Literature, Language, and Multiculturalism in Scandinavia and the Low Countries

Literature, Language, and Multiculturalism in Scandinavia and the Low Countries presents a ground-breaking comparative approach to the study of multicultural literature. Focusing on the development of migration literature in Sweden, Denmark, Flanders, and the Netherlands, the volume argues that the political and institutional preconditions for the development of 'multicultural' literatures are still given within the frame of the nation-state. As a consequence, both the field of 'migration literature' and the (multi-)lingual quality of literary texts are shaped differently in each state and in each language area. The volume delineates the development of multicultural literature in Scandinavia and the Low Countries as a function of the specific language situations in these countries as well as the various political, institutional, and discursive contexts.
This book not only offers a comprehensive theoretical and methodological analysis of multilingualism and multicultural literature, but also provides overviews sketching the discourse on multiculturalism, language and the development of the literary field in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Flanders. Besides it presents a broad range of in-depth analyses of selected literary texts from each of these countries.

Wolfgang Behschnitt, Sarah De Mul, Liesbeth Minnaard: Preface Theoretical and Methodological Reflections Wolfgang Behschnitt and Magnus Nilsson: "Multicultural Literatures" in a Comparative Perspective Elien Declercq and Michael Boyden: Multilingualism and Diglossia in Migration Literature: The Case of Flemish Songs in Northern France Discourses on Multiculturalism, Language and Literature in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Flanders Magnus Nilsson: Literature in Multicultural and Multilingual Sweden: The Birth and Death of the Immigrant Writer Dorthe Gaettens: New Voices Wanted: The Search for a Danish Multicultural Literature Liesbeth Minnaard: Every Carpet a Flying Vehicle? Multiculturality in the Dutch Literary Field Sarah De Mul: "The Netherlands is doing well. Allochtoon writing talent is blossoming there": Defining Flemish Literature, Desiring "Allochtoon" Writing (Multi)lingual Interventions: Exemplary Analyses of Literary and Linguistic Strategies of Literary Texts Peter Leonard: Bi- and Multilingual Aspects in the Literary Writing of Translingual Authors in Sweden Wolfgang Behschnitt: The Rhythm of Hip Hop: Multi-ethnic Slang in Swedish Literature After 2000 Soren Frank: Is There or Is There Not a Literature of Migration in Denmark? Marjan Nijborg and Fouad Laroui: The Emergence of a Dutch-Moroccan Literature: An Institutional and Linguistic Explanation Henriette Louwerse: "We are not bodies only, but winged spirits": Metamorphosis in the Work of Hafid Bouazza Yves T'Sjoen: About the (Non-)Existence of "Migrant Literature" in the Netherlands: or, Why Mustafa Stitou Is a Dutch Author Sarah De Mul and Thomas Ernst: Multiculturalism and Multilingualism in Contemporary Prose in Flanders: Chika Unigwe, Koen Peeters, and Benno Barnard A Comparative View Wolfgang Behschnitt, Sarah De Mul, and Liesbeth Minnaard: Conclusion: A Comparative View Index