Introduction: Rethinking “Minor Literatures” – Contemporary Jewish Women’s Writing in Germany and Austria

Abstract

This introduction sets out the aim of the special collection which is to unmoor German-language Jewish writing from the narrowly defined context of national literatures in which it is often discussed, in an attempt to open it up to discussions around transnational and world literatures. Simultaneously, it suggests that Deleuze’s and Guattari’s framework can benefit immensely from being (re-)applied to its ‘original’, i.e. the Jewish, context, not least by investigating the ways in which it maybe no longer adequately reflects more contemporary concerns. As for the study of the authors and texts that this collection focuses on, the introduction highlights a number of issues which have the potential to innovate discussions around “minor” literatures, German Jewish literatures and the relationship between literature and theory.