Terms of Engagement: Teaching the African Diaspora in German‐Speaking Europe

Abstract

Striving to be more representative in their answer to the question, “What is German,” many programs are expanding their curricula to include the history and perspectives of Black Germans and Austrians. Through discussion of a course on “Die afrikanische Diaspora im deutschsprachigen Europa,” this article argues that examining texts by Germans and Austrians of African descent as well as by immigrants from Africa through the lens of cultural proficiency addresses a key component of both the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), namely intercultural competence. Comparative tasks that explore sociocultural perspectives obtained through the medium of the target language can defamiliarize seemingly‐familiar concepts including race, nationality, and identity. Precisely because Black German Studies focuses on the interplay of power relations between dominant and minority cultures within Germanophone cultures, it may provide a model of intercultural competence through the analysis of the successes and failures of intracultural proficiency. Finally, the article considers the need to uncouple language and cultural/national identity in the European Germanophone context while simultaneously addressing the global demand for multicultural and multilingual competence.