Date of Graduation
1999
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MA
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Committee Chair
Deborah Janson
Committee Member
Jürgen Schlunk
Committee Member
Ethel Smith
Abstract
May Ayim and Alev Tekinay are two contemporary German writers whose works can play a significant role in transforming German feminism so that it becomes a movement concerned with ending all forms of social domination. Ayim is Afro-German, and her essays and poetry, written primarily in the 1990s, reflect the experiences of a dark-skinned woman who was raised in an almost all-white society. Alev Tekinay is Turkish-German. She attended a German Gymnasium in Turkey, came to Germany at the age of 18 to study German literature, and is now an assistant professor at the University of Augsburg. Although the life stories of these two women differ significantly, their works share a common theme: opposition to oppressive power structures that regard one person as “normal” and another as “other.” Both Ayim and Tekinay challenge oppressive power structures such as those that lead to racism, sexism, colonialism and hostility toward foreigners. Drawing on works by the social critic bell hooks and the ecofeminist scholar Karen Warren, this thesis demonstrates how both authors write to raise critical consciousness concerning problems of oppression, and in doing so, contribute to positive social change.
Recommended Citation
Burkart, Jennifer Lynn, "May Ayim and Alev Tekinay: Writing to raise critical consciousness." (1999). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 10355.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/10355