Positioning Kenya in the German Schlager: A case of Roger Whittaker’s Himmel und Heimat

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Gideon Kiptoo

Abstract

Roger Whittaker offers in his music a chance for transnational dialogue, aesthetically addressing the polarized tensions surrounding borders, identity, foreignness, and otherness. His fusion of German-style Schlager with narrative elements from pre- and post-independent Kenya provides a unique perspective on the intersection of Kenyan, and German discourses, and beyond. Whittaker's works serve as an exemplary conduit for exploring the minimized musical landscape of Schlager and its reception, offering a rich field for unpacking cultural hybridity in music This paper attempts to position Roger Whittaker’s Himmel und Heimat as integral to understanding multiculturalism within global north and global south discourses and how it was heavily influenced by his experiences while in Kenya.  It also unveils the richness of culture and history, embedded in the German Folk music which has received little attention, especially as it relates to multiculturalism. This approach reveals how Kenya and Africa by extension was and still is (being) perceived within the German imagination and beyond.

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How to Cite
Kiptoo, G. (2025). Positioning Kenya in the German Schlager: A case of Roger Whittaker’s Himmel und Heimat. Hybrid Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.58256/3tacn302
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How to Cite

Kiptoo, G. (2025). Positioning Kenya in the German Schlager: A case of Roger Whittaker’s Himmel und Heimat. Hybrid Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.58256/3tacn302

References

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Fuhr, T. B. (2023). “Eternal Return? Revisiting Heimat in Contemporary German Literature.” (Doctoral Dissertation). University of Arizona, 2023. https://www.proquest.com/openview/267c35220c46e205e0331a239cfeb4b2/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y.

Mendívil, J. (2008). Ein musikalisches Stück Heimat: Ethnologische Beobachtungen zum deutschen Schlager. Transcript Verlag.

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Discography

mrwhittakersmusic. (2013, July 13). Roger Whittaker - Himmel und Heimat (1992) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIr4xzVVuQU.

Videography

mrwhittakersmusic. (2012, April 15). Roger Whittaker - In Kenya ~ a musical Safari ~ (1982) - Part I [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuQdAvTk-X0