Journal of the Finnish Anthropological Society 2019 44 (2): 3-19), 2019
In this special section we rethink the role of movement and stasis in an age of globalization fro... more In this special section we rethink the role of movement and stasis in an age of globalization from an existential perspective. We suggest that this theoretical avenue is particularly well suited to move beyond the dualistic binaries that have haunted much writing on mobilities. Rather than fixating movement and stasis into two opposite poles, this perspective allows us to productively work with the overlaps and paradoxes as they appear in the everyday, thereby carving out a dialectics of im/mobility. We argue that exploring the interplay of movement and stasis has become particularly important in the current global political climate, where the mobilities of people and groups deemed troublesome are violently cut short or obstructed in ways that keep them “stuck” in continuous loops of “motion”. By zooming in on the vectorial metaphors migrants and refugees seemingly stuck in immovable conditions deploy to make sense of their situations, we conceptualize both the existential orientation of migratory projects and the wider social and political coordinates impinging on these inner quests for (forward) movement and/or stillness.
This contribution introduces the collection of texts in this special section of Migration and Soc... more This contribution introduces the collection of texts in this special section of Migration and Society exploring contemporary patterns of im/mobility between Africa and Europe. It proposes an ontological-epistemological framework for investigating present-day movements via three core dimensions: (1) a focus on im/mobility explores the intertwinement of mobility and stasis in the context of biographical and migratory pathways and thus goes beyond a binary approach to migration; (2) an existential and dialogical-ethnographic approach zooms in on individual experiences of im/mobility and shows that the personal-experiential is not apolitical, but represents a realm of everyday struggles and quests for a good life; and (3) a genealogical-historical dimension explores present-day migratory quests through their embeddedness within legacies of (post)colonial power relations and interconnections and thus counteracts the hegemonic image of immigration from Africa as having no history and legitimacy.
Special Section, Nationalities Papers 45 (4): 499-613, 2017
This special issue investigates contemporary transformations of Islam in the post-communist Balka... more This special issue investigates contemporary transformations of Islam in the post-communist Balkans. We put forward the concept of localized Islam, as an analytical lens that aptly captures the input of various interpreting agents, competing narratives and choices of faith. By adopting an agent-based approach that is sensitive to relevant actors’ choices and the contexts where they operate, we explore how various groups negotiate and ultimately localize the grand Islamic tradition, depending on where they are situated along the hierarchy of power. Specifically we outline three sets of actors and related narratives to revival of Islamic faith – 1) political elites, mainstream intellectuals, and religious hierarchies often unite in safeguarding a nation-centric understanding of religion; 2) foreign networks and missionaries make use of open channels of communication to propagate their specific interpretations and agendas ; and 3) lay-believers who can choose among different offers and rally around the living dimension of religious practice. Contributions in this issue bring ample evidence of multiple actors’ strategies, related perspectives and contingent choices of being a Muslim. Case studies include political debates on mosque construction in Athens; political narratives that underpin the construction of the museum of the father of Ataturk in Western Macedonia; politicians and imams’ competing interpretations of Syrian war in Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania; the emergence of practice communities that perform Muslim identity in Bulgaria; the particular codes of sharia dating in post-war Sarajevo; and veneration of saints among Muslim Romas in different urban areas in the Balkans.
Teaching Anthropology - A journal by the Royal Anthropological Institute, 2021
Building on the core epistemological features and aims of Educational Anthropology, in this paper... more Building on the core epistemological features and aims of Educational Anthropology, in this paper we explore the perception of anthropological educational knowledge among teachers and their related reflections on the educational standards of their profession, as well as their own role in society. Following an overview of (the emerging) intersections between teacher education and Educational Anthropology in Austria, the paper focuses on conversations with teachers in Austria on the outputs of an educational anthropological project (TRANSCA) and their applicability. Two of the project outputs-a Concept Book and a Whiteboard Animation (on "Worldmaking")-serve as the ground for focusing on three aspects emerging from the conversations with teachers: firstly, the concept of the "educated teacher"; secondly, conceptualization as a form of translation of anthropological knowledge via both text and animation; and thirdly, the differentiation between teaching in terms of schooling versus pedagogy. The latter is explored as a crucial dimension of the discussions among and with teachers, and lies at the heart of potential future synergies between anthropology and education.
Anthropological Journal of European Cultures, Issue 27/2: Intimate Uncertainties: Ethnographic Explorations of Moral Economies across Europe. Guest Editors: Sabine Strasser and Luisa Piart , 2018
This article explores how a specific pattern of relational ethics – referred to as ‘never . . . t... more This article explores how a specific pattern of relational ethics – referred to as ‘never . . . too much’ – figures as a way of coping with intimate uncertainties in close relationships. The concept of relational ethics refers to the historically embedded ways in which people live and cultivate ethical values through relations and, as such, also represents an ethnographically grounded conceptual contribution to ongoing anthropological debates on moral economy. My research unfolds ethnographic insights into three variations of the relational ethics of ‘never . . . too much’, three respective sets of social actors and relational scales: ‘never feel too much’/local women and their relationship to their marital partner; ‘never own too much’/local men and their relationship to property; ‘never settle too much’/female migrants from Russia and their relationship to the place of settlement. The article’s analysis is developed against the background of a particular spatial and temporal location – a border minority town with a history of (forced) migration, and is a contemporary focal point of migration, marginalisation by the state and patriarchy.
Bringing together vivid ethnographic material, this book opens up a timely conversation between m... more Bringing together vivid ethnographic material, this book opens up a timely conversation between memory and mobility/migration studies. It goes beyond the idea of the nation state as the primary unit of analysis to explore how people on the move use different forms and media of remembering to make sense of their lives and act as political subjects. Investigating when and by what means people on the move remember and communicate memories in the context of various forms of (im)mobility, the authors examine photographs, films, the reinhabiting of pre-exilic homes, pseudo-historical performances, transgenerational mnemonic gatherings and transnational political activism. This edited collection will appeal to scholars of anthropology, sociology, political science, human geography, history and oral history.
This special issue investigates contemporary transformations of Islam in the post-communist Balka... more This special issue investigates contemporary transformations of Islam in the post-communist Balkans. We put forward the concept of localized Islam, as an analytical lens that aptly captures the input of various interpreting agents, competing narratives and choices of faith. By adopting an agent-based approach that is sensitive to relevant actors' choices and the contexts where they operate, we explore how various groups negotiate and ultimately localize the grand Islamic tradition, depending on where they are situated along the hierarchy of power. Specifically we outline three sets of actors and related narratives to revival of Islamic faith – 1) political elites, mainstream intellectuals, and religious hierarchies often unite in safeguarding a nation-centric understanding of religion; 2) foreign networks and missionaries make use of open channels of communication to propagate their specific interpretations and agendas ; and 3) lay-believers who can choose among different offers and rally around the living dimension of religious practice. Contributions in this issue bring ample evidence of multiple actors' strategies, related perspectives and contingent choices of being a Muslim. Case studies include political debates on mosque construction in Athens; political narratives that underpin the construction of the museum of the father of Ataturk in Western Macedonia; politicians and imams' competing interpretations of Syrian war in Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania; the emergence of practice communities that perform Muslim identity in Bulgaria; the particular codes of sharia dating in postwar Sarajevo; and veneration of saints among Muslim Romas in different urban areas in the Balkans.
in: G. Fartacek, & S. B. (Hrsg.), Facetten von Flucht aus dem Nahen und Mittleren Osten. Facultas... more in: G. Fartacek, & S. B. (Hrsg.), Facetten von Flucht aus dem Nahen und Mittleren Osten. Facultas Universitätsverlag 2017b: 150-166.
Journal of the Finnish Anthropological Society 2019 44 (2): 3-19), 2019
In this special section we rethink the role of movement and stasis in an age of globalization fro... more In this special section we rethink the role of movement and stasis in an age of globalization from an existential perspective. We suggest that this theoretical avenue is particularly well suited to move beyond the dualistic binaries that have haunted much writing on mobilities. Rather than fixating movement and stasis into two opposite poles, this perspective allows us to productively work with the overlaps and paradoxes as they appear in the everyday, thereby carving out a dialectics of im/mobility. We argue that exploring the interplay of movement and stasis has become particularly important in the current global political climate, where the mobilities of people and groups deemed troublesome are violently cut short or obstructed in ways that keep them “stuck” in continuous loops of “motion”. By zooming in on the vectorial metaphors migrants and refugees seemingly stuck in immovable conditions deploy to make sense of their situations, we conceptualize both the existential orientation of migratory projects and the wider social and political coordinates impinging on these inner quests for (forward) movement and/or stillness.
This contribution introduces the collection of texts in this special section of Migration and Soc... more This contribution introduces the collection of texts in this special section of Migration and Society exploring contemporary patterns of im/mobility between Africa and Europe. It proposes an ontological-epistemological framework for investigating present-day movements via three core dimensions: (1) a focus on im/mobility explores the intertwinement of mobility and stasis in the context of biographical and migratory pathways and thus goes beyond a binary approach to migration; (2) an existential and dialogical-ethnographic approach zooms in on individual experiences of im/mobility and shows that the personal-experiential is not apolitical, but represents a realm of everyday struggles and quests for a good life; and (3) a genealogical-historical dimension explores present-day migratory quests through their embeddedness within legacies of (post)colonial power relations and interconnections and thus counteracts the hegemonic image of immigration from Africa as having no history and legitimacy.
Special Section, Nationalities Papers 45 (4): 499-613, 2017
This special issue investigates contemporary transformations of Islam in the post-communist Balka... more This special issue investigates contemporary transformations of Islam in the post-communist Balkans. We put forward the concept of localized Islam, as an analytical lens that aptly captures the input of various interpreting agents, competing narratives and choices of faith. By adopting an agent-based approach that is sensitive to relevant actors’ choices and the contexts where they operate, we explore how various groups negotiate and ultimately localize the grand Islamic tradition, depending on where they are situated along the hierarchy of power. Specifically we outline three sets of actors and related narratives to revival of Islamic faith – 1) political elites, mainstream intellectuals, and religious hierarchies often unite in safeguarding a nation-centric understanding of religion; 2) foreign networks and missionaries make use of open channels of communication to propagate their specific interpretations and agendas ; and 3) lay-believers who can choose among different offers and rally around the living dimension of religious practice. Contributions in this issue bring ample evidence of multiple actors’ strategies, related perspectives and contingent choices of being a Muslim. Case studies include political debates on mosque construction in Athens; political narratives that underpin the construction of the museum of the father of Ataturk in Western Macedonia; politicians and imams’ competing interpretations of Syrian war in Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania; the emergence of practice communities that perform Muslim identity in Bulgaria; the particular codes of sharia dating in post-war Sarajevo; and veneration of saints among Muslim Romas in different urban areas in the Balkans.
Teaching Anthropology - A journal by the Royal Anthropological Institute, 2021
Building on the core epistemological features and aims of Educational Anthropology, in this paper... more Building on the core epistemological features and aims of Educational Anthropology, in this paper we explore the perception of anthropological educational knowledge among teachers and their related reflections on the educational standards of their profession, as well as their own role in society. Following an overview of (the emerging) intersections between teacher education and Educational Anthropology in Austria, the paper focuses on conversations with teachers in Austria on the outputs of an educational anthropological project (TRANSCA) and their applicability. Two of the project outputs-a Concept Book and a Whiteboard Animation (on "Worldmaking")-serve as the ground for focusing on three aspects emerging from the conversations with teachers: firstly, the concept of the "educated teacher"; secondly, conceptualization as a form of translation of anthropological knowledge via both text and animation; and thirdly, the differentiation between teaching in terms of schooling versus pedagogy. The latter is explored as a crucial dimension of the discussions among and with teachers, and lies at the heart of potential future synergies between anthropology and education.
Anthropological Journal of European Cultures, Issue 27/2: Intimate Uncertainties: Ethnographic Explorations of Moral Economies across Europe. Guest Editors: Sabine Strasser and Luisa Piart , 2018
This article explores how a specific pattern of relational ethics – referred to as ‘never . . . t... more This article explores how a specific pattern of relational ethics – referred to as ‘never . . . too much’ – figures as a way of coping with intimate uncertainties in close relationships. The concept of relational ethics refers to the historically embedded ways in which people live and cultivate ethical values through relations and, as such, also represents an ethnographically grounded conceptual contribution to ongoing anthropological debates on moral economy. My research unfolds ethnographic insights into three variations of the relational ethics of ‘never . . . too much’, three respective sets of social actors and relational scales: ‘never feel too much’/local women and their relationship to their marital partner; ‘never own too much’/local men and their relationship to property; ‘never settle too much’/female migrants from Russia and their relationship to the place of settlement. The article’s analysis is developed against the background of a particular spatial and temporal location – a border minority town with a history of (forced) migration, and is a contemporary focal point of migration, marginalisation by the state and patriarchy.
Bringing together vivid ethnographic material, this book opens up a timely conversation between m... more Bringing together vivid ethnographic material, this book opens up a timely conversation between memory and mobility/migration studies. It goes beyond the idea of the nation state as the primary unit of analysis to explore how people on the move use different forms and media of remembering to make sense of their lives and act as political subjects. Investigating when and by what means people on the move remember and communicate memories in the context of various forms of (im)mobility, the authors examine photographs, films, the reinhabiting of pre-exilic homes, pseudo-historical performances, transgenerational mnemonic gatherings and transnational political activism. This edited collection will appeal to scholars of anthropology, sociology, political science, human geography, history and oral history.
This special issue investigates contemporary transformations of Islam in the post-communist Balka... more This special issue investigates contemporary transformations of Islam in the post-communist Balkans. We put forward the concept of localized Islam, as an analytical lens that aptly captures the input of various interpreting agents, competing narratives and choices of faith. By adopting an agent-based approach that is sensitive to relevant actors' choices and the contexts where they operate, we explore how various groups negotiate and ultimately localize the grand Islamic tradition, depending on where they are situated along the hierarchy of power. Specifically we outline three sets of actors and related narratives to revival of Islamic faith – 1) political elites, mainstream intellectuals, and religious hierarchies often unite in safeguarding a nation-centric understanding of religion; 2) foreign networks and missionaries make use of open channels of communication to propagate their specific interpretations and agendas ; and 3) lay-believers who can choose among different offers and rally around the living dimension of religious practice. Contributions in this issue bring ample evidence of multiple actors' strategies, related perspectives and contingent choices of being a Muslim. Case studies include political debates on mosque construction in Athens; political narratives that underpin the construction of the museum of the father of Ataturk in Western Macedonia; politicians and imams' competing interpretations of Syrian war in Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania; the emergence of practice communities that perform Muslim identity in Bulgaria; the particular codes of sharia dating in postwar Sarajevo; and veneration of saints among Muslim Romas in different urban areas in the Balkans.
in: G. Fartacek, & S. B. (Hrsg.), Facetten von Flucht aus dem Nahen und Mittleren Osten. Facultas... more in: G. Fartacek, & S. B. (Hrsg.), Facetten von Flucht aus dem Nahen und Mittleren Osten. Facultas Universitätsverlag 2017b: 150-166.
Europe faces a paradox. In a time of overaccumulation and unprecedented wealth, its distribution ... more Europe faces a paradox. In a time of overaccumulation and unprecedented wealth, its distribution seems to become ever more selective. This selectiveness takes specific forms in the contemporary conjuncture of neo-nationalism, productivism, and gender conservatism within which the question of who deserves what and why becomes a crucial driver of the creation, maintenance, and contestation of inequalities. This project explores un/deservingness as a key and ascending mode of reshaping inequality within the contemporary transformations of European societies. Its aim is to understand un/deservingness registers in their varieties, similarities, and contrasts in three highly contested socioeconomic fields, guided by the overall research question: How do claims and debates of un/deservingness play out with regards to citizenship, redistribution, and gender regimes? This large-scale project takes up timely European developments in three distinctive subprojects: the aftermath of recent policy changes regarding naturalization/dual citizenship in Switzerland; tax/welfare reform in Austria; and family policy in Hungary. Exploring these developments enables us to innovatively and comparatively extend research on migration, welfare, and social reproduction, while focusing not only on those deemed undeserving but also on those with privileged access to resources. The comparative setup allows us to ask questions about the moralization and culturalization of inequality in contemporary Europe both related to specific cases and on a larger scale. The 4-year project headed by Prof. Jelena Tosic and co-cordinated by Andreas Streinzer (PostDoc) is funded by the SNSF (grant approval March 25 th 2020) and includes one PostDoc and two fully funded PhD Positions. The project is based on a cooperation with Prof. Violetta Zentai (CEU, Budapest), Sandra King-Savic (HSG) and an international Scientific Advisory Board.
Against the background of a long-term engagement with Deservingness (Tosic & Streinzer 2022), bot... more Against the background of a long-term engagement with Deservingness (Tosic & Streinzer 2022), both as a concept and a heuristic for ethnographic research, this workshop invites to an exchange on how we can study distribution and inequality in anthropology. Deservingness figures as an entry-point for reassessing epistemologies, concepts, social arenas, social hierarchies, moralisations, policies, etc. that create, maintain, and transform inequality. It allows to understand the selectivity of who gets what, and which justifications are invoked for it at the intersection of different dimensions, transformations and fields (labor, migration, welfare, civil society, humanitarianism, gender etc.). The workshop aims to focus on ongoing radical transformations such as the effects of the pandemic, the new and ongoing wars and forced migration patterns, the (re)ascendance of right-wing forces, environmental destruction and the commencing and unprecedented AI developments to reassess how deservingness plays out in particular cases. The workshop invites ethnographically infused papers working with, incorporating or departing from Deservingness as an approach and potentially deal with some of the following questions:
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and the Covid-19 pandemic this paper explores how the populist
representations of migrants in the Western Balkans rest on specific
historically embedded framings of migration. Based on long-term
ethnographic insights and media analysis in Serbia the paper
explores how the images of (good/bad) migrants tend to play out
as unstable ‘floating signifiers’ in particular ways which is grounded
on ambivalent perceptions of primarily two legacies and patterns of
migration crucial for the region: work migration and forced migration.
The paper traces how, firstly, the image of the diligent work
migrant loyal to nationalist politics can surprisingly easily turn into
one of the irresponsible and threatening figure of the returning
work migrant as the very culprit of the pandemic (spreading the
virus and taking advantage of the health system). The paper
explores how this ambivalent image of the work migrant is based
in the particular history and transformation of emigration from
former Yugoslavia to Western Europe since the 1960s and its interrelation
with populist nationalism. Secondly, I will argue that the
‘usage’ of the image of the ‘Muslim migrant’ along the©so-called
‘Balkan Route’ seems to be ‘flexible’ and ‘variable’ due to the
particular history and presence of Muslim populations in the region.
The ‘Muslim migrant’ can thus easily simultaneously or alternately
appear as subject of legitimate humanitarian aid and freedom of
movement (with no reference to religion at all), as well as the
threatening ‘Muslim other’.
political science, human geography, history and oral history.
and the Covid-19 pandemic this paper explores how the populist
representations of migrants in the Western Balkans rest on specific
historically embedded framings of migration. Based on long-term
ethnographic insights and media analysis in Serbia the paper
explores how the images of (good/bad) migrants tend to play out
as unstable ‘floating signifiers’ in particular ways which is grounded
on ambivalent perceptions of primarily two legacies and patterns of
migration crucial for the region: work migration and forced migration.
The paper traces how, firstly, the image of the diligent work
migrant loyal to nationalist politics can surprisingly easily turn into
one of the irresponsible and threatening figure of the returning
work migrant as the very culprit of the pandemic (spreading the
virus and taking advantage of the health system). The paper
explores how this ambivalent image of the work migrant is based
in the particular history and transformation of emigration from
former Yugoslavia to Western Europe since the 1960s and its interrelation
with populist nationalism. Secondly, I will argue that the
‘usage’ of the image of the ‘Muslim migrant’ along the©so-called
‘Balkan Route’ seems to be ‘flexible’ and ‘variable’ due to the
particular history and presence of Muslim populations in the region.
The ‘Muslim migrant’ can thus easily simultaneously or alternately
appear as subject of legitimate humanitarian aid and freedom of
movement (with no reference to religion at all), as well as the
threatening ‘Muslim other’.
political science, human geography, history and oral history.