Doctoral Dissertation Research: Turkish Immigrants in Germany: Constructing Multiple Identities and Transforming Urban Space

University Of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis MN

Investigators

Abstract

International migration has brought people from many different cultures together, dramatically changing the ethnic composition of areas where immigrants settle, posing challenges for both established residents and newcomers as well as well as for those trying to serve the rapidly changing populations. Geographers, sociologists, and scientists from many other disciplines have used a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to study the processes of social interaction within and among different groups that come to live in close proximity to each other, especially in urban areas. This doctoral dissertation research project will examine the processes of adaptation and incorporation of immigrants into host societies, with special emphases on the concrete processes through which immigrant construct their identities and the ways that immigrants interact with each other and more established residents of their new communities. The doctoral student conducting this project will conduct a case study of Duisburg-Marxloh, a neighborhood located in Germany's older industrialized Ruhr area where many immigrants from Turkey have relocated. By gathering information from multiple sources, including intensive interviews, focus groups, observations, archival records, newspapers, and statistical sources, the student will to address how German characterizations of Turks and their neighborhoods and the construction of Turkish identities; the role of the ethnic neighborhood in the construction and reinforcement of Turkish identities; the interaction between Turks and Germans in public and private neighborhood space and the influence of those interactions on perceptions and attitudes; differences in identity construction along gender, generation, age, religious, and class lines; and the processes through which different neighborhood experiences affect immigrants' responses towards German society and culture. In addition to providing valuable new insights into the processes through which immigrants form their own identities and relate to longer-established residents of their communities, this project will enhances prevailing theories of cultural assimilation and inform those engaged in the development of policies and programs for new immigrants. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.