On the Invention of an “Essentialist View of Culture”: Thinking outside the Prevalent Cultural Studies Discourse on Culturally and Ethnically Heterogeneous Germany

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This paper identifies and challenges some prevailing scholarly assumptions concerning Germany's relationship to multiculturalism. The last years have seen increasingly harmonized narratives revolving around the central idea that the Germans assume an “essentialist view of culture” and believe in the “cultural homogeneity” of their country. This paper argues that these narratives not only essentialize the very groups of people they criticize but also create a false construct of culture that inaccurately represents the intricate dynamics of German society. Beginning with the premise that perception and representation of minorities are subject to historical transformation, a discussion of the 1976 film Shirins Hochzeit, by director Helma Sanders‐Brahms, will form the backdrop for a consideration of how the complex phenomenon of German cultural heterogeneity might be addressed in new ways and from fresh perspectives.