Books by Gerhild Perl
Berghahn, 2023
All over the world, people disappear from their families, communities and the state’s bureaucrati... more All over the world, people disappear from their families, communities and the state’s bureaucratic gaze, as victims of oppressive regimes or while migrating along clandestine routes. This volume brings together scholars who engage ethnographically with such disappearances in various cultural, social and political contexts. It takes an anthropological perspective on questions about human life and death, absence and presence, rituals and mourning, liminality and structures, citizenship and personhood as well as agency and power. The chapters explore the political dimension of disappearances and address methodological, epistemological and ethical challenges of researching disappearances and the disappeared.
Christoph Merian Verlag, 2018
Migration to Europe, surrogate motherhood in Russia, organ donation in Germany: wishes and hopes ... more Migration to Europe, surrogate motherhood in Russia, organ donation in Germany: wishes and hopes from an artistic, scientific and literary viewpoint. With photographs by Sarah Hildebrand and essays by social anthropologists Gerhild Perl, Julia Rehsmann and Veronika Siegl. Shunning sensationalist reportage, Hope follows the trail of people who transgress borders in their search for a live a life worth living.
Articles by Gerhild Perl
Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2024
What does it mean when the future of one's life is exposed to the inscrutable will of an intangib... more What does it mean when the future of one's life is exposed to the inscrutable will of an intangible other? And what are the possibilities of still asserting oneself when pushed to the limit? Nuancing the feelings of different actors in a detention centre and analysing how everyday moods, affects and violence intertwine, I explore how the randomly cruel and ofteninexplicable logic of the contemporary deportation regime pushes migrants to their limits. Taking as my starting point the argument that deportation practices are effective because they operate on an affective level, I show how affective experiences manifest themselves bodily and how violent practices and discourses reverberate in bodies. I argue that 'bodies under pressure' are testimonies of racialised histories of exclusion, and I show how they become calls for social recognition. Exploring small, often-unintended acts of rebellion against exhausting deportation practices, I stress the existential necessity and social importance of including oneself in the realm of meaning.
Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, 2021
For centuries, the Strait of Gibraltar has been a crossroads between Africa and Europe. Since the... more For centuries, the Strait of Gibraltar has been a crossroads between Africa and Europe. Since the 1980s, however, it has increasingly become a "zone of illegality" (Hannoum 2020) where racial governmentality produces illicit lives and creates an apartheid-like hierarchy of humanity. By exploring how colonial legacies and EU policies play out in the Strait of Gibraltar, I show how categories of difference are made and remade across time and space. Through a genealogical and ethnographic approach, I study the historically produced particularities that make racialised "Others" emerge and explore how human differences are created in terms of race, gender, and class. Migrants are historical actors that shape and are shaped by the social fabric of a border region. I thus argue that categories of difference are not fixed entities, but instead they are simultaneously reworked, reinforced, contested, and subverted.
Migration and Society: Advances in Research 2 (2019): 12–25. Special Section edited by Annika Lems and Jelena Tosic: African-European Trajectories of Im/mobility. Exploring Entanglements of Experiences, Legacies, and Regimes of Contemporary Migration., 2019
How to write about survival? How to tell survival? By exploring manifold reasons to withhold a st... more How to write about survival? How to tell survival? By exploring manifold reasons to withhold a story, I shed light on the limits of ethnographic knowledge production and the politics of storytelling that mobilize one story and silence another. Through engaging with the fragmented narrative of a Moroccan survivor of a shipwreck in Spanish waters in 2003, I reconceptualize the movement called “migration as survival” by theorizing it as an ethnographic concept. I explore the different temporalities of survival as living through a life-threatening event and as living on in an unjust world. These interrelated temporalities of survival are embedded in the afterlife of the historical time of al-Andalus and the resurgent fear of the Muslim “Other.” By suggesting an existentially informed political understanding of the survival story, I show how the singularity of the survivor is inscribed in a regime of mobility that constrains people and their stories.
Anthropological Journal of European Cultures, 2018
How are politics generated by grief actually lived, and how do they endure? By exploring long-ter... more How are politics generated by grief actually lived, and how do they endure? By exploring long-term repercussions of Europe’s lethal borders, I show what shape shared grief takes in the minute encoun- ters between ‘ordinary people’ across borders and how alternative politics are lived as a vivid critique of the moral economy of the EU border regime. Therefore, I explore intimate uncertainties that arise both in the confrontation with death and in the unexpected affec- tion between strangers. The analysis of a single shipwreck in 2003 indicates the need for more ethnographically nuanced, historically informed and translocal approaches to death during migration in anthropology.
Identities Global Studies in Culture and Power, 2018
The death of Alan Kurdi, the boy washed ashore in Turkey in September 2015, provoked a global mor... more The death of Alan Kurdi, the boy washed ashore in Turkey in September 2015, provoked a global moral outcry. The pictures of the toddler went viral across social networks and in the media. Following these images across borders, we analyse moral and political responses to the ‘EU refugee crisis’ by illuminating the circumstances under which people feel, take on, and demand responsi- bility. Considering EU policies and their lethal consequences as mechanisms of an organised irresponsibility, we show how the circulation and modification of the images played on moral sentiments and on political demands in Europe and across the Mediterranean. The anthropological engagement with transna- tional moralities contributes to the analysis of politics of ir/responsibility of and against the EU border regime.
Journal of Intercultural Studies, 2016
Since the mid-1980s, migrants from North African and sub-Saharan countries have irregularly cross... more Since the mid-1980s, migrants from North African and sub-Saharan countries have irregularly crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in the hope of a better future for themselves and their families. Travelling in small, poorly equipped boats without experienced captains has cost the lives of myriad border-crossers. Exploring the junction of death and belonging, I first open a discussion about the enigmatic relation between a dead body and a dead person and argue for the importance of the physical presence of the body for mourning. Second, I show how the anonymity of dead border-crossers and their uncertain belongings are generated, concealed, or rewritten. Following the story of an undertaker, I third examine post-mortem border crossings. Depicting the power relations within identification processes, I outline the ambiguity of the term belonging by emphasising the constitutive significance of personal belongings such as clothes to restore a person's identity. Reflecting on the ethical relationships which different actors (including the researcher) undertake with the deceased, I aim at gaining a better understanding of the multiple belongings of dead border-crossers found on Spanish shores.
Chapters by Gerhild Perl
Peter Hammer Verlag, 2024
In book: Inspirationen. Über die Entstehung ethnologischen Denkens. Editors: Lisa Burger, Tim Bur... more In book: Inspirationen. Über die Entstehung ethnologischen Denkens. Editors: Lisa Burger, Tim Burger, and David Sumerauer
hope, 2018
Flight to Europe (chapter WATER), surrogate motherhood in Russia (chapter 10 MONTHS), organ donat... more Flight to Europe (chapter WATER), surrogate motherhood in Russia (chapter 10 MONTHS), organ donation in Germany (chapter ORGANISM): wishes and hopes from an artistic, scientific and literary viewpoint.
Hope is the fruit of a collaboration between the artist Sarah Hildebrand and the social anthropologists Gerhild Perl, Julia Rehsmann und Veronika Siegl. Shunning sensationalist reportage, Hope, with its compelling photographs and texts, follows the trail of people who transgress borders so as to achieve a desired goal: to have a child, be to able to prolong their life or to have an autonomous existence. -----------------------------------------------
Flucht nach Europa (Kap. WASSER), Leihmutterschaft in Russland (Kap. 10 MONATE), Organspende in Deutschland (Kap. ORGANISMUS): Wünsche und Hoffnungen künstlerisch, wissenschaftlich und literarisch beleuchtet.
Hope ist aus der Zusammenarbeit der Künstlerin Sarah Hildebrand und den Sozialanthropologinnen Gerhild Perl, Julia Rehsmann und Veronika Siegl entstanden. Abseits sensationsorientierter Berichterstattung folgt Hope mit eindrücklichen Fotografien und Texten den Spuren von Menschen, die Grenzen überschreiten, um ein ersehntes Ziel zu erreichen: ein Kind zu haben, ein längeres Leben führen zu dürfen oder eine selbstbestimmte Existenz zu leben.
Research Report by Gerhild Perl
Schon seit vielen Jahren wird in Debatten rund um die Themen Migration, Flucht und Asyl immer wie... more Schon seit vielen Jahren wird in Debatten rund um die Themen Migration, Flucht und Asyl immer wieder die Integration geflüchteter Menschen in den Vordergrund gerückt. Doch was bedeutet Integration, wann gelingt sie und welche Faktoren und Strukturen sind hierfür ausschlaggebend? Der vorliegende Bericht geht diesen Fragen nach und dokumentiert die Ergebnisse der zugrundeliegenden Pilotstudie. Dabei stützen sich die Ergebnisse auf die Forschung mit drei zentralen Gruppen aus dem Migrations-und Fluchtbereich: Menschen mit einer Fluchtgeschichte, ehrenamtlich Unterstützende sowie hauptamtliche Mitarbeiter:innen. Der Bericht geht problemzentriert und praxisnah auf die für diesen Kontext zentralen Themenfelder Sprache, Bildung, Arbeit, Wohnen und Gesundheit ein und formuliert basierend auf den erhobenen Daten Handlungsempfehlungen für Praktiker:innen, Multiplikator:innen und Entscheidungsträger:innen.
Blog Posts by Gerhild Perl
Anthropological Theory Commons, 2021
Book Reviews by Gerhild Perl
American Ethnologist, 2020
Interviews by Gerhild Perl
Tsantsa. Journal of the Swiss Anthropological Association, 2020
Feuilleton by Gerhild Perl
Reflexionen über einen Forschungsaufenthalt an der Grenze
https://schreibkraft.adm.at/ausgaben/26-da-capo/der-telefon-engelae
Call for Papers by Gerhild Perl
EASA, 2024
The panel invites historically and ethnographically informed inquiries into the distributed natur... more The panel invites historically and ethnographically informed inquiries into the distributed nature of agency in the context of legacies of austerity and the rigid distribution of wealth. It aims to rethink "agency" through its situated, embodied, affective, relational and emphatic dimensions.
CfP SIEF, 2023
In this panel, we explore the reverberations of colonial powers entangled in intimate experiences... more In this panel, we explore the reverberations of colonial powers entangled in intimate experiences of and responses to uncertainties across European borders and ask how past and present violence marks people's everyday lives and shapes the struggle for a better future.
The Call for Papers is now open and closes at 23:59 CET on 10 January 2023.
Propose a paper: https://www.siefhome.org/congresses/sief2023/programme#12824
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Books by Gerhild Perl
Articles by Gerhild Perl
Chapters by Gerhild Perl
Hope is the fruit of a collaboration between the artist Sarah Hildebrand and the social anthropologists Gerhild Perl, Julia Rehsmann und Veronika Siegl. Shunning sensationalist reportage, Hope, with its compelling photographs and texts, follows the trail of people who transgress borders so as to achieve a desired goal: to have a child, be to able to prolong their life or to have an autonomous existence. -----------------------------------------------
Flucht nach Europa (Kap. WASSER), Leihmutterschaft in Russland (Kap. 10 MONATE), Organspende in Deutschland (Kap. ORGANISMUS): Wünsche und Hoffnungen künstlerisch, wissenschaftlich und literarisch beleuchtet.
Hope ist aus der Zusammenarbeit der Künstlerin Sarah Hildebrand und den Sozialanthropologinnen Gerhild Perl, Julia Rehsmann und Veronika Siegl entstanden. Abseits sensationsorientierter Berichterstattung folgt Hope mit eindrücklichen Fotografien und Texten den Spuren von Menschen, die Grenzen überschreiten, um ein ersehntes Ziel zu erreichen: ein Kind zu haben, ein längeres Leben führen zu dürfen oder eine selbstbestimmte Existenz zu leben.
Research Report by Gerhild Perl
Blog Posts by Gerhild Perl
Book Reviews by Gerhild Perl
Interviews by Gerhild Perl
Feuilleton by Gerhild Perl
Call for Papers by Gerhild Perl
The Call for Papers is now open and closes at 23:59 CET on 10 January 2023.
Propose a paper: https://www.siefhome.org/congresses/sief2023/programme#12824
Hope is the fruit of a collaboration between the artist Sarah Hildebrand and the social anthropologists Gerhild Perl, Julia Rehsmann und Veronika Siegl. Shunning sensationalist reportage, Hope, with its compelling photographs and texts, follows the trail of people who transgress borders so as to achieve a desired goal: to have a child, be to able to prolong their life or to have an autonomous existence. -----------------------------------------------
Flucht nach Europa (Kap. WASSER), Leihmutterschaft in Russland (Kap. 10 MONATE), Organspende in Deutschland (Kap. ORGANISMUS): Wünsche und Hoffnungen künstlerisch, wissenschaftlich und literarisch beleuchtet.
Hope ist aus der Zusammenarbeit der Künstlerin Sarah Hildebrand und den Sozialanthropologinnen Gerhild Perl, Julia Rehsmann und Veronika Siegl entstanden. Abseits sensationsorientierter Berichterstattung folgt Hope mit eindrücklichen Fotografien und Texten den Spuren von Menschen, die Grenzen überschreiten, um ein ersehntes Ziel zu erreichen: ein Kind zu haben, ein längeres Leben führen zu dürfen oder eine selbstbestimmte Existenz zu leben.
The Call for Papers is now open and closes at 23:59 CET on 10 January 2023.
Propose a paper: https://www.siefhome.org/congresses/sief2023/programme#12824
Panel at the Conference of the German Association of Anthropology in Munich from 25 – 28 July 2023 on the topic ” Contested Knowledge: Perspectives in Social and Cultural Anthropology.”
Convenors: Lene Faust & Christoph Lange
Chair: Gerhild Perl
Conveners: Lene Faust, Christoph Lange and Gerhild Perl (GAA Working Group Mediterranean)
Keynote: Laura Lo Presti (Università degli Studi di Padova)
This panel addresses different moments and modes of disappearances in the context of undocumented migration. We suggest that disappearances are a powerful lens to analyze policies and politics as well as intimate and cultural practices.
Long Abstract
Since the end of the Cold War and the ensuing enlargement of the Schengen Area, people have been disappearing at Europe's southern fringes. Current EU border policies, including visa regimes, surveillance and the regulation of movement, have made the crossing to Europe a dangerous undertaking for some. With the gradual expansion of border control, the Mediterranean Sea has become the 'world's deadliest border' (Albahari 2015). However, the Mediterranean is not the only site of death and disappearance. Around the world, walls are being built, fences erected, military technologies used to prevent people from the global south entering the global north. At every stage of the journey, migrants are dealing with violent restrictions to their everyday lives. States intrude migrants' lifeworlds intimately, causing marginalisation and disappearances, via e.g. illegalization, detention and removal. Against this backdrop, our panel explores how trans/national states and disappearances are intimately intertwined by discussing manifold disappearances such as death, detainment, deportation, displacement, abuse and killing in migrants' countries of origin, transit and destination. We invite papers that explore different cases of and approaches to disappearances within contemporary migration regimes. We are interested in the questions of how states and state actors respond to and conceptualize disappearances; if and how families of the disappeared search, take action and organize themselves; and what kind of politics disappearances engender. We seek to develop new conceptualisations of contemporary disappearances as a powerful lens to address key anthropological issues such as governance, violence, citizenship, kinship, death and burial, personhood and identity.
How do dead migrants live on beyond national frontiers? And what does it mean to live a life in the face of border death?
Traces of death tells the story of the affective, moral and political afterlife of those who die on their way to Europe by exploring the manifold repercussions of the “Rota shipwreck” – the sinking of a boat close to the southern Spanish town Rota in 2003 that caused the death of more than fifty Moroccan citizens. I trace the tangible and intangible remnants of the shipwreck on both sides of the border and offer an ethnographically nuanced, historically informed and transnational approach to death during migration. By considering the complicated and contradicting experiences of those who are most affected by a lethal boat sinking, I seek to push multi-sited ethnography into a new direction: In my study, death represents the beginning rather than the end of the analysis. By putting those who die during a border crossing at the center of inquiry, I not only ask how contemporary borders produce death, but I also explore the productive power of death (Bloch and Parry 1982). I do so by showing that death at and due to the border is not only the irreversible end of individual life but also a generative rupture in the social world. My dissertation offers a methodological reflection on how anthropologists can approach the translocal site of death ethnographically, when the subjects of our study are absent. If fieldwork is about entering relationships with people, my research asks how we can enter and finally explore a relationship with someone who has died or disappeared and how we can transfer the traces they left behind into ethnographic writing. Therefore, the focus on one critical event does not narrow down the analysis of the European border regime, but the opposite is the case. Using one of thousands of shipwrecks as an example, enables to show the continuity of the deadly European migration policies and politics.