Angry Germans, thieving Burgundians, arrogant French, lying Scots, English tail-bearers, treacherous Corsicans, fraudulent Romans. A troupe of caricatures was paraded before the students, themselves a heterogenous group gathered from the corners of Europe. Ripples of laughter filled the classroom. Shoulders were slapped, fingers pointed, hearts fired up. Perhaps a little scuffle broke out after class, a boisterous wrestling over insults exchanged. Nothing to be concerned about. Acquiring knowledge was, after all, a combative affair.
From the office of the future to the office of the past. What endures?
An iron curtain makes a powerful canvas. Images from Sven Johne & Falk Haberkorn’s Aus Sicht des Archivs, documenting life in the former East Germany in the 1990s.
« Genocide Studies » is a house with many rooms. It accommodates and even encourages a broadening of its central concept. And like all academic fields, it presumes its object of study will always be there.
Matthew of Vendôme, Ars versificatoria, translated by R. P. Parr (Milwaukee, 1981), p. 28