David Signer

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David Signer (born March 3, 1964 in St. Gallen ) is a Swiss ethnologist , journalist and writer .

Life

Signer studied ethnology, psychology and linguistics in Zurich and Jerusalem . In 1994 he received his doctorate with a criticism of ethnopsychoanalysis . He was a lecturer at the Ethnological Seminar at the University of Zurich and worked for several years in the refugee sector. From 1997 to 2000 he conducted field research on witchcraft and traditional healers in West Africa . In 2001 he held a research position at the University of Zurich on AIDS in West Africa and led student field research on AIDS in Dakar , Senegal. From 2000 to 2001 he worked for the magazine of the Zürcher Tages-Anzeiger . From 2002 to 2008 he worked as an editor at Weltwoche , since then he has worked as a freelance journalist and author ( Du , NZZ am Sonntag , Die Zeit , Geo ). Signer now lives in Dakar as the NZZ's Africa correspondent .

Works

In his dissertation “Constructions of the Unconscious” (1994) Signer criticizes ethno- psychoanalysis with Derrida , but also with Freud himself, especially Paul Parin's work “Fear Your Neighbor as Yourself” on the Agni in Ivory Coast .

“Fernsteuer” (1997) consists on the one hand of essays that radicalize Signer's own approach to the unconscious in culture , and on the other hand of the story “The Two-Body Problem”.

The two books “Art of Survival in Transitional Worlds” (1999) and “Fluchten, Collapse, Asylum” (2000) deal with the psychological problems of migrants . The ethnological study "Die Ökonomie der Hexerei" (2004) tells of Signer's experiences with witchcraft in Africa and develops a theory about the connection between witchcraft , belief , envy , the compulsion to permanently distribute and the difficulty of saving and making money invest. The ethnologists Thomas Bierschenk (D) and Jürg von Ins (CH) led a controversial debate about this book .

“Grüezi - Strange things from Heidiland ” (2006) combines reports and glosses about Switzerland with photos by the Swiss photographer Andri Pol . The novel “No Chance in Mori” (2007) is about a young theater director who goes in search of his friend who has disappeared in Africa.

Signer also works with artists again and again: “Jérémie Gindre” was created in collaboration with the Geneva artist Jérémie Gindre (Schwabe Verlag, 2005), “My Territory” with the photographer Roland Iselin (Edition Fink 2006) and “Weltwetter” with the interior designer Christine Moser (Brikett Verlag, 2007).

In 2010 the novel "The Naked Islands" was published, which is set mainly in West Africa and the Caribbean. The story is about a Swiss journalist in Dakar who learns that he has a daughter in Nigeria, whose mother recently died. He brings the girl to him; but a little later it disappears. The search leads the protagonist to the Cape Verde Islands .

Book publications

  • 1986: The white beggars . Travel stories. Mainz: Pö a Pö publishing house.
  • 1994: Constructions of the unconscious: Agni in West Africa from an ethno-psychoanalytical and post-structuralist perspective . Vienna: Passagen Verlag (dissertation).
  • 1997: remote control. Cultural racism and unconscious addictions . Vienna: Passagen Verlag.
  • 1999: L'économie de la sorcellerie . Abidjan: Sempervira 6 (Center Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques).
  • 1999: Ed. With D. Ninck Gbeassor et al .: The art of survival in transitional worlds . Ethno-psychological support for asylum seekers. Berlin: Reimer.
  • 2000: Ed. With D. Bazzi et al. Escape, collapse, asylum. Case studies from the Ethnological-Psychological Center in Zurich. Zurich: Argonaut.
  • 2002: Ed. With W. Egli and V. Saller: Newer developments in ethnopsychoanalysis . Contributions to a conference in December 2001 in Zurich. Münster: Lit-Verlag.
  • 2004: The Economics of Witchcraft or Why There Are No Skyscrapers in Africa . Wuppertal: Peter Hammer Verlag. (French: Economie de la sorcellerie . Dijon: Les presses du réel. 2017).
  • 2006: with Andri Pol: Grüezi. Strange things from Heidiland . Zurich: contrast. (In English: Grüezi. Strange Things in Heidiland. Zurich: Contrast).
  • 2007: with Andrea G. Corciulo: The Nearest Faraway Place Edition Luciano Fasciati. Chur.
  • 2007: Three stories (German / English). In: Roland Iselin: My Territory. Edition Fink, Zurich.
  • 2007: Magic, witchcraft and the vicious circle of impotence . In: T. Bearth, B. Becker et al .: Africa in Transition. Vdf Hochschulverlag AG at the ETH Zurich.
  • 2007: No chance in Mori . Novel. Zurich: Salis Verlag.
  • 2007: From November 2004 on ... (untitled). In: Christine Moser: Weltwetter. Brikett Verlag, Zurich.
  • 2008: rhymes are germs . In: Jürg von Ins: I haven't lost a word. Poems. Wolfbach Verlag, Zurich.
  • 2008: Football, language that unites people . In: 90 minutes. SBVV, Zurich.
  • 2008: Odyssey in the warm bath, thirst at the reservoir, Limmat blues . In: water city. Literary walks along Zurich's waterways. Salis Verlag, Zurich.
  • 2010: The Naked Islands . Novel. Salis Verlag, Zurich.
  • 2013 Roman Signer - speeches and conversations . Edition Stephan Witschi, Zurich. Roman Signer - Talks and Conversations . König, Cologne.
  • 2013: fewer bans! More enjoyment! A call against incapacitation. Berlin: Haffmans & Tokemitt 2013. ISBN 978-3-942989-35-0
  • 2016: as editor: Borders tell stories. What maps reveal. NZZ Libro, Zurich
  • 2017: Dead End . Stories. Lectorbooks. Zurich.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ David Signer: Economics of Witchcraft ( Memento of the original from December 31, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / juergvonins.ch
personal data
SURNAME Signer, David
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss ethnologist, journalist and writer
DATE OF BIRTH March 3, 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Gallen