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Narrating Communities: Constructing and Challenging Mennonite

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Narrating Communities: Constructing and Challenging Mennonite Narrating Communities: Constructing and Challenging Mennonite Canadian Identities through Narrative Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Philosophie des Fachbereiches 05 der Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen vorgelegt von: Julia Michael aus Basel 2017 Dekan: Prof. Dr. Magnus Huber 1. Berichterstatter: Prof. Dr. Ansgar Nünning 2. Berichterstatter: Prof. Dr. Martin Kuester Tag der Disputation: 28.06.2017 Versicherung über selbständiges Verfassen der Arbeit Ich erkläre: Ich habe die vorgelegte Dissertation selbständig und nur mit den Hilfen angefertigt, die ich in der Dissertation angegeben habe. Alle Textstellen, die wörtlich oder sinngemäß aus veröffentlichten oder nicht veröffentlichten Schriften entnommen sind, und alle Angaben, die auf mündlichen Auskünften beruhen, sind als solche kenntlich gemacht. Basel, 27.02.2017 Julia Michael Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... 1 1. Introducing Mennonites as Narrating Community .......................................................... 3 1.1 The Multiplicity of Stories among Canadian Mennonites .................................. 9 1.2 Approaching Mennonite Storytellers and their Stories .................................... 12 1.3 Research as Storytelling: Methodological Approaches to Mennonite Canadian Writing .............................................................................................................. 20 1.4 Choosing Stories: Corpus Selection ................................................................. 23 1.5 How this Story is Told ...................................................................................... 27 2. Stories of the Past: Constructing and Challenging Mennonite Narratives of Martyrdom and Colonialism ............................................................................................................. 30 2.1 Introducing Discourses on Martyrdom and Colonialism in Mennonite Scholarship ........................................................................................................ 33 2.2 Martyrdom and Colonialism in Mennonite Literature ...................................... 42 2.3 Concepts and Methods ...................................................................................... 46 2.4. De- and Reconstructing Narratives of Martyrdom as Cultural Memories ....... 56 2.4.1 Demythologizing Stories of Martyrdom as Narratives of Victimization in Sarah Klassen’s Dangerous Elements ........................................................................ 59 2.4.2 Translating Martyrdom for Contemporary Readers in Audrey Poetker- Thiessen’s standing all night through .............................................................. 73 2.5. Cultural Memories and (Post-) Colonial Realities ........................................... 88 2.5.1 Identities in Crisis in Rudy Wiebe’s Peace Shall Destroy Many ..................... 90 2.5.2 Unavailable Cultural Memories in Sandra Birdsell’s Agassiz Stories ............ 104 2.6 Conclusions..................................................................................................... 117 3. Stories of the Present: Constructing and Challenging Mennonite Narratives of Gender and Sexuality ............................................................................................................... 122 3.1 Introducing Gender and Sexualities in Mennonite Scholarship ..................... 124 3.2 Writing from the Center? Gender and Sexualities in Contemporary Mennonite Narratives ........................................................................................................ 129 3.3 Concepts and Methods .................................................................................... 132 3.4. Narrating Women in Mennonite Women’s Writing ....................................... 140 3.4.1 Voice, Space and Agency as Feminist Narrative Practices in Miriam Toews’ Irma Voth ........................................................................................................ 144 3.4.2 Deconstructing Images of Motherhood in Di Brandt’s mother, not mother ... 157 3.5. Modes of Identification as Narrative Practices in Queer Mennonite Novels . 173 3.5.1 Hetero-Masculinity in Wes Funk’s Dead Rock Stars ..................................... 175 3.5.2 Linguistic, Narrative, and Contextual Disruptions in Lynnette D’anna’s Novel Vixen ............................................................................................................... 187 3.6 Conclusions..................................................................................................... 199 4. Mennonites as Narrating Community: Drawing Conclusions .................................... 204 5. Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 207 Acknowledgements The thesis has been a long-term projected that was conducted with the help of a multitude of people, who have been supportive in so many ways that the following can only represent a small fraction of my gratitude. My first supervisor Prof. Dr. Ansgar Nünning has been instrumental in shaping the thesis on a structural and theoretical basis and he provided helpful advice and sources for inspiration. A heartfelt thank you goes to my second supervisor, Prof. Dr. Martin Kuester, whose insights into Mennonite literature and culture were tremendously helpful. Both my first and my second supervisor were generous enough to help me write and place several presentations and articles. Next to my fellow PhD students in the IPP colloquium, who were graciously reading and commenting early drafts of my thesis, I would like to extend my thanks to various people that I met during research trips to Canada: Robert Zacharias pointed out novels and texts related to my topic, while also taking the time to discuss the conceptualization of my thesis. Another heartfelt thank you goes to Prof. Rosmarin Heidenreich and her husband Paul, who have been graciously inviting me to stay with them and who introduced me to new novels and poems. Thank you also to the Mennonite authors, who have agreed to meet me for discussions of their writing: David Bergen, Sandra Birdsell, Di Brandt and Armin Wiebe. Many thanks to everyone reading and commenting on drafts of my thesis: Karolina and Robert Ackermann, Lisa Bach, Dr. Weronika Suchacka, Nicole Tamka, and Nora Worseck, Other people, who were always generous with their time and who helped me staying motivated and focused include: Jill Grinager and Marc Berman, Ioanna Kipourou, Katharina Naumann, Maria Cristache, and many others. A special thank you belongs to my parents, Undine and Dieter Michael, who have always supported me in my endeavours in academia and to my partner Dr. Mathias Ganter, who has been enduring all my ups and downs in relation to this project with a seemingly infinite patience. Danksagung Diese Arbeit stellte ein Langzeit Projekt dar und konnte nur mit der Hilfe vieler Menschen durchgeführt werden, die mich in mehreren Hinsichten unterstützt haben. Die folgenden Zeilen können daher nur einen Teil meiner Dankbarkeit ausdrücken. Mein Erstkorrektor, Prof. Dr. Ansgar Nünning danke ich besonders für seine Unterstützung beim strukturellen und theoretischen Aufbau der Arbeit und für die zahlreichen Hinweise auf Quellen und Inspirationen. Ein herzliches Dankeschön richtet sich an meinen Zweitkorrektor, Prof. Dr. Martin Kuester, dessen Einblicke in die mennonitische Literatur und Kultur zu grundlegenden Erkenntnissen geführt haben. Sowohl Prof. Dr. Nünning als auch Prof. Dr. Kuester haben mir Wege für Konferenzen und erste Veröffentlichungen geebnet. Neben meinen Kommiliton_innen im IPP, die stets erste Entwürfe meiner Arbeit gelesen und kommentiert haben, möchte ich mich herzlich bei verschiedenen Leuten, die ich auf Forschungsreisen nach Kanada kennenlernte, bedanken: Robert Zacharias verwies mich auf Romane und Texte in Anlehnung an mein Thema und nahm sich außerdem die Zeit die Konzeptualisierung der Arbeit zu diskutieren. Ein weiteres herzliches Dankeschön richtet sich auch an Rosmarin Heidenreich und ihren Mann Paul, die mich einluden während eines Forschungsaufenthalts in Winnipeg bei Ihnen zu wohnen und die mich mit neuen Romanen und Gedichtbänden bekannt machten. Vielen Dank auch an alle Autor_innen, die sich die Zeit nahmen mich zu treffen, um ihre Literatur zu besprechen: David Bergen, Sandra Birdsell, Di Brandt und Armin Wiebe. Ein besonderer Dank gilt all denen, die sich die Zeit nahmen, Teile meiner Arbeit zu lesen und zu kommentieren: Karolina and Robert Ackermann, Lisa Bach, Dr. Weronika Suchacka, Nicole Tamka und Nora Worseck. Weitere Freunde, die sich stets Zeit nahmen und halfen die Motivation hoch zu halten, sind u.a. Jill Grinager and Marc Berman, Ioanna Kipourou, Katharina Naumann, Maria Cristache, und viele andere. Ein besonders Dankeschön geht an meine Eltern, Undine and Dieter Michael, die mich stets in meinen akademischen Unterfangen unterstützten und an meinen Partner Dr. Mathias Ganter der das Auf- und ab in Bezug auf das Projekt mit scheinbar unendlicher Geduld ertrug. 1. Introducing Mennonites as Narrating Community Contemporary life is complex and wrought with challenges. To be able to make sense of the multiple information people are confronted with and to create meaning we tell stories. By connecting information and bringing together events in a cohesive and coherent fashion and in an aesthetic form, we make new
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