n Acta Germanica : German Studies in Africa - Deutschstudium grenzwertig? Legitimationsprobleme einer Germanistik in (West-)Afrika Das Beispiel Nigeria : Legitimationsfragen der Auslandgermanistik

Abstract

This article examines some of the main arguments used to justify the subject of German Studies at universities in sub-Saharan African countries in the past twenty years. Rather than discussing these arguments only within the theoretical discourse, they are also examined in respect of their practical validity in an African country, namely Nigeria. It is characteristic of the discourse on the legitimacy of German in Africa that it aims at the continent Africa as a whole. The author argues for a re-focussing of arguments along the lines of the intercultural approach : Rather than transforming the African continent socially and politically, the study of German should first and foremost aim to decenter the mind of students in order to enhance students' interpretation and experience of self and other.