(Un-)United Europe? Crossing borders in German and Austrian literature, and its reception in Czech Republic after 2000

This project will examine how borders remain an important part of literary discourse in German-language literature after 2000, with an aim to better understand how they are represented, and what concepts they prefigure in the prose and dramatic works that cross them. With the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, East-West borders were rendered effectively obsolete. To what extent, however, do these borders continue to play a role in the perception of Europe as a cultural and socio-political entity? What role do they play in the formation of its identity? The subject of research is German and Austrian literature, countries geographically situated along a former dividing line between East and West, with a particular interest in the way this (now imaginary) border is reflected in the Czech environment of the new millennium. The question here is whether borders and their crossing play a role (and what role) in mutual literary transfer. Research will focus on the (de)construction and crossing of borders in prose and theatrical works at the thematic, formal, and linguistic level.