Abstract
Udo Grashoff: Kern und Peripherie. Zur Struktur politischer Tabus in der DDR. Das Suizidtabu als Beispiel, in: Jahrbuch für Historische Kommunismusforschung 2023. Berlin: Metropol Verlag, pp. 239–256.
This article suggests a new framework for analysis of the contours of the unspeakable and the speakable in dictatorial regimes where one dominant ideology has become deeply ingrained in most aspects of society. Based on a case study regarding the political taboo of suicide in the GDR, it develops a theoretical framework for the study of communicative taboos in ideocratic regimes. The framework consists of analysis of the topography of the taboo (core, periphery), the temporality of the taboo (changing boundaries), and the performance of the taboo (perception, transgressions). The crucial difference from narrower concepts of political taboos as total repression is that this approach focuses not only on the silence in the core. It also highlights the diversity of communicative practices used when broaching taboo subjects. It helps to identify a number of linguistic effects and semantic distortions in the periphery. Conceiving of a taboo as a core with a periphery also allows for a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the social meaning of taboos. The approach developed here attempts a holistic understanding of the effects of political taboos. It complements and nuances institutionalist approaches, which uncover the organizing principles of censorship but often fail to explore the banned content thoroughly.
Über den Autor
PD Dr. phil. Udo Grashoff, geb. 1966 in Halle (Saale). 1986 bis 1992 Studium der Biochemie; 1993 bis 1999 Studium der Geschichte, Germanistik und vergleichenden Literaturwissenschaft; 2006 Promotion, 2019 Habilitation. Seit 2008 Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Historischen Seminar der Universität Leipzig. Von 2014 bis 2020 DAAD-Fachlektor an der School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London. Veröffentlichungen u. a.: Gefahr von innen. Verrat im kommunistischen Widerstand gegen den Nationalsozialismus, Göttingen 2021; Hg.: Comparative Approaches To Informal Housing Around The Globe, London 2020; Die DDR im Jahr 1977. Zwischen Routine und Resignation, Erfurt 2019; Studenten im Aufbruch. Unabhängige studentische Interessenvertretung an der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg 1987–1992, Halle 2019; Schwarzwohnen. Die Unterwanderung der staatlichen Wohnraumlenkung in der DDR, Göttingen 2011; »In einem Anfall von Depression …« Selbsttötungen in der DDR, Berlin 2006.
