Heike Henderson

Geographies of food: 'Afters'

This third and final ‘Geographies of food’ review is based on an online blog conversation provoked by the first and second reviews in the series (Cook et al., 2006; 2008a). Authors of the work featured in these reviews — plus others whose work was not but should have been featured — were invited to respond to them, to talk about their own and other people’s work, and to enter into conversations about — and in the process review — other/new work within and beyond what could be called ‘food geographies’. These conversations were coded, edited, arranged, discussed and rearranged to produce a fragmentary, multi-authored text aiming to convey the rich and multi-stranded content, breadth and character of ongoing food studies research within and beyond geography.

Eva Rossmann’s mystery novel «Russen kommen». The Russians Are Coming. New Crimes, Old Fears, and Intercultural Alliances

Eva Rossmann’s mystery novel Russen kommen, the tenth in a popular series, takes up a hot topic in Austria’s tourism industry: the tensions surrounding the recent influx of newly rich Russian visitors. This article uses Rossmann’s mystery as a case study to examine the impact of global culture and transnational investments on Austrian society. Trapped between provincialism and globalization, Austrians are forced to revisit old fears and find new ways of dealing with contemporary challenges. Due to its wide appeal, popular culture can lead the way in these negotiations.

Frauen schreiben gegen Hindernisse. Zu den Wechselwirkungen von Biografie und Schreiben im weiblichen Lebenszusammenhang by Susanne Blumesberger (review)

answers the central question, “what is typically Austrian?” by exposing a rich network of associations. The successful balance of a wide variety of themes makes the book equally useful for Austrian scholars, film historians, and the casual reader. A significant contribution to a small body of scholarship on Austrian film, Fuchs’s book should promote interest in the specific films and in Austrian cinema. Anita McChesney Texas Tech University

Performing Cannibalism: Werner Schwab's ÜBERGEWICHT, unwichtig: UNFORM

This article focuses on the role of cannibalism, both within the context of Schwab’s 1991 play and as a reflection of modern Austrian society. Performativity, anthropological studies of cannibalism, and Artaud’s theater of cruelty provide the framework for my analysis. Language and corporeality, both intrinsically connected to performativity and cruelty, emerge as crucial elements of Schwab’s theatrical dissolution of boundaries.