Farewell to Dr. Mascha Dabic

The Department was very fortunate to have Dr. Mascha Dabić as our Max Kade Writer-in-Residence for the spring 2024 semester. Dr. Dabić is a multilingual novelist, translator, interpreter, and university lecturer based in Vienna, Austria. In her course GERM 4910 “Migrants’ Voices”, students read works of authors who have a “migration background” (“Migrationshintergrund”) and deal with various aspects of migration in their writing, with particular emphasis on German-language authors from the Balkans. In addition, students read Dr. Dabić’s own novel Reibungsverluste (Frictional Losses, 2017) about a day in the life of an interpreter who works in the office of a psychotherapist for refugees. This novel was nominated for the prestigious Franz Tumler Literature Prize and made the short list for the Austrian Book Prize “Debüt.” Students in the course also had the opportunity to engage with writers and academics working on topics related to the course, including Dr. Yvonne Živković of the Institute of Slavic Studies at the University of Graz, who gave a guest lecture on the post-Yugoslav migrant cinema of Goran Rebić.

Dr. Dabić contributed in countless other ways to life in the department. On March 21, she participated in the “Great Women Writers” event, an evening of bilingual lightning readings of women’s writing from across the FLCLS at Georgetown. Kicking off the evening, Dr. Dabić read from her work “Malo Sutra” together with Ysaure Marty de Cambiare, an undergraduate student in her “Migrant Voices” class.

On April 16, Dr. Dabić gave a talk entitled “The Balkans Start in Vienna,” which addressed the visibility of Vienna as a multinational and multilingual city from the perspective of Balkan migration. The talk was followed by a reading in German from Dabić’s own work. Students and faculty enjoyed chatting with her at the buffet reception that followed.Dr. Dabic also took the opportunity to participate in the annual convention of the Austrian Studies Association in April at West Chester University in PA. Her novel Reibungsverluste was featured in the panel on “Austria in Europe.”

We will miss Dr. Dabić’s presence in the department and wish her a heartfelt “Servus!” – not just a goodbye – as she returns to Vienna. Prof. Dabić has also written a short reflection on the task of the author and translator.