German Migration Literature and Intercultural Learning in South Africa: a 'globalisation' Perspective on German Studies

This study examines the relationships between intercultural theory, German Studies (in South Africa) and post-war migration literature written in Germany. Central to the study is the idea that intercultural understanding can be taught at an academic level as an avenue towards building intercultural competence. As a reaction to globalisation, German Studies introduced an intercultural approach to teaching which is critically discussed in chapter 1. Chapter 2 looks at intercultural understanding in the African-European context, the South African-German context and the global context. This is followed by an overview of migration literature written in Germany since the 1980s. The second half of the study analyses works by individual authors of migration literature in the light of previously discussed contexts, categories and theoretical frameworks. Due to its combination of various areas of research, this study is directed at those interested in complex relationships between research areas and their contexts as well as academics and students in German Studies, especially those with an interest in reading and understanding migration literature.