Selbstbestimmtes Leben

• Author / Creator

  Jones, Allison

• This thesis examines the German Autonomen in their intellectual historical context. It first examines the history and development of the concept of Autonomie in Western Germany. The thesis argues that this social and political philosophy began in 1968, and developed through the 1970s and 1980s in response to political, social, economic and philosophic discourses. The thesis then focuses upon the occupation of houses in Hamburg and Berlin; a practice that developed out of this political philosophy. Finally, it turns to the “Rote Flora Cultural Center” in the city of Hamburg as a case study and crystallization of Autonomous identity. This political ideology is framed by the thought of political philosophers and theorists, especially Michel Foucault, Henri Lefebvre and Mikhail Bakhtin. Using these contemporary thinkers, the thesis ultimately explains that this radical and little-known political discourse is in fact deeply rooted in the dominant philosophical discourses of the time.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Political Philosophy
  • Germany
  • Germany twentieth century history
  • Hausbesetzung
  • Anarchism
  • Autonomie

• Graduation date

  Fall 2013

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Arts

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3PG1HX0K

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.