‘This is Germany’ (TiG) is a collective experiment that seeks to preserve the ingredients that make social media platforms worthwhile (broad participation, accessibility, spontaneous and fast-moving cultural dialogue), while attempting to minimise some of the less appetising aspects of social media (knee-jerk aggression, inflammation, polarisation, whataboutism, ad hominem argumentation, hate speech and unhinged performances of privilege).
TiG aspires to taking the cultural and political temperature of Germany at this moment in time. Who are ‘we’? Where are ‘we,’ right now, as a cultural community? What’s on ‘our’ minds? What brings ‘us’ together? What drives ‘us’ apart? What kind of cultural community do ‘we’ wish to exist within? What is ‘freedom of expression’ and who has access to it? How can ‘we’ grow a public sphere in which a richer diversity of voices is heard and valued? How can ‘we,’ as a cultural community, extend ourselves beyond the restricted realms of the museum, the theatre, the university, the lecture hall, the seminar room, to build a wider platform for community, culture, exchange, social and political transformation?
Roughly once a week (if manageable), a new episode of TiG will be released. For each episode, a fairly large number of contributors will be asked to share their thoughts on a particular topic (a word, debate, conundrum or phenomenon that is current within the German culture-sphere). In order for TiG to stay fresh and relevant as a forum (within an accelerated attention economy), contributors will be asked to submit their contributions hastily (within a few days). Submitting a TiG contribution is not intended to suck up a huge amount of each contributor’s time, nor should it demand extensive or laborious research. Contributors will be selected because they are likely to already have strong opinions on the topic under discussion.
At present, TiG is moderated by Candice Breitz.
More Info.
First Episode was about Z-Sauce.
Second Episode is about “Bio-Deutsch” and this was my contribution to it:
See all other contributions here.