Daphne Berdahl
Encyclopedia
Daphne Berdahl was an anthropologist known for her work on Eastern Germany
and Post-socialist Europe. Her work on gender and consumption as well as her writing on post-communist nostalgia has been widely cited by scholars of post-socialism.
of Berkeley
. Berdahl was raised in Oregon
, attended Oberlin College
for her undergraduate degree, and earned her PhD
at the University of Chicago
. She received a two year position as a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard, and later joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota
, where she worked from 1997 to 2007 as an Assistant Professor and then an Associate Professor of Anthropology
.
Berdahl married John Baldwin
in 1990, and the couple had two daughters. On October 5, 2007, Berdahl died after an eight year struggle with breast cancer
. A graduate fellowship was set up at the University of Minnesota in her honor.
, nationalism
, consumption
, and the politics
of memory
, focusing on the former German Democratic Republic
(East Germany). She was one of the first scholars to tackle Eastern Germany and post-socialism in the discipline of anthropology and one of the first scholars to grapple with the concept of Ostalgie
, nostalgia for the east. She also focused on transglobal processes and local communities, national identity
, and socialist societies' transitions, specifically German re-unification.
In 1999, she published Where the World Ended: Re-Unification and Identity in the German Borderland, an ethnographic account
of her time spent in Kella
, an East German border village between 1990 and 1992. She has also published a great deal on Ostalgie
. In 2003, she received a McKnight Arts and Humanities Research Award, and in 2007, she was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship
.
A collection of her essays was published posthumously by Indiana University Press in 2010,
"On the Social Life of Postsocialism: Memory, Consumption, Germany" by Daphne Berdahl, edited with an introduction by Matti Bunzel, foreword by Michael Herzfeld.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Post-socialist Europe. Her work on gender and consumption as well as her writing on post-communist nostalgia has been widely cited by scholars of post-socialism.
Biography
Daphne Berdahl was born on June 14, 1964, in Freiburg, Germany, to Margaret and Robert Berdahl, a scholar of German History and well-known former chancellorChancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
of Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. Berdahl was raised in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, attended Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
for her undergraduate degree, and earned her PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. She received a two year position as a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard, and later joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, where she worked from 1997 to 2007 as an Assistant Professor and then an Associate Professor of Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
.
Berdahl married John Baldwin
John Baldwin
John Baldwin may refer to:*Sir John Baldwin , Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, 1535–1545*John Baldwin , Olympic boxer*John Baldwin , U.S...
in 1990, and the couple had two daughters. On October 5, 2007, Berdahl died after an eight year struggle with breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
. A graduate fellowship was set up at the University of Minnesota in her honor.
Scholarship
Berdahl's research covered the topics of citizenshipCitizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
, nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
, consumption
Consumption (economics)
Consumption is a common concept in economics, and gives rise to derived concepts such as consumer debt. Generally, consumption is defined in part by comparison to production. But the precise definition can vary because different schools of economists define production quite differently...
, and the politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
of memory
Memory
In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....
, focusing on the former German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
(East Germany). She was one of the first scholars to tackle Eastern Germany and post-socialism in the discipline of anthropology and one of the first scholars to grapple with the concept of Ostalgie
Ostalgie
Ostalgie is a German term referring to nostalgia for aspects of life in East Germany. It is derived from the German words Ost and Nostalgie ....
, nostalgia for the east. She also focused on transglobal processes and local communities, national identity
National identity
National identity is the person's identity and sense of belonging to one state or to one nation, a feeling one shares with a group of people, regardless of one's citizenship status....
, and socialist societies' transitions, specifically German re-unification.
In 1999, she published Where the World Ended: Re-Unification and Identity in the German Borderland, an ethnographic account
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
of her time spent in Kella
Kella
Kella is a Thuringian municipality in the district of Eichsfeld in Germany....
, an East German border village between 1990 and 1992. She has also published a great deal on Ostalgie
Ostalgie
Ostalgie is a German term referring to nostalgia for aspects of life in East Germany. It is derived from the German words Ost and Nostalgie ....
. In 2003, she received a McKnight Arts and Humanities Research Award, and in 2007, she was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
.
A collection of her essays was published posthumously by Indiana University Press in 2010,
"On the Social Life of Postsocialism: Memory, Consumption, Germany" by Daphne Berdahl, edited with an introduction by Matti Bunzel, foreword by Michael Herzfeld.
Select bibliography
- "Voices at the Wall: Discourses of Self, History and National Identity at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial," History & Memory: Studies in Representation of the Past 6 (Fall/Winter 1994), 88-124.
- Dismembering the Past: The Politics of Memory in the German Borderland (1997)
- Where the World Ended: Re-Unification and Identity in the German Borderland. Berkeley: University of California Press (1999), ISBN 978-0-520-21477-4.
- OstalgieOstalgieOstalgie is a German term referring to nostalgia for aspects of life in East Germany. It is derived from the German words Ost and Nostalgie ....
for the Present: Memory, Longing and East German Things (1999) - Altering States: Ethnographies of Transition in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union, University of Michigan Press (2000), ISBN 978-0-472-08617-7.
- Go, Trabi, Go! Reflections on a Car and its Symbolization Over Time (2001)
- On the Social Life of Postsocialism: Memory, Consumption, Germanyhttp://www.iupress.indiana.edu/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=186187 (2009)
Awards
- McKnight FoundationMcKnight FoundationThe McKnight Foundation is a philanthropic organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States. The foundation's interests lie in the environment, the arts, community development, and other areas....
Arts and Humanities Research Award 2003 - Recipient of a Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
2007