ette on TransArea Studies (German)
TransArea: Ottmar Ette über karibische Literaturen, fraktale Gärten und tropische Mikrokosmen on Vimeo.
Interview with Ottmar Ette, Professor of Romance and Comparative Literature at the Universität Potsdam, Germany. The interview was conducted in German and filmed in 2012 at the Botanical Garden, Potsdam. In it, Ottmar Ette explains and reflects upon his concept of TransArea Studies. On this subject, Ette published in 2012 his monograph TransArea. Eine literarische Globalisierungsgeschichte (Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter).
The video interview was drafted, prepared, and produced by Jan Schmieder, Maria-Anna Schiffers, Nina Hübner, and Sebastián Roldán. It is the result of the project seminar “Broadcasting Science: Video-Interviews zu Schlüsselkonzepten der TransArea Studies” (instructor: Tobias Kraft) and is part of the Master Degree studies program for Romance Studies at the Universität Potsdam.
Technical assistance and consulting: Audiovisuelles Zentrum (AVZ), Universität Potsdam
Event Ticker: the authors of the book series “mimesis” (De Gruyter) present their recent publications in Berlin
06/19/2012
(Ticker by Tobias Kraft)

The evening's panel (from left to right): Albrecht Buschmann, Gesine Müller, Anne Kraume, Ottmar Ette, Frank Hahn, Anke Birkenmaier, Jenny Haase
6:30 p.m. – Frank Hahn, director of the Berlin based cultural association Spree-Athen e.V., inaugurates the evening with reflections on the mimesis book series and its underlying concept.
6:45 p.m. – In his opening comments, the series’ editor Ottmar Ette (Potsdam) reviews the the past decades as a time of memoir discourse, which has been dominating both the artistic production and the theoretical thinking in the humanities.
Today, as Ette argues, literary and cultural studies have gone through a paradigm shift from memoir to knowledge. What is it that literature knows, about man, about cultures, about models and practices of life and conviviality (Zusammenleben)? What is it, ultimately, that literature knows about our lives?
As Ette points out, the subtitle of the series „Romanische Literaturen der Welt“ aims at pluralizing the literary canon in the tradition of Erich Auerbach’s concept of world literature. While Auerbach’s famous study Mimesis focused on models of representing »reality«, the life-centered focus of this series aims at analyzing representations of „lived realities“. These „lived realities“ are examined as models of conviviality in different periods of accelerated globalization. Hence, literatures studied in the mimesis book series are characterized by their prospect as global discourse and their capacity to highlight cultural „polylogics“ (Ette), both in its temporal and spatial unfolding.
7:15 p.m. – Gesine Müller (Potsdam) presents her book on Die koloniale Karibik. Transferprozesse in hispanophonen und frankophonen Literaturen [The Colonial Caribbean. Literary and Cultural Transfer in Hispanic and Francophone Literature] (2012). In her opening remarks, Müller highlights the productivity of 19th century Caribbean literature and their vivid conscience of processes of globalization. Juxtaposed with 20th century discourses on cultural theory and „multiple modernities“, the Caribbean presents itself as a complex (trans)area, continuously negotiating (post)colonial structures and conflicts. The focus of this book is set on the dynamics of cultural transfer in the „long“ 19th century, starting with the French Revolution 1789 and ending 1888 with the abolition of slavery in the colonized West. Continue reading
06/19/2012: members of POINTS present recent books of the “mimesis” series (De Gruyter)
June 19, 2012, 6:30 p.m.
Literaturhaus Berlin, Fasanenstraße 23, Berlin-Charlottenburg
»Kaleidoskop der Erinnerung / Kaleidoskop der Zukunft«
Presenting the Books Series mimesis – Romanische Literaturen der Welt (De Gruyter)
Short presentations and panel discussion with Ottmar Ette and selected authors of the book series, including Anke Birkenmaier, Albrecht Buschmann, Jenny Haase, Anne Kraume and Gesine Müller. »Kaleidoskop der Erinnerung / Kaleidoskop der Zukunft« is an event in cooperation with »Spree-Athen«.
More information
On the book series mimesis – Romanische Literaturen der Welt
Recent POINTS activities in Madrid, Bern and Milan
Recent POINTS activities have taken place in Madrid, Bern and Milan.
The activities result from cooperations between Ottmar Ette, Miguel Ángel Puig-Samper, Chelo Naranjo Orovio, Yvette Sánchez, and Dante Liano.
March 15, 2012, in Madrid
International Conference »Los imaginarios del miedo«, organized by the Instituto de Historia of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CCHS-CSIC).
Opening lecture by Ottmar Ette on “La economía del miedo”. Continue reading
02/10/2011: PoTZ Lecture with Christiane Berth
01/27/2011: PoTZ Lecture with Ruth Cubillo and Ronny Viales
January 27, 2011, 6:00 p.m.
Institut für Romanistik, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais
PoTZ Lecture: “La relación entre literatura y sociedad en la narrativa centroamericana de la segunda mitad del siglo XX”
Ruth Cubillo (Universidad de Costa Rica)
PoTZ Lecture: “Los problemas de la convivencia en Centroamérica”
Ronny Viales (Universidad de Costa Rica)
01/13/2011: PoTZ Lecture with Pablo Hernández
January 13, 2011, 6:00 p.m.
Institut für Romanistik, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais
PoTZ Lecture: “Marcos de visibilidad/Máquinas de guerra: fotografía y guerrilla en América Latina. Una aproximación metodológica”
Pablo Hernández (Universidad de Costa Rica, Universität Potsdam
11/11/2010: PoTZ Lecture with Luis Pulido Ritter
November 11, 2010, 6:00 p.m.
Institut für Romanistik, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais
PoTZ Lecture: “‘Panamá es un sancocho’: Armando Fortune y el mestizaje en la identidad cultural panameña”
Luis Pulido Ritter (Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt [Oder]
07/08/2010: PoTZ Lecture with Alonso Villalobos
July 8, 2010, 4:00 p.m.
Institut für Romanistik, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais
PoTZ Lecture: “Percepciones de medianos y pequeños propietarios de bosque localizados en áreas de transición respecto a su seguridad en la tenencia de la tierra en Centroamérica”
Alonso Villalobos (Universidad de Costa Rica/Universität Potsdam)
06/17/2010: PoTZ Lecture with Julie Marchio
June 17, 2010, 4:00 p.m.
Institut für Romanistik, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais
PoTZ Lecture: “Literatura de las fronteras y fronteras de la literatura: representación de los conflictos lingüísticos de la costa caribeña en la literatura costarricense”
Julie Marchio (Université Aix-Marseille I)
06/11/2010: PoTZ Lecture and Discussion with Horacio Castellanos Moya
June 11, 2010, 2:00 p.m.
Institut für Romanistik, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais
PoTZ Lecture: “Afectos y afecciones: una literatura de los encuentros”
Lectura y conversatorio con el autor Horacio Castellanos Moya, Alexandra Ortiz Wallner y Werner Mackenbach
06/03/2010: PoTZ Lecture with Ricardo Álvarez Ruiz and Mijail Mondol
June 3, 2010, 4:00 p.m.
Institut für Romanistik, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais
PoTZ Lecture: “Formalismo ruso y teoría de los polisistemas: nuevas ideas para el estudio de la literatura nicaragüense”
Ricardo Álvarez Ruiz (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua UNAM, Managua/CSIC, Madrid)
PoTZ Lecture: “Historiografía y discursividad crítica en los estudios literarios centroamericanos: primera década del siglo XXI”
Mijail Mondol (Universidad de Costa Rica/ CSIC, Madrid)
05/20/2010: PoTZ Lecture with Martin Künne
May 20, 2010, 4:00 p.m.
Institut für Romanistik, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais
PoTZ Lecture: “Die Felsbilder Zentralamerikas und ihre Bedeutung für das Studium der archäologischen Kulturen der „Zwischenzone” (El arte rupestre de América Central y su significado para el estudio de las culturas arqueológicas de la Zona Intermedia)”
Martin Künne (Freie Universität Berlin)
02/03/2010: PoTZ Lecture with Mónica Albizúrez and Presentation of a Research Project with Lotta Petersmann
February 3, 2010, 5:00 p.m.
Institut für Romanistik, University of Potsdam, Campus Golm
PoTZ Lecture: “Sociabilidad y literatura guatemalteca del siglo XIX: entre el escándalo de los criollos y la obediencia ladina”
Dr. Mónica Albizúrez (Universidad Rafael Landívar, Guatemala)
Presentation of the Research Project: “Die Rolle zentralamerikanischer Literatur in der Posguerra: Eine Analyse am Beispiel der Romane Insensatez und El material humano“
Br. Lotta Petersmann (University of Potsdam)
12/16/2009: PoTZ Lecture with Dennis Arias Mora
December 16, 2009, 5:00 p.m.
Institut für Romanistik, University of Potsdam, Campus Golm
PoTZ Lecture: “De héroes y monstruos, o el compromiso intelectual en sus metáforas. Literatura y política en Costa Rica (1905-1958)”
M.Sc. Dennis Arias Mora (Universidad de Costa Rica / Lateinamerika-Institut, Freie Universität Berlin)
11/17/2009: PoTZ Opening Lecture with Henning Jensen
November 17, 2009, 4:00 p.m.
Institut für Romanistik, University of Potsdam, Campus Golm
PoTZ Opening Lecture: “Espacio, poder y violencia: arquitectura social en Golfito, Costa Rica”
Dr. Henning Jensen (Vice President for Research at the University of Costa Rica)
Video Lecture by Ottmar Ette: “TransTropics. Alexander von Humboldt and the hemispheric constructions.”
Video Lecture by Ottmar Ette, recorded at the University of Potsdam, Germany on the 15th of January 2009. In his lecture, Ette reflects on Humboldt’s American and Russian travels, Science in the Field and TransArea Studies.
Video Lecture by Ottmar Ette: “National Philologies, Globalization and TransArea Studies”
This lecture was held by Ottmar Ette at the Institut for Aestetiske Fag at the Aarhus Universitet in Denmark on the 14th of December 2007. In his lecture, Ette discusses new paradigms for understanding philology and literature in the context of different periods of accelerated globalization outlining his concept of TransArea Studies.