Werner Sollors Books

America is a nation making itself up as it goes along--a story of discovery and invention unfolding in speeches and images, letters and poetry, unprecedented feats of scholarship and imagination. In these myriad, multiform, endlessly changing expressions of the American experience, the authors and editors of this volume find a new American history. In more than two hundred original essays, this book brings together the nation's many voices. From the first conception of a New World in the sixteenth century to the latest re-envisioning of that world in cartoons, television, science fiction, and hip hop, the book gives us a new, kaleidoscopic view of what "Made in America" means. Literature, music, film, art, history, science, philosophy, political rhetoric--cultural creations of every kind appear in relation to each other, and to the time and place that give them shape--From publisher description

In the first half of the 20th century, the U.S. moved to the center of global cultural production. How did African American, European immigrant, and other minority writers take part in these transformative developments? This book attempts to address this question in a series of close readings of major texts from this period.

Some of the most original thinkers explain popular theories of ethnicity―pluralism, migration, transnationalism, etc.―in one concise volumeFrom the horrors of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia to debates over multiculturalism, ethnicity has, once again, become a global preoccupation. But what exactly do we mean when we speak of ethnicity? And when and how did ethnicity become such an important area of cultural expression and identification that people are ready to die and to kill for it?Gathering the work of some of our most original thinkers, Theories of Ethnicity provides, in one convenient volume, the most probing and frequently cited considerations of such topics as the melting pot and pluralism, race and race problems, migration and marginality, assimilation and transnationalism, intermarriage, kinship and religion, boundary-construction and maintenance, and the important role of power relations for ethnicity. Contributors include such intellects as Max Weber, Carl Gustav Jung, Margaret Mead, Georg Simmel, Erik Erikson, Karl Mannheim, Fredrik Barth, and Herbert Gans. Theories of Ethnicity grounds much current sociological, cultural, and political research on ethnicity in a theoretical foundation that has heretofore been lacking, providing an important historical base for ongoing and future work on this timely subject.

This important new collection of interdisciplinary essays sets out to chart the cultural construction of "ethnicity" as embodied in American ethnic literature. Looking at a diverse set of texts, the contributors place the subject in broad historical and dynamic contexts, focusing on the larger systems within which ethnic distinctions emerge and obtain recognition. It provides a new critical framework for understanding not only ethnic literature, but also the underlying psychological, historical, social, and cultural forces. Table of Contents: On the Fourth of July in Sitka, Ishmael Reed. Introduction: The Invention of Ethnicity, Werner Sollors. An American Writer, Richard Rodriguez. A Plea for Fictional Histories and Old-Time "Jewesses," Alide Cagidemetrio. Ethnicity as Festive Culture: Nineteenth-Century German-America on Parade, Kathleen Conzen. Defining the Race, 1890-1930, Judith Stein. Anzia Yezierska and the Making of an Ethnic American Self, Mary Dearborn. Deviant Girls and Dissatisfied Women: A Sociologist's Tale, Carla Cappeti. Ethnic Trilogies: A Genealogical and Generational Poetics, William Boelhower. Blood in the Market Place: The Business of Family in the Godfather Narratives, Thomas Ferraro. Comping for Count Basie, Albert Murray. Is Ethnicity Obsolete, Ishmael Reed, Andrew Hope, Shawn Wong, and Bob Callahan.

Exploring the complexities of American identity, this book delves into the interplay between diverse ethnic origins and shared national experiences. It highlights how literature has shaped the evolving self-perception of Americans, addressing both unity and division within the nation. Through a survey of American literature, the author examines the significance of ethnic narratives in understanding what it means to be American, emphasizing the balance between individuality and commonality.

This book offers an in-depth exploration of Werner Sollors' influential contributions to the study of culture and ethnicity. It examines his key theories and ideas, providing a thorough analysis of how his work has shaped contemporary discussions on these topics. Through a detailed examination of Sollors' writings, the book highlights the complexities of cultural identity and the interplay between different ethnic backgrounds, making it an essential resource for scholars and students interested in cultural studies and ethnic relations.

The author, a distinguished professor of English Literature, explores themes of identity and culture through his scholarly works. His contributions include co-editing a comprehensive literary history and examining the complexities of interracial literature. Sollors addresses the nuances of American culture, particularly focusing on the interplay of consent and descent, as well as the emotional landscape of the 1940s. His writings reflect a deep engagement with the intersections of race, ethnicity, and literature in shaping American narratives.

In Germany the end of World War II calls forth images of obliterated cities, hungry refugees, and ghostly monuments to Nazi crimes. Drawing on diaries, photographs, essays, reports, fiction and film, Werner Sollors makes visceral the sorrow and anger, guilt and pride, despondency and resilience of a defeated people--and the paradoxes of occupation.

Was fasziniert uns an Kunstwerken, die Texte in ihre Bildwelt einbeziehen oder menschliche Figuren darstellen, die schreiben, lesen oder Schrift betrachten? Dieses populäre Motiv erscheint bereits auf ägyptischen Statuen, Trinkschalen aus Griechenland und Fresken aus Rom und ist in christlicher Kunst weit verbreitet. Dabei spielen Darstellungen der Verkündigungsszene mit einer biblisch nicht überlieferten buchlesenden Maria eine besondere Rolle. Von Fragen zum Verhältnis von Schrift und bildender Kunst ausgehend betrachtet Werner Sollors in seinem bebilderten Essay viele Kunstwerke genauer und kommt dabei zu überraschenden Ergebnissen.

Nach einem der blutigsten Kriege der Geschichte und nach dem gewaltsamen Ende einer zwölfjährigen Diktatur sahen sich die Menschen konfrontiert mit der Schuld an dem 1945 überall publik gemachten Faktum des Holocaust. Unter knappen alliierten Kalorienzuweisungen lebten sie in bombardierten Städten in einem geschrumpften Land, in dem Millionen von Vertriebenen untergebracht werden mussten, während die Welt sich in Schrecken von Deutschland abgewandt hatte. Kein Wunder, dass viele „die Versuchung, zu verzweifeln“ (Georges Bernanos) kannten und manche ihr erlagen. In ihren Texten, Bildern und Filmen zeichneten Zeitgenossen wie Robert Capa, Stig Dagerman, Martha Gellhorn, Erich Kästner, Wolfgang Koeppen, Kurt Vonnegut oder Billy Wilder ein oft düsteres Bild der Nachkriegszeit, zu dem vor allem schwarzer Humor – aber auch religiöse Hoffnung – ein Gegengewicht bildete.