In non-fiction books, experiences of and with otherness are predominantly presented as the result of a process of change or as a marker of the Other. Students studying the subjects of General Studies, Art and German have, together with their lecturers, approached the concept of the ‘other’ in its diverse manifestations in various ways.

For example, under the guidance of Dr Ines Oldenburg (Institute of Educational Sciences) and Thomas Robbers (Institute of Art and Visual Culture), students collaborated with Year 2 pupils at Haarentor Primary School in Oldenburg on the theme of ‘Being Different – Being Foreign’. The students’ documentation of this work is presented in the exhibition as an artistic commentary.

The formation of judgements and prejudices in historical and contemporary images and discussions in print media, on the internet and in popular culture was at the centre of the artistic exploration of the ‘other’ in Sabine Wallach’s Art Practice seminar. Students developed three-dimensional spaces and installations – sometimes atmospheric, sometimes cryptic – that invite the viewer to look closely, to play and to unravel their mysteries.

How are foreign places, things and people actually portrayed in non-fiction books? What is labelled as ‘foreign’ and what as ‘familiar’? A compilation of historical and contemporary literature (under the guidance of Dr Mareile Oetken) provides an illustrative overview.

In addition, a children’s book written by students under the guidance of Prof. Dr Astrid Kaiser is on display; it explores the cultural heritage of the Yagan water-nomad tribe (Chile) from the perspective of today’s children within that cultural sphere.

Three talks complement the exhibition:

Sunday, 3 November 2013, 11.15 am, Youth Library, Peterstr. 1

Opening lecture: Prof. Dr Hans-Peter Schmidtke, University of Oldenburg

One ‘You’ – the other ‘I’

“In Panama,” said the little bear, “everything is much nicer, you know. Because Panama smells of bananas from top to bottom...” And the inhabitants? Are they Panamans or Panameners or Panamas or Panamesans? Do they smell of bananas too? Unlike picture books, non-fiction books don’t lead us so astray.

7 November 2013, Children’s and Young People’s Library, Peterstr. 1, at 7.00 pm

Prof. Reinhard Schulz-Schaeffer

Visual Concepts in Non-Fiction – Drawing as a Thought Process

“In a certain sense, all things lose their colour when they are captured through or in language."

Ludwig Wittgenstein, The Big Typescript

There is a significant difference between developing a book concept through language and designing it visually. Using practical examples, this paper examines the impact of visual concepts on the structure, aesthetics, content and narrative form of non-fiction books.

Reinhard Schulz-Schaeffer is a professor in the Department of Design at HAW Hamburg, with a research focus on informative illustration

9 November 2013, Seminar Room, PFL at 11.00 am

Dr Renate Grubert,

From the classic all-rounder to a dispensable genre?

Trends in contemporary non-fiction for children and young people!

After more than 50 years in which well-known series and a few individual titles reliably covered the market, the non-fiction sector virtually exploded following the PISA studies, reaching a volume that publishers can only dream of today. What has happened and what do these changes mean? The talk traces the development of the children’s and young adult non-fiction market, identifies trends and tendencies, and provides a cross-section of the current range of titles.

Dr Renate Grubert heads the press office for children’s and young adult book publishers at the Random House Publishing Group in Munich. She also works freelance as a specialist journalist, writer and lecturer.

Invitation