"Vor der Zunahme der Zeichen" : Approaching a postdigital diasporic poetics

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The novel "Vor der Zunahme der Zeichen" (2016) by Senthuran Varatharajah is a conversation on Facebook of two characters, both of whom are heirs of the diaspora (from Sri Lanka and from Kosovo) in Germany. It experiments with various forms to break free from multiple limits and imposed cultural assignments and also presents diverse manifestations of the relationship between the current diasporic condition and the postdigital. Therefore, it serves as an intriguing exponent for the exploration of this relationship. First, the representation of the diasporic condition is reassessed once it has been modified by the impact of these new, postdigital practices. And second, the role of digital media and of postdigital practices is especially relevant to the aesthetic representation of the diaspora, reaching beyond a traditional notion of the diasporic condition. For this reason, the function of select postdigital characteristics will be explored as component elements of a new diasporic poetics.