Page - 84 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 04/01
Image of the Page - 84 -
Text of the Page - 84 -
84 | Verena Eberhardt www.jrfm.eu 2018, 4/1, 81–99
tural circuit). Meaning is what gives us a sense of our own identity, of who we are
and with whom we “belong” – so it is tied up with questions of how culture is used
to mark out and maintain identity within and difference between groups.9
In order to examine the representation of own identities and foreign identities
as well as the production of knowledge systems and narrative positions, the
analysis here refers to the areas representation and identity. The article focuses
on the construction of own identities and foreign identities, hence the literature
is interpreted from a discourse analytical perspective. Dorien Van De Mieroop
explains: “From a discursive perspective, the fluid nature of collective identity is
emphasized, which means that every individual shifts in and out of diverse mem-
berships in a multitude of social groups, resulting in a wide variety of potential
collective identities that are each interactively constructed and negotiated.”10
I have chosen this methodological approach since discourse analysis is based
on the assumption that societies construct reality, allowing one to analyse pro-
tagonists, identities, knowledge systems and power structures.
THE REPRESENTATION OF RELIGION AND CULTURE IN
CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
The following analysis is based on two books in which cultural and religious
identities in Germany play a central role. In their approach to religion, they are
representative of a whole range of children’s literature where religions are de-
picted as institutions, inspired by “world religion” classifications and combined
with representations of otherness in the context of migration.11 Furthermore,
9 Hall/Evans/Nixon 2013, xix.
10 Van De Mieroop 2015, 410.
11 See Eberhardt 2017, 25. Fig. 1: The “circuit of culture”
according to Stuart Hall/Paul
Du Gay 2013, xvii.
JRFM
Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 04/01
- Title
- JRFM
- Subtitle
- Journal Religion Film Media
- Volume
- 04/01
- Authors
- Christian Wessely
- Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati
- Editor
- Uni-Graz
- Publisher
- SchĂĽren Verlag GmbH
- Location
- Graz
- Date
- 2018
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY-NC 4.0
- Size
- 14.8 x 21.0 cm
- Pages
- 129
- Categories
- Zeitschriften JRFM