With the fall of the Iron Curtain Eastern Europe became more readily accessible to the Western world and also more critical in its own views of the West. Against this background, this panel will explore representations of the German-speaking West in East European literature, art, and film.

East European perceptions of the West offer the possibility to discuss a wide range of social and cultural issues that dominate contemporary Europe such as: the sex trade in East European women for the German market; the reshaping of Eastern Europe through Western values; views of ethnic Germans about their mother country; and the impact the secret police had on ethnic Germans during (post-)Communist times. Other related issues are welcome as are interdisciplinary proposals.

Send short abstracts (250-300 words max.) to Mihaela Petrescu (petrescu@hws.edu) by September 30.