Becoming TransGerman:
Transnational, Transdisciplinary, Transgender, Transhuman

The aim of this workshop is to explore the ways in which "trans" describes contemporary Germans and German society. The transcendence of national, corporeal, disciplinary, and institutional limits is embodied by the use of the prefix "trans." The workshop seeks to engage this multifaceted transcendence to explore how Germans and Germany are increasingly situated “beyond” prescribed limits: Beyond the nation, the discipline, the human, the gendered subject, and more. Scholars and artists are encouraged to explore the ways in which "trans" is deployed in a wide variety of academic and cultural areas, from political and social institutions to cultural discourses and aesthetic forms.
The workshop takes as its geographical points of departure not simply German but also European and global ones. While historical objects and events are welcome foci for investigation, scholars whose work examines those experiences and engagements in the contemporary and the futuristic are encouraged as well. Participants may focus on the concept of “trans” or a related topic, such as one that examines dynamic activity around borders, limits, political institutions, social practices, or forms of cultural and aesthetic expression.