Issue II/2022 - Black and white thinking

Black and white thinking (Issue II/2022)




Editorial

About the culture wars

by Jenny Friedrich-Freksa

Our editor-in-chief takes a look at the current issue.

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Cultural spot

A snack bar next to Gibraltar

by Nick Hannes

The Mata brothers' hamburger stand is buzzing during Domingo Rociero, one of the holidays of the annual Feria in July in La Línea de la Concepción.

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What’s different elsewhere

Leopards and goats

by Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi

What does your cashmere jumper have to do with the snow leopard? About a special animal in Mongolia

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Buried, twice

by Arpan Rachman

Why the Tiwah of Borneo bury their dead twice

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Talk of the town in New Zealand

by Vanessa Ellingham

How the Māori in New Zealand are going to get better medical care

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In the shade of the cedar tree

by Aline Abboud

The cedar tree is Lebanon's national symbol. Unfortunately, the ancient trees can be seen only sporadically

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How I became me

Fighting for every free word

by Irina Shcherbakova

Irina Shcherbakova was born in Moscow in 1949 and is a well-known historian and expert in German studies. Since the 1970s, she has been working to come to terms with the impact of the Stalin era on Russia. She is one of the founders of the now-outlawed NGO, Memorial.

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A House in ...

A house in Taiwan

by Jimmy Beunardeau

Taiwan's history unites many cultural influences: These are reflected in Mrs Wu's house.

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Topic: Black and white thinking

Exclusionary tactics

von Ute Frevert

When today's conversations about history turn political, they can stray into virtue signalling territory. That gets in the way of genuine and democratic debate.

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White thinking

by Lilian Thuram

The basis of white supremacy is a way of thinking, one that says the colour of one's skin makes one human being better or worse than other human beings. Even as a successful professional, the author was unable to escape it.

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Where do we stand now?

by Julia Neumann

Discrimination, hate crime, equality: Where was progress seen over the past years and what more needs to be done?

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Changing our mindset

in conversation with Svenja Flaßpöhler, Naika Foroutan

Who has the right to speak and what can be said? The philosopher Svenja Flaßpöhler and the sociologist Naika Foroutan discuss inclusive language, and the fight for equality. A conversation.

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“Diversity is not an end in itself”

in conversation with Karen Attiah

Many voices are still not to be found in the mainstream media. Journalist Karen Attiah discusses how debates around cancel culture are accelerating our debates around diversity. A conversation

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Where communication is chaotic

by Nicole Curato

How can social media guarantee that their digital spaces are democratic? A proposal.

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Western nonsense

by Alexander Finiarel

If there’s one topic that unites both Russia's opposition activists and the supporters of the state, it’s the debate about cancel culture and what some Russians call “new ethics”.

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Critical thinking

by Sharmaine Lovegrove

For a long time, diversity was not an issue in many literary publishing houses. Suddenly everyone wants diversity. About an industry in transition

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With respect

by Maaza Mengiste

How to write about things you haven’t experienced yourself.

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He, She, They

by Stephanie von Hayek

All over the world, language is changing. Gender politics are a big talking point and in order to name new non-binary and other gender identities, all sorts of linguistic experiments are being undertaken. These include returning to historical forms and creating completely new variants. Some examples:

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Feminist, lesbian, politician

by Lucía Riojas Martínez

With liberal positions on abortion and diversity, I became a congresswoman in Mexico - and a target of hatred

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“We are constantly misrepresented”

in conversation with Ibram X. Kendi

Have we forgotten how to argue? Racism researcher Ibram x. Kendi on polarized debates, personal hostility and his own prejudices. A conversation

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“Do you want a bodyguard?”

by Lale Gül

Threatened from all sides, the young author Lale Gül is paying a high price for her self-determinat­ion

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Art is immoral

by Ariana Harwicz

A new generation of cultural workers is adapting to ideological norms. This spells the end of creativity.

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I’m used to feeling unsafe

by Bridget Liang

What “Safe Spaces” mean for people who face discrimination - and how we can make them obsolete.

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Having a voice

by Lubi Barre

From a Somalian childhood to reading books in Paris and writing in Germany: On why I had to learn a foreign language to express myself freely.

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World report

The finishing touch

by Zeina Shahla

Power outages, lack of young talent and scarce materials: In Damascus, arts and crafts struggle to survive.

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What we don't remember

by Doris Akrap, Jenny Friedrich-Freksa

The war in Ukraine, a pandemic that never ends: This may not be the best time for the new European Capital of Culture cities to present themselves to the world. Novi Sad in Serbia and Kaunas in Lithuania are going ahead anyway. And both metropolises are approaching the question of their own urban histories in very different ways.

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The document

United against Moscow

in conversation with Manuela Scheuermann

In a recent resolution, agreed to under the “Uniting for Peace” mechanism, the United Nations was very critical of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But what's so special about a resolution like this and what can it do?

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Theory

The price of survival

by Gary Victor

For years, Haiti has been slipping from one crisis into the next. The international community has looked away from the Caribbean nation and the Haitian government no longer cares for its own people.

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World report

“A new prison built every ten days”

in conversation with BL Shirelle, Fury Young

Songs that break down walls: Poet Fury Young and musician BL Shirelle run a record label for people behind bars.

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Survey

92% of Colombians want a better education system

commented by Juan Álvarez

A large proportion of Colombians are convinced that educational opportunities are extremely unequally distributed. What can be done?

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A phone call with

A phone call with a former professional footballer

commented by Tuğba Tekkal

Can football be apolitical?

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I think, that ...

I think that we need to relearn how to treasure theatre

by Necati Öziri

Our society considers culture and theatre to be a luxury. Yet theatre is a great school of empathy and needs to be valued.

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Books

Who deserves a seat at the negotiating table?

by Delara Burkhardt

The future of foreign policy is feminist, says activist and author Kristina Lunz in her new book. But what is she actually talking about?

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“Not giving up the fight”

in conversation with Gulbahar Haitiwaji

Gulbahar Haitiwaji is the first Uighur woman to have published a book about her time in a Chinese “re-education camp”. She talks about life after publication. 

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