On Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 6 p.m., the Southeast Connecticut World Affairs Council (SECWAC) hosts Professor Karolin Machtans, who will give a presentation titled, “The Representation of Asylum Interviews in Contemporary Literature and Film of Refuge.”
Machtans is Associate Professor of German Studies, Chair of the Department of German at Connecticut College.
Due to concerns about COVID, this program will be available only virtually via Zoom.
The presentation is free to SECWAC members and $20.00 to non-SECWAC members. (Register at this link.)
The asylum interview is the most important part of the asylum procedure and decides the outcome of the asylum application. During the interview, asylum applicants are expected to present their reasons for flight in a coherent and convincing manner, and are “obliged to tell the truth at all times” (USCIS).
Yet what exactly is considered a “true” story?
Analyzing the representation of asylum interviews in contemporary literature and film of refuge, Professor Karolin Machtans argues that the outcome of the asylum process ultimately depends on the applicant’s ability to tell a credible, coherent, and convincing story tailored to the narrative rules of the receiving country – narrative rules with which most asylum seekers are not familiar.
Machtans is an Associate Professor and Chair of German Studies at Connecticut College. She is the author and co-editor of several books, including “Hitler – Films from Germany: History, Cinema, and Politics since 1945 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).
She has published numerous articles in the fields of Holocaust studies, refugee and (forced) migration studies, multilingualism, right-wing extremism, and Muslims and Islam in Germany.
Machtans is currently working on new research projects about language discrimination as well as the representation of transnational families in contemporary literature of refuge.
Editor’s Note: Southeast Connecticut World Affairs Council is a regional membership organization. Its members include a diverse group of regional citizens with backgrounds in education, medicine, law, business, academia, media, humanitarian, civic organizations, and beyond. Government officials, as well as active duty and retired military personnel, are also active members. SECWAC happily accepts those interested in foreign policy and world affairs from any walk of life. For more information on membership of SECWAC, visit this link.