Berkers, P.P.L. http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/20924/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png RePub, Erasmus University Rotterdam http://repub.eur.nl Globalization and ethnic diversity in Western newspaper coverage of literary authors: Comparing developments in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States, 1955 to 2005 (Article) http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/25797/ 2011-05-01T00:00:00Z In contrast to most studies on cultural globalization, this article examines the dynamics of cross-cultural exchange between and within (Western) nation-states. Through content analysis, the authors study the extent and composition of newspaper coverage given to literary authors of non-Western ethnic origin-both foreign and domestic-in four nations across 50 years.The analysis reveals, among other things, that newspaper attention to ethnic minority authors appears related to various features of a nation's ethnic minority population, the extent that a given national literary field is receptive to ethnic diversity, and the relative position of that nation in the literary world-system. Classification into the Literary Mainstream? Ethnic Boundaries in the Literary Fields of the United States, the Netherlands and Germany, 1955-2005 (Doctoral Thesis) http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/17489/ 2009-12-03T00:00:00Z As a result of mass migration, the ethnic composition of western countries has become increasingly diverse. Both inside and outside academia, this development has led to heated discussions about whether ethnic minorities are - or even have to be - assimilated into mainstream society. In Assimilation into the Literary Mainstream, Pauwke Berkers addresses how literary critics, policy makers and textbook editors have dealt with ethnic diversity in the United States, the Netherlands and Germany between 1955 and 2005. How much newspaper coverage has been devoted to ethnic minority authors and how has this changed over time? And to what extent do reviewers discuss the ethnic background of such writers? Moreover, have national literary policy organizations actively stimulated or largely ignored ethnic diversity? Finally, to what degree are ethnic minority authors canonized in national literary histories? Examining the use of ethnic discourse, the numerical representation and the labels used to describe ethnic minority authors, the author demonstrates that ethnic boundaries are relatively weak, moderately strong and strong in the literary fields of the U.S., the Netherlands and Germany respectively. At a macro-level, these cross-national differences are related to different national repertoires of evaluation. However, within national literary fields, ethnic classifications differ, depending on the structural position that different literary institutions hold vis-à-vis the economic and political field.