Join us on October 15 at 1 pm PT for the v irtual Ziegler Lecture Series\, featuring Dr. Lars Richter of the Universit y of Manitoba. This talk is co-sponsored by the Narratives Group and the Wa terloo Centre for German Studies\, and is a part of the Indigenous P resence and Representation in European Studies Lecture Series\, co-orga nized by Dr. Elizabeth N ijdam and D r. Markus Hallensleben.
View the recording of this talk here:
Abstract: In 2018\, German board game manufacturer dlp ga mes released Manitoba\, a strategy game where players take the role of “dif ferent clans of the Cree Indians” (Pranzo and Conzadori 14). The representa tion of Cree culture in the game’s manual and artwork—replete with totem po les\, canoes\, axe-wielding warriors\, and wise-looking spiritual leaders—r aises serious concerns about misrepresentation\, cultural appropriation\, a nd racism. When faced with criticism of stereotyping the Cree in a CBC news article in September 2018\, the game’s designer responded defensively by s tating that\, in fiction\, it is “impossible not to simplify” and that his co-editor simply “liked the sound of the word ‘Manitoba’” (“A Totem Pole”).
In line with the critique sketched out above\, I propose an analysis of Manitoba as a cultural product indicative of German’s long-standing “In dianthusiasm”. Furthermore\, the analysis will show that the game as a mate rial object\, when received on treaty territory\, takes on a will of its ow n. Using Sara Ahmed’s notion of “willful objects” that do “not allow subjec ts to carry out their will” (42)\, I argue that playing the game Manitoba < u>in Manitoba challenges and eludes the intention of its authors\, thus opening up possibilities for more critical and thoughtful readings that do not merely sound good in name but instead consider the land on which we li ve\, work\, and play.
Bio: Lars Richter is a settler scholar-teacher and faculty member in the Department of German and Slavic Studies at the University of Manitoba\, which is located on original lands of Anishinaabeg\, Cree\, Oji-Cree\, Dakota\, and Dene peoples\, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation. He studied at Freie Universität in Berlin\, W ashington University in St. Louis\, and earned his PhD in German Languages and Literatures from the University of Alberta with a dissertation on Juli Zeh. His primary fields of research and teaching are twentieth and twenty-f irst century German literature and culture\, the intersection of Indigenous and German Studies\, popular culture\, gender\, and ecocriticism.
CATEGORIES:Featured Events,Featured German,Featured Homepage URL;VALUE=URI:https://cenes.ubc.ca/events/event/ziegler-lecture-dr-lars-ric hter-a-german-board-game-the-need-for-new-stories/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cene.cms.arts.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2021/10/christopher-paul-high-BMJnVV1MG2w-unsplash.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Vancouver BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 DTSTART:20210314T100000 TZNAME:PDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR