When I learned of Mladen’s death, I didn’t have any emotional reactions. It was a December evening when I opened Facebook without giving it too much thought. Often when I’m supposed to be productive, I open a few apps on my phone only to realize that I don’t get anything apart from trivial updates that keep me entertained for a few seconds. And usually, I can then put myself together and get back to work, but sometimes I am stubborn, so I need this confirmation a second time on my computer. I thus opened Facebook and the first thing that jumped at me was a monochrome photograph of him, posted by his partner. Because of the timeless style, it could have been older, but his features quickly gave away that it must have been shot recently. He looks to the side, almost a bit melancholically. Through his open linen shirt his chest hair is visible, and out of his mouth, white cigarette smoke rises to the top of the frame. The bright shirt contrasts with his dark hair. A few white strands in his hair point to his age.
A post from my Medium Profile, which I used for a short time to get rid of excess creativity and an urge to write during a less inspirational phase of my studies.
You can now read and download my master’s thesis with the pretentious-sounding title “Epistemological (Un)certainties: The Literary Journalism of William T. Vollmann and Johny Pitts as a Challenge to Objective Journalism” on NTNU Open by clicking this link, or read the abstract below:
The genre of literary journalism combines literature’s imaginative ways of creating narratives with journalism’s focus on accurately describing reality. This twofold orientation challenges the norms of objective journalism, a genre of writing that has come under increasing critical scrutiny. By analyzing William T. Vollmann’s Riding Toward Everywhere (2008) and Johny Pitts’ Afropean (2019), this thesis explores a selection of the techniques literary journalists employ in practice and how they offer alternative ways of imagining reality. Both authors display an increased self-reflectivity, which allows for a more transparent construction of the world through language. Their overt involvement in the text can be seen on different levels as they use their works for autobiographical self-realization and situate their writing within a wider cultural trajectory. Similarly, both authors reflect on their immersion within the environment and point to the epistemological possibilities and limitations of their writing. Yet despite the commonalities, the two publications have a different focus: while Vollmann’s work is riddled with epistemological doubts that question common-sensical understandings of both literature and journalism, Pitts has a more activist agenda and raises awareness about African European communities.
Melchior, thank you for sitting down with me! Firstly, what should our readers know about you?
Ich eile den Hügel hinauf zur Kristiansten Festning, die alte Festung ist eines der wenigen Wahrzeichen Trondheims. Wir haben uns um 16 Uhr verabredet und ich bin etwas spät dran, denn was auf Google Maps wie ein lockerer Spaziergang aussieht, verwandelt sich mit der hiesigen Topografie schnell in eine regelrechte Wanderung. Dort angekommen treffe ich sogleich auf eine Gruppe anderer mutmasslicher Studierender, die etwas ratlos umherwandern. Ich bin erleichtert; scheinbar bin ich nicht der Einzige, der auf der Suche nach den sogenannten Faddern ist. Mich treibt es nach Trondheim, um an der NTNU (Norwegens Technisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Universität) mein Masterstudium zu beginnen.
Wie an allen norwegischen Universitäten wird zum Auftakt des Studiums auch hier die sogenannte Fadderuka, die Göttiwoche, veranstaltet. Über den Zeitraum von einer Woche führen eingesessene Student*innen die Neuankömmlinge in den Campus und die Studienstadt ein und organisieren verschiedenste Aktivitäten, um das gegenseitige Kennenlernen zu fördern. Es ist für mich die ideale Möglichkeit, bereits vor dem Studienstart den Anschluss an ein neues Netzwerk zu finden. Was Trondheim vom restlichen Norwegen unterscheidet? NTNU ist die grösste Universität im Land und das überschaubare Trondheim gilt als die Studienstadt schlechthin. Deshalb verleibt sich die Fadderuka hier zusätzlich die erste Woche des Semesterbeginns ein. Bei der Festung entscheiden wir uns, die verschiedenen Feuerstellen abzuklappern, da auf unserem Plan von Grillieren die Rede war. Und tatsächlich, nach wenigen Minuten finden wir unsere zukünftigen Fadder, welche sich mit einem bedruckten T-Shirt der Fachschaft erkenntlich zeigen.