Workshop at Heidelberg University: Rethinking Europe through Contemporary Latin American Literature

The event “Visions and Revisions of Europe and Transcultural Identity in Twenty-First-Century Migration Narratives” brought together more than 30 students, doctoral candidates and researchers from four 4EU+ member universities – Heidelberg University, Charles University, the University of Milan and the University of Warsaw – with a background in Hispano-American literary studies. The workshop was organised by Dr Karen Saban from Heidelberg University’s Department of Romance Studies.

The aim of the workshop was to rethink the European continent as a transnational space through the study of contemporary Latin American authors who are based in Europe. Five guest authors from Argentina, Chile and Peru – who live in France, Germany and Spain – also participated in the event. A particular focus was on multilingualism as well as writing and discourse analysis. The author Ariana Harwicz opened the event with a talk on contemporary practices of literary translation. Afterwards, the writer Nacha Vollenweider spoke about the genre of comics, focusing especially on techniques of comic language. The Quechua-speaking poet Ch’aska Anka Ninawaman gave an interactive performance that was followed by a literary interview conducted by the students. The playwright Victoria Szpunberg organised a theatre workshop on the topics of uprooting and alienation. Finally, a creative writing session moderated by the author Lina Meruane focused on the issues of cultural contact and minority. The workshop, which was organised within the ‘educational projects’ funding line of the 4EU+ Alliance, took place at Heidelberg University from 11 to 14 May 2022.

Participants of the workshop in the Heidelberg Old Town | © Karen Saban