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Writing the 'Rainbow Nation'?
Examining 20 Years of Post-Apartheid Literature
International Conference
4. & 5. April 2014
University of Regensburg
In his controversial essay “Preparing Ourselves for Freedom” (1989), Albie Sachs warned against seeing literature (and culture more generally) as merely a form of propaganda for ‘the struggle,’ arguing instead for texts that display “ambiguity and contradiction”. What road did South African literature take after this critique of ‘struggle literature’?
Almost 25 years after the release of Nelson Mandela (February 1990) and exactly 20 years after the first democratic elections (April 1994) that ended white minority rule in South Africa, it seems appropriate to host a conference focussing exclusively on ‘post-apartheid literature’. The conference will bring together specialists on South African literature for two days of analysing and discussing contemporary South African writing, looking at ‘new voices’ that started their literary careers in the last twenty years, and at established authors who continued writing. What topics are taking centre stage, and which methods are used to address them creatively? Is the “reimagination of history” of particular interest, as André Brink speculated in 1993? Or are most writers concerned with questions of “delivery”, a topic Michael Green identified as the central area of contestation on all levels of South African (party) politics in 2007? How are issues like urbanisation, migration, immigration/emigration, masculinity/femininity or disease (HIV/AIDS) reflected in contemporary writing? Have new genres been established during the last twenty years? What theories can be fruitfully applied to post-apartheid writing? These are among the questions to be addressed at this conference. The convenors will try to interest an international publishing house in bringing out an essay collection based on the conference.
Registration
If you want to attend the confeence, please fill in and return the registration form.
There is a MS Word document which you can fill in using your computer and which you can then return as email attachment (jochen.petzold@ur.de). You will Word 2007 or later to use this form. Registration_Word
There is a PDF file you can fill in by hand and fax back (+49 941 943 4955). Registration_PDF
Prog. & Regist.
Academic Programme
The conference will start on Friday at 9.30 a.m. There will be eight papers on Friday and eight papers on Saturday: Provisional Programme
Conference Venue
The conference will take place at the "Vielberth Gebäude" of the Unviersity of Regensburg (Room H25 on the second floor). There is a small map that gives you an idea where the university is in relationship to the town, and there is a detailed map of the campus; the Vielberth building is in the North of the campus and hence closest to the city centre.
Conference Warming on Thursday Night
We've reserved tables at the "Regensburger Weißbräuhaus" (Schwarze-Bären-Str. 6) from 7 p.m. onwards. Simply drop by, have a beer (or something non-alcoholic) and get to know the other participants. (Pay your own tab.)
Public Reading on Friday Night
On Friday night, starting at 7 p.m., there will be a panel conversation with and reading by two South African authors. We're very happy that Mike Nicol and Angela Makholwa agreed to come. Both are currently writing in the crime/thriller genre, so we'll have a 'South African Crime Writing Night'. The reading will be followed by a reception.
Conference Dinner on Saturday Night
On Saturday night, we'll reserve tables at the "Ganesha" (an Indian restaurant, Maximiliansstr. 23) at 7.30 p.m. Oder à la carte, pay your own tab.
Registration
If you want to attend the confeence, please fill in and return the registration form.
There is a MS Word document which you can fill in using your computer and which you can then return as email attachment (jochen.petzold@ur.de). You will Word 2007 or later to use this form. Registration_Word
There is a PDF file you can fill in by hand and fax back (+49 941 943 4955). Registration_PDF
ReAding
South African Crime-Writing Night
Public reading & discussion with
On Friday, 4 April 2014, 19:00
Vielberth Gebäude, H 24
The reading is supported by:
accommod.
Regensburg Tourismus GmbH have reserved rooms for the conference in three hotels:
Hotel Zum Fröhlichen Türken***
Single € 60,-; Double € 88,- (with breakfast)
A small hotel in the inner city, relatively close to the train station.
Only few rooms available.
Hotel St. Georg***s
Single € 69,- ; Double € 85,- (with breakfast)
Located somewhat 'off centre' but reasonably close to the university (c. 2 km). There is a frequent bus service to the university on Friday but not on Saturday.
Münchner Hof****
Single starting at € 92,-; double € 122,- (with breakfast)
Beautiful hotel in an old building right in the centre of town.
If you want to book a room in one of these hotels, please use the booking form and return it to Regensburg Toursimus GmbH as indicated. Note that these bookings have to be made by 3 March 2014.
If these hotels don't appeal to you, here are a few other options:
Ibis Regensburg City
Very convenient location: right next to the station, close to the inner city and the university. Rooms from € 69,- (without breakfast)
Hotel Wiendel
An alternative if you are on a tight budget: rooms from € 29,- (shared facilities, without breakfast). Located between the station and the university, so a bit further to the inner city.
Hotel Orphée
Beautiful hotel right in the centre. 'Normal' Rooms from € 105,- (€ 75,- in their smaller house across the street).
Travel
Where is Regensburg and how do I get there?
Regensburg is in the south-east of Germany, about 100 km north of Munich.
Travelling by Train
Regensburg is on the high-speed line that connects Frankfurt to Vienna; there is no direct high-speed link going north or south. The central station, "Regensburg Hauptbahnhof", is located between the inner city (to its north) and the university (to its south) - all within walking distance.
You can book train tickets up to 91 days in advance via www.bahn.de; if you book early you may be able to get specially priced tickets (eg. Frankfurt-Regensburg starting at € 29 one way; special conditions apply).
Travelling by Plane
Regensburg does not have an airport. The closest airport with direct flights from South Africa is Munich (code: MUC), the other option coming from South Africa would be Frankfurt (code: FRA). The airport at Nuremberg (code: NUE) is rather small but there might be convenient flights from/to the UK or Spain. Vienna is probably too far away to be a useful alternative.
Getting to Regensburg from Munich Airport
Unfortunately, there is no direct rail link from the airport to Regensburg. You can catch a local bus (# 635) at either Terminal or at the "Zentralbereich" (Z) to Freising train station and change to a local train to Regensburg. The bus runs every 20 minutes, the train every hour (usually departing from Freising 8 minutes past the hour).
Duration c. 90 minutes; cost c. € 21 one way.
Getting to Regensburg from Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport has a train station and there are frequent high-speed connections to Regensburg Hauptbahnhof (via Würzburg, Nürnberg).
Duration c. 3.5 to 4 hours; cost c. € 70 one way (regular price).
Getting to the Conference Venue from the Train Station
There is a small map that gives you an overview of where in Regensburg the university is located. The campus map should help you find the venue ("Vielberth Gebäude").
On foot: Leave the station at the main entrance, turn right into Bahnhofsstraße. As you are about to pass under a bridge, take the stairs up the bridge and continue going south (over the tracks). Continue going up Galgenbergstraße for a good kilometre. Some 100 m after the second large building site (not much happening there at the moment) turn right onto a university parking lot (see campus map). Go across the parking lot, turn left and you'll see the university campus in front of you; Vielbert Gebäude is the first building you come to on your right.
By bus: Leave the station at the main entrance, go straight across Bahnhofstraße to the bus station in Albertstraße. The bus-services # 2, 4, 6, 11, C1, C2, C4, C6 all go to or past the university (check with the driver that you are going the right direction). A single ticket is € 2,20, you can pay the driver. Get off at the university bus station, stop "Universität" (see campus map). Go down Universitätsstraße for c. 200 metres, Vielberth Gebäude is the new building on your right, at the end of a walkway.
Travelling by Car
There is a small map that gives you an overview of where in Regensburg the university is located. The campus map should help you find the venue ("Vielberth Gebäude").
Coming from the south (Munich) you get off the A93 at the junction with the A3 (Kreuz Regensburg), continuing on the A3 in the direction of Passau. Take the exit 100a ("Universität, Klinikum"). At the first set of traffic lights, turn right; shortly afterwards, turn right again. Go straight over two sets of traffic lights (at the second set you can already see the university to your left). After another c. 300 m turn left onto the university parking lot (free of charge).
Coming from the north (Bayreuth) you get off the A93 at the junction with the A3 (Kreuz Regensburg), continuing on the A3 in the direction of Passau. Take the exit 100a ("Universität, Klinikum"). At the first set of traffic lights, turn right; shortly afterwards, turn right again. Go straight over two sets of traffic lights (at the second set you can already see the university to your left). After another c. 300 m turn left onto the university parking lot (free of charge).
Coming from the west (Nuremberg) on the A3 you go past the "Regensburger Kreuz" and take the exit 100a ("Universität, Klinikum"). At the first set of traffic lights, turn right; shortly afterwards, turn right again. Go straight over two sets of traffic lights (at the second set you can already see the university to your left). After another c. 300 m turn left onto the university parking lot (free of charge).
Coming from the east (Passau) on the A3, take the exit 100a ("Universität, Klinikum"). At the first set of traffic lights, turn right; shortly afterwards, turn right again. Go straight over two sets of traffic lights (at the second set you can already see the university to your left). After another c. 300 m turn left onto the university parking lot (free of charge).
