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The ban on allowing Muslim schoolgirls in Australia to wear hijabs or headscarfs to school and the ban of a hijab-wearing Afghan woman to work as a teacher in Germany is analyzed. The theory of false tolerance is put forth by supporters of the ban in Germany to counter the 'forced emancipation' theory of its critics while the comments by Australian women politicians supporting the ban has an underlying fear of Islam affecting their freedom, in the guise of expression of women's equality.

Important recent scholarship has highlighted the social, cultural, religious and emotional significance of food, drink and hunger in wartime. Much of this work has taken World War I as its focus. However, the particular effects of eating as an intercultural encounter is an area so far underexplored in the history of World War I. This article examines these aspects of daily life in war time through the records of diaries, memoirs, soldier newspapers and propaganda to provide greater insight into the strategic, symbolic and emotional role of food and drink for soldiers in diverse World War I armies. Our article shows that food and drink are frequently objects of intercultural exchange. This exchange is revealing not just of the material conditions of war time, but of the social, cultural and emotional contours of the intercultural encounters forced by this global conflagration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bay, Hansjorg, and Christof Hamarm, eds. Odradeks Lachen: Fremdheit bei Kafka. Freiburg i. Br.: Rombach, 2006. 366 pp. 42.00 € paperback. With the theme 'Fremdheit bei Kafka,' the editors of [...]

Traffic is based on the conviction that a dialogue between specialists is not only possible but also important. This is the 'interdisciplinary' of the journal's byline. The first three issues [...]

In Traffic number three emerging scholars from a range of disciplines take issue with established opinion in their research fields. Responding to a call in early 2003 to 'write the [...]

For soldiers and civilians alike, food is a critical issue in times of conflict. Yet the role of food in times of war has received little scholarly attention. In line with literature that draws attention to the social and cultural meanings of food, this article considers intercultural culinary encounters between Australian soldiers and locals during the Battle of Timor in the Second World War. From their reliance on local produce in the absence of adequate supplies, to Timorese hospitality at festivities, this article argues that food encounters offer significant insight into the wartime experiences of Australian soldiers in Portuguese Timor (as it was then known). In particular, discourse around food highlights the close connections formed between the commandos and their local ‘helpers’, the ‘criados’. This article contends that these food-related experiences give a particular poignancy to the enduring notion in the Australian military of a ‘Debt of Honour’ owed to the people of Timor Leste. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article considers the ‘plating up’ of Peruvian food in two very different Melbourne establishments, each reflective of the changing face of Peruvian cuisine outside of Peru. We argue that despite a move from the suburban periphery of ‘ethnic’ dining to the cosmopolitan centre of high-end cuisine, Peruvian food in Melbourne is subject to exoticization and the demand for ‘authenticity’. In our analysis of the plating up of Peruvian cuisine in two very different establishments, we draw on theories of ethnic dining (in particular Heldke’s profile of the ‘food adventurer’) and of restaurateur practice (Hamada’s study of Japanese restaurants as an ‘exotic genre’) as well as the broader context of expectations of ‘ethnic eating’ (Hage). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article discusses tensions emerging from conflicting ethnic and national identities in three European Union (EU) member states - Germany, Italy and Spain - through the prism of culinary practices. Food is a marker of cultural identity. In Europe, a wide variety of food practices and culinary cultures co-exist in close proximity, and Europeans thus face the dilemma that confronts all omnivores presented with a breadth of culinary options: while variety can bring the potential for enjoyment, the choice of something new can be perceived as a threat. Within this context, buffeted by the forces of globalisation, migration and supra-national EU regulation, culinary patterns associated with migration strive to come to terms with growing 'gastronationalism'. This article dissects the differences and similarities in the way this tension manifests in Germany, Italy and Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a curious, unresolved court case in Israel concerning whether Franz Kafka's papers should belong in a German archive or in Israeli's National Library. Arguments for the German side contend that since Kafka wrote in German, the documents should stay in Germany. Jewish proponents claim that because Kafka was Jew and would have been murdered in the Holocaust like his sisters had he lived till then, therefore the papers should stay in Israel.

The article examines the connecting themes of two comedies including "The Jews," by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, and "Go for Zucker!," by Dani Levy. The author notes that both pieces are critical narratives of German-Jewish relations and presents the "Jewish Question" in a comedic style. "The Jews" was written by Lessing in 1749 while "Go for Zucker," was released as a feature film for television in 2005. Both comedies explore the issues of assimilation by portraying pre-existing notions of the Jew as a foreigner through drama and humor.