Julian Osthues

Interkulturelle Metaphern Überlegungen zu ihrer Theoretisierung am Beispiel des Palimpsests

Abstract Cultural theory is full of metaphors. In intercultural German studies (›interkulturelle Germanistik‹), metaphors play an equally significant role in the treatment of cultural concepts. It may seem surprising, though, that their use has not been analyzed from an intercultural perspective yet. This article discusses the potential of metaphors for intercultural thinking, and describes how different theories (Bernhard Waldenfels, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Homi K. Bhabha, Anil Bhatti and others) make use of them in their treatment of culture and identity. In particular, focus is given on the intercultural potentials provided by the palimpsest metaphor, which presents culture in its plurality, cross-border complexity and ambivalence.