Luncheon provided. Everyone welcome! "Skin-close and Arm’s Length: Migrants and Belonging in Contemporary Germany" builds upon the winter term Humanities Center Dialogos session, "Aliens Among Them: Experiences of (Not) Belonging in Europe Today." 

This session, presented by Pamela Feldman-Savelsberg and Daniel Williams, explores the complexities of belonging in contemporary Germany among two groups of “migrants” or “foreigners”: German-born young adults of non-EU background, and more recently-arrived Cameroonians.  As the largest and possibly the most influential country in the European Union, and with a troubled history surrounding issues of immigration and citizenship, Germany provides an interesting case study. Non-EU young adult “migrants” are highly visible in public discourse about “integration,” while more recent West African (im)migrants are not. We bring our two research projects, both conducted in Berlin, into dialogue.

We intend to explore: the varied meanings of belonging; understandings of “being/not being German”; the benefits and limitations of citizenship for “non-Germans”; and ways of interacting with Germans and the German state that mark the boundaries between legal incorporation and feeling at home. Sponsored by the Humanities Center. Contact Pamela Feldman Savelsberg, pfeldman@carleton.edu.