Submarines between myth, the everyday and afterlife. Dance studies perspectives on transfluidity

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Mariama Diagne
• Subject Area: Theatre and Media Studies
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 551119255

The junior research group is dedicated to the modes of representation and embodiment practices of sea people, here called SubMarines, with a poetic approach to the notion of the subaltern. The group's project reads fictional figures such as Arielle as symbols of the intervening gaze and the critical perspective of a culture of imaginative looking and sensing, which has its origins in the idea of a mythical norm (Lorde 1984) (MYTHOS). In German art spaces, interest in the oceanic is increasing, as is the preoccupation with transatlantic water spirits and figures such as the Mami Wata or the Yemanjá, particularly through artistic and ritual practices as well as interests in identities of the in-between and the queer. At the same time, mermaiding, swimming with a fishtail, is becoming increasingly popular and is developing into a professional lifestyle with environmental awareness (EVERYDAY). SubMarines intervene in the canon of stereotypical movements and body images and challenge the established culture and art scene. Undines in literature or ballet still nestle into the canon of "high art". The consumer articles about mermaids and men that currently fill the shelves and are used not only as toys but also as emancipation figures (diversity of body, skin, hair, gender) are difficult to classify as "high art". At the same time, however, they show a proximity to the depictions of the SubMarines from the Global South, which sometimes correspond to the Undines in the Global North (AFTERLIFE). The project is therefore dedicated to researching Submarines and their transfigurative relationship to myth, the everyday and the afterlife. The hypothesis of the project postulates Submarines as key figures of diversity. They embody figurations that are transnational, transcultural and transsectional and influence the writing qualities of diversity. The specific typography and spelling of the project's title, with the omission of the space and the capitalization of Sub and Marines, already illustrates this influence: the simultaneity of differences is emphasized and placed in direct relation to each other. SubMarines symbolizes the fusion of space and body and refers to a specific knowledge of the environment, in particular that of a diaspora which is often categorized as subaltern. The project examines performative and audiovisual representations as well as ritual embodiments of water creatures, sea (young) women and sea men, from transmodernism to the present day. The diversity of the key figures is also reflected in the settings, which range from the oceans and rivers in the context of the Black Atlantic to the small lake in front of Nennhausen Castle in Brandenburg, the place where Friedrich Baron de la Motte Fouqué's Undine was written. The project's perspective thus extends beyond geographical and disciplinary boundaries and contributes to dance studies research and reflection on canon issues.

• DFG Programme: Emmy Noether Independent Junior Research Groups