Kathrin Gerbe – författare

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0 (A), University of Siegen, course: American Poetry, language: English, abstract: Maya Angelou is an African-American writer. Her people and their position in American society play an important part in her works. Much of her writing is based on personal experience, therefore her central topics are racism and the emancipation of black women in the USA. This term paper analyses her poems "e;Equality"e; and "e;Caged bird"e;, discussing the issues of racism and female emancipation in the context of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3 (A), University of Siegen, course: Contemporary Scottish Writers, language: English, abstract: In her novel "e;Like"e;, Ali Smith uses a wide range of Narrative techniques. This essay analyses how the author uses them to describe the relationship between her protagonists Ash and Amy.

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1, University of Siegen, course: To Paint the Self in Black and White: American Autobiography, language: English, abstract: Maya Angelou's autobiography consists of six volumes. Born in 1928, she started writing down the story of her life in 1968. Robert Loomis, an editor at Random House, had asked her several times to write an autobiography, but she never agreed because she thought it was too difficult. He decided to trick her into writing by telling her: "e;I must say you may be right not to attempt an autobiography, because it is nearly impossible to write autobiography as literature. Almost impossible"e; (p.1165, ll.14ff.). Maya Angelou could not resist this challenge and started writing the first volume, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, that tells the reader about her childhood in segregated Arkansas, St Louis and San Francisco and the birth of her son Guy. The second volume, published in 1974, is called Gather together in my name. It deals with Maya s experiences as a young mother who struggles for survival after World War II. Only two years later, in the third part, Singin and Swingin and Getting Merry Like Christmas, the start of her career as a singer touring Europe with Porgy & Bess is described. In The Heart of a Woman, the fourth volume of her autobiography, 1981, Maya Angelou remembers how she started writing in New York where she worked for the NAACP in black politics. It also contains an account of her marriage with the African freedom fighter Vusumzi Make she followed to Africa. All God s Children Need Traveling Shoes is the title of the fifth part, published in 1986: Maya is looking for her ancestors in Ghana, but notices that she does not belong there either. In 2002 the last volume (so far) is finished: A Song Flung Up to Heaven deals with the situation in the USA around Malcolm X s and Martin Luther King s assassinations and ends with the moment Maya starts writing her autobiography.

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, University of Siegen, course: More Than a Renaissance: Romantic Writers in America, language: English, abstract: The Scarlet Letter is Nathaniel Hawthorne's first novel and was published in 1850. Its subtitle A Romance consciously places the novel apart from everyday life. Set in 17th century Boston it tells a story about sin, guilt and love. As the moral values back then still were in force among Hawthorne's contemporaries, he uses the imaginative and symbolic form of the romance to alleviate the impression of the unusual themes in his novel. This essay discusses the ambiguity of the letter A that the protagonist Hester Prynne has to wear as a punishment for adultery. The letter assumes a different and ever-changing meaning for the characters of the novel, from accusation and sin to a new beginning and freedom.

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Siegen, course: Protest and Liberation: American Literature of the 60s and 70s, language: English, abstract: From its beginnings, American society was a system based on certain values, e.g. Christianity. These values are affected by events like war, waves of immigration and the fluctuations of economy and therefore change constantly. In those changing times, family was meant to be a fixed value in society but in the 20th century they started to disintegrate, especially referring to the role model of women. This paper discusses the presentation of gender and sexuality in Rita Mae Brown's novel "e;Rubyfruit Jungle"e;, including female role models and homosexuality in the context of the ever present conventions in 1960s America.

Essay from the year 2007 in the subject Communications - Intercultural Communication, grade: 1,0, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, course: Language and Cross-Cultural Communication, language: English, abstract: The world is growing together. In the wake of globalization many companies have expanded their markets to countries around the world. No matter if in Europe, America, Africa, Asia or Australia - everywhere we are greeted by the familiar corporate logos of global players like Coca Cola, McDonald's and Burger King. I would like to suggest that an important factor of the international success of these companies are specialised marketing concepts, which are based on the individual culture of the respective target country. Intercultural communication seems therefore an important element in marketing products worldwide. In this essay, I will have a look at a company whose name has become synonymous with globalization: McDonald's. The development of the term McDonaldization shows that the company s strategy of efficiency, calculability, predictability and control is effective around the globe (Ritzer in Usunier 2000; Jandt 2004).

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject Sociology - Relationships and Family, grade: 1,0, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, course: Representations: The Communication Culture, Identity and Society, language: English, abstract: This essay introduces various concepts of identity formation, including hegemony, discursive formation and invented categories. On the basis of these concepts, it discusses masculinity and femininity in the movie "e;Bridget Jones's Diary"e;, comparing the leading men Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) and Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) with each other, and the heroine Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) with the seemingly perfect Natasha. Secondly, the essay seeks to evaluate the role of the feminine gaze and objectification of Cleaver and Darcy.

Essay from the year 2007 in the subject Communications - Mass Media, grade: 1,3, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, course: Media Analysis, language: English, abstract: On an ordinary day, we are woken up by our mobile phone; we get up and check our emails, answer them, call somebody, chat with a total stranger on ICQ, and have a video chat with some friends overseas. Our social relations seem more and more dominated by communication technologies and have assumed a wider dimension as our contacts spread in networks around the globe. Companies, nations and individuals come together, making "e;[t]he 21st century ... the age of networks"e; (v. Dijk 2006). This essay discusses the key features of network sociality and the debates around the concept of network society, focussing on the influence of internet use on social interaction particularly in form of virtual communities.

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject Tourism - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,0, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, course: Advertising and Consumption, language: English, abstract: For several decades now there has been a trend towards a declining birth rate and therefore rapid ageing of the British population. With good medical supplies, older people stay healthy and live longer: in the past twenty years life expectancy has risen from 70 years in 1981 to 75 years in 2001 for men, and from 76 to 80 years for women (Soule et al. 2005). When retiring in their 50 or 60s, people can expect to live twenty more years or longer. Soon people over 50, the post-war baby boomer generation born between 1946 and 1965, will constitute the majority of the population. In contrast to people retiring in the 20th century, 21st century retirees are active and try to enjoy their leisure time. Although consumer society creates negative [ ] images of later life, by implication, if not directly, by valuing and emphasizing youthful body image (Morris 1998 in Bradley & Longino 2001, p.18), old people immerse themselves in sports and other social activities, living life to the full. Holidays play an important part in this lifestyle as they are important for the individual and social improvement and development, the resultant benefit of the self, including social self, being transportable back into the everyday environment as part of an ongoing life experience (McIntyre 2007, p.121). In the past decades, several travel operators have tried to buy into the mature market. They established brands for the over 50s, featuring names like First Choice s 'Leisurely Times', Thomson s Young at Heart , Cosmos Golden Times and Airtours 'Golden Years' (Ylanne-McEwen 2000), all off which basically offered beach holidays around Europe. Now their brochures have vanished from the market. They either have been replaced by updated concepts or been incorporated into the mainstream summer and winter brochures. In this essay, I would like to explore why these travel programmes have been rejected by the young at heart and what kind of holidays has replaced them. I will have a critical look at the representation of the over 50s in the new brochures. I will deconstruct the mature holidaymaker, considering what they want and need of their holiday and which identity they derive from their activities and destination choice.