“The Right Blend” – Mischung, Überblendung und Identität in interkulturellen Kontexten
Festschrift in Honour of Arnd Witte
herausgegeben von Clive W. Earls, Jürgen Barkhoff und Siobhán DonovanThe contributions comprising the Festschrift are very much reflective not only
of interdisciplinarity characterizing Arnd’s studies and subsequent scholarly activity
but also of the core notion of ‘blending’ at the heart of Arnd’s work and this
Festschrift. The first six contributions sit predominantly in the Literary/Cultural
Studies field and address ‘blending’ of identities in cultural and intercultural contexts
(with many focused on African experiences familiar to Arnd, who lived in
Africa before coming to Ireland). The second six contributions are clearly located
in the field of Applied Linguistics/Intercultural Studies, addressing ‘blending’ in
terms of interculturality, multilingualism and teaching and learning. The final contribution
of the volume is a personal reflective piece bridging the often perceived
and structurally reinforced divide in academia between Literary/Cultural Studies
and Applied Linguistics/Intercultural Studies, mapped onto the author’s shared
experiences with Arnd in the Irish higher education system. By bringing together
and ‘blending’ contributions across this traditional divide in language studies, the
Festschrift is reflective of Arnd’s endeavours to support ‘blending’ across time and
space in modern foreign language studies.
As guest editor, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the editors of
Germanistik in Ireland, Jürgen Barkhoff and Siobhán Donovan, without whose support
this volume would not have been possible and whose efforts went above and
beyond what would normally be expected of them in this role. An additional sincere
note of thanks to my colleague Florian Krobb for his support in communicating
with potential contributors internationally and his keen editorial eye. Given the
secretive nature of the Festschrift, I would like to thank all colleagues and friends
in German Studies and beyond for managing to keep the existence of the volume
hidden in order to surprise Arnd. I know it would have been possible to draw on
the enthusiasm of many more colleagues for this celebration of their long-standing
friend, but given logistical reasons the outreach had to be limited.
of interdisciplinarity characterizing Arnd’s studies and subsequent scholarly activity
but also of the core notion of ‘blending’ at the heart of Arnd’s work and this
Festschrift. The first six contributions sit predominantly in the Literary/Cultural
Studies field and address ‘blending’ of identities in cultural and intercultural contexts
(with many focused on African experiences familiar to Arnd, who lived in
Africa before coming to Ireland). The second six contributions are clearly located
in the field of Applied Linguistics/Intercultural Studies, addressing ‘blending’ in
terms of interculturality, multilingualism and teaching and learning. The final contribution
of the volume is a personal reflective piece bridging the often perceived
and structurally reinforced divide in academia between Literary/Cultural Studies
and Applied Linguistics/Intercultural Studies, mapped onto the author’s shared
experiences with Arnd in the Irish higher education system. By bringing together
and ‘blending’ contributions across this traditional divide in language studies, the
Festschrift is reflective of Arnd’s endeavours to support ‘blending’ across time and
space in modern foreign language studies.
As guest editor, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the editors of
Germanistik in Ireland, Jürgen Barkhoff and Siobhán Donovan, without whose support
this volume would not have been possible and whose efforts went above and
beyond what would normally be expected of them in this role. An additional sincere
note of thanks to my colleague Florian Krobb for his support in communicating
with potential contributors internationally and his keen editorial eye. Given the
secretive nature of the Festschrift, I would like to thank all colleagues and friends
in German Studies and beyond for managing to keep the existence of the volume
hidden in order to surprise Arnd. I know it would have been possible to draw on
the enthusiasm of many more colleagues for this celebration of their long-standing
friend, but given logistical reasons the outreach had to be limited.