(Post)migrant Theatre in German Theatre History - (Dis)Continuity of aesthetics and narratives

• Applicant: Dr. Azadeh Sharifi
• Subject Area: Theatre and Media Studies
• Term: from 2016 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 316995427

The aim of the project is to analyse migrant and postmigrant theatre from a historical perspective for the German theatre studies and to gain new knowledge on aesthetic and narrative characteristics of (post)migrant theatre in their (dis)continuity. It draws a line from the beginning of migrant theatre to the contemporary post-migrant theatre with their relations and fractions. Postmigrant theatre is been seen as a result and continuance of migrant theatre which started with recruitment agreement of so-called Guest-Workers in 1955. The beginning of postmigrant theatre by the opening of Ballhaus Naunynstraße in 2008 marks a historical moment in the development of migrant theatre since the (post)migrant theatre was no longer seen as amateurish and sociocultural. With this project I postulate that migrant theatre could have been relevant in previous historical moments for the German theatre and the German theatres historiography. The lack of contextualisation in German theatre history is mainly due to the fact that German theatre studies is a small subject within the German humanities. Because of its political and social actuality and relevance, a historical revision for the German theatre studies is very necessary and important. This project is divided into three interweaved and entangled methods: collecting Data thorugh the hermeneutic method of oral history, categorization and systematisation of the Data through digital mapping as well as theoretical contextualisation of (post)migrant theatre history. The three different methods and techniques for researching which are complemetary produce new knowledge for the analysis of (dis)continuity of narratives and aesthetics whithin the (post)migrant theatre. The analysis of (post)migrant narratives includes ascriptened, imagined and passed on, diasporic as well as invented postmigrant narratives. The analysis of (post)migrant aesthetics  investigates the role of bodies, languages and gestures, formats and audiences, which have a special function in the (post)migrant theatre.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants