What can Art Teach us about Integration? : The role of art in postmigrant integration: cases from Germany, Sweden and Luxembourg

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ISRN: LiU-IKOS/EMS-A--20/15--SE

What Can Art

Teach us about Integration?

–The role of art in postmigrant integration: cases from

Germany, Sweden, and Luxembourg

Céline Couronne

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“Kein Mensch, den ich kenne, gehört einem einzigen, geschlossenen Kulturraum

an. Unser wirkliches Leben ist schon längst transkulturell und translokal, und

zwar jenseits von Herkunft. Uns ist es vielmehr ein Anliegen, die

Selbstverständlichkeit von Hybridität und Transkulturalität zu feiern und

durchzusetzen”

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Shermin Langhoff

1_{“No person I know belongs to one exclusive, closed culture. Our real life has been transcultural and translocal}

for a long time and this certainly beyond origin. Our concern is rather to celebrate and enforce hybridity and transculturality as a matter of fact.” (own translation). Shermin Langhoff (2011).

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Abstract

The term integration became a buzzword and is omnipresent in the current European discourses. Despite its broad definitions, there is a tendency in migration studies and the political narrative to focus exclusively on migrants and their descendants while upholding the vision of a fixed “host society”, with an established national culture, in which migrants should integrate. The present study aims to reframe the concept of integration by adopting a postmigrant approach and by analyzing the contribution of art projects in this regard. To do so, the study draws on two current theoretical approaches to integration in the social sciences, Stuart Hall’s conceptualization of national culture, the postmigration concept and the societal impact of art as theoretical framework. First, the notion of integration has been positioned theoretically in current postmigrant debates. The content analysis demonstrates that the conceptualization of postmigrant integration takes distance from the notion of assimilation and looks beyond the topic of migration. Second, eight semi-structured interviews have been conducted with project team members and project participants of the art projects “Newcomers”, “Leben, Erzählen, Schreiben”, “Hela Bilden”, and the organization “Alter & Ego”. The thematic analysis of the interviews showed the necessity to address the “host population”, i.e. individuals without experience of forced migration, to overcome monolingualism and to concentrate on societal diversity which contributes to the theorization of postmigrant integration. The present thesis indicates the importance of the arts regarding their societal impact and agency to provide alternative narratives on migration and integration. It also stresses the necessity of integration policies and the European migration regime to take part in the reframing of current migration discourses by directly addressing the “host population” and acknowledging today’s context of plural societies in which everyone should integrate.

Keywords: integration, postmigration, societal impact of the arts, art projects, reframing integration, postmigrant migration research, postmigrant integration

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Acknowledgments

I would first like to thank the participants of my study for their willingness to share their stories, experiences, and for their inspiring work which was not only beneficial to my thesis but also to me on a personal level.

I would also like to thank my supervisor, Stefan Jonsson, for his constant support, encouragement, and helpful feedback throughout this project. I am also grateful to the EUMIGS program which gave me the chance to study with the IMIB community at the University of Osnabrück and the EMS community at Linköping University.

Lastly, I would like to thank my family and wonderful friends by my side for their patience and support. I’m also grateful for these little moments: the encountered art in everyday life and the beauty of nature which gave me positive energy.

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1. Introduction

We live in increasingly diverse societies and the topics of migration and globalization have become the center of attention over the last decades. This is not only noticeable on a political and social level but also in the art world. Indeed, the effects of migration and plurality are increasingly addressed and negotiated in art and culture projects (Petersen, 2017). This includes theatre plays, movies, photo exhibitions, and art galleries which flourish every year. The question arises: How do artistic practices contribute and possibly transform our understanding of migration and the plural society in which we live?

Historically, the arts played a significant role in influencing and transforming narratives in societies (Belfiore & Bennett, 2008). In the current situation, debates on the political contribution of the arts in terms of providing a space for the creation of alternative discourses and narratives around migration have re-surfaced (Czollek, 2018; Demos, 2013). The present thesis is an attempt to contribute to this discussion by focusing on the negotiation of the notion of (postmigrant) integration through the work of art projects. For this purpose, I study three art projects that reflect on migration. Two of them took place in Osnabrück, Germany, being the “Newcomers” film project from Ma’an Mouslli and the “Leben, Erzählen Schreiben” (live, tell, write) story project from Daniela Boltres. The third one, the “Hela Bilden” (the whole picture) painting project from Sahar Burhan was organized in Norrköping, Sweden. In addition, and to gain a complementary perspective, I analyze the work of the non-governmental organization (NGO) “Alter & Ego” (the other and I) from Mylène Porta and her colleagues in Dudelange, Luxembourg.

Why study the impact of these chosen art projects with respect to the notion of integration? The term has a broad and complex legacy in the history of knowledge and scholarship. In the social sciences, and particularly sociology, integration was from the outset a central concept referring to the relationship of a set of objects that form a whole, or an integral entity (Holzner, 1967). Thus, integration was used to describe and explain the cohesion of social forms and human societies more broadly (cf. Holzner, 1967; Simmel, 1903). In the contemporary social sciences, especially in migration studies, integration has increasingly been associated with migrants, newcomers, and ethnic minorities and their relation to the “host society”2_{(Hans, 2016). In this}

study, I critically address this understanding of integration.

2_{Throughout this study the terms “host society” and “host population” are in brackets as I want to raise attention}

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8 Indeed, since the 1970s, the notion of integration was primarily associated with migrants who should integrate into a fixed majority society (Foroutan, 2015). This tendency remains observable in the current work of traditional migration research which tends to reinforce a one-sided focus on migrants and consequently creates a binary polarization between “us” and “them” (Römhild, 2017). In response to this criticism, scholars in critical migration research have begun exploring the postmigration concept which aims to create a shift in the current European narrative by looking beyond the topic of migration when addressing societies and its conflicts. Therefore, migration should not be addressed as an exceptional phenomenon that is the reason for societal debates but as an integral part of the society (Foroutan, 2019). Despite the increasing discussion that integration should address the “host society”, current integration policies tend to remain focused exclusively on migrants, a discourse which also remains present in the societal narrative (Foroutan, 2015). In that context, it can be observed that the notion of integration is increasingly being rejected by migrants and their descendants and a tendency towards a “dis-integration” movement is taking place which criticizes that integration is not a social policy for all (Czollek, 2018).

Partly in response to the felt inadequacy of the concept of integration a discussion has emerged that advocates for the term to be replaced by, e.g. “inclusion”, and certain scholars have purposely renounced using the term and concept in their research due to its emotional and political connotation (Foroutan, 2015; Treibel, 2015). However, banning the term or simply replacing it, without changing its underlying exclusionary association and implementation practices, seems meaningless according to Foroutan (2015). The term should instead be decoupled from its fixed association and be redefined in today’s context of plural societies (Foroutan, 2015). The notion of integration and its implementation through policies should therefore be considerably reframed, and it is here that the postmigrant approach appears relevant. Hence, there is a need, both theoretical and practical, to address and analyze the notion of integration by taking a postmigrant approach.

1.1 Aim and research questions

The overall aim of this research is to investigate the concept of integration through an analytical postmigrant lens, and thus to contribute to its reframing. I seek to do this by firstly positioning the notion of integration theoretically in the current postmigrant debates. I will then adopt an empirical approach by concentrating on art projects and artistic productions. I analyze how art projects that work with the topic of migration and plurality, shift the notion of integration, which

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9 is commonly used in the current academic, political, and social narrative. Additionally, I explore if they contribute to a postmigrant notion of integration. In doing so, my research also aims at adding to the development of the postmigrant understanding of integration through art projects. Of particular interest in this regard is to engage and combine the work of different disciplines such as humanities, the social sciences, art research, and the work of the culture and art scene to expand the understanding of the postmigration concept. The emerging research questions are therefore the following:

RQ1. How is the concept of integration shaped theoretically when taking a postmigrant perspective?

RQ2. How do art projects (Newcomers, Leben Erzählen Schreiben, and Hela Bilden) contribute to a new understanding of integration in European societies?

RQ3. Do these projects contribute to the postmigrant conceptualization of integration?

1.2 Structure of the thesis

The introduction will be followed by a chapter on previous research that introduces the origin of the term postmigrant and its establishment in the social sciences. I then describe studies in the field and address the potential contribution of my thesis. In Chapter 3, I give a contextual background to my study by introducing the current integration policy in Germany and Sweden. The subsequent chapter elaborates on the theoretical perspective on which my analysis is based. I first discuss two current approaches to integration in the social sciences, Stuart Hall’s theory on national culture and identity and the postmigration concept respectively, as well as two prevailing approaches in postmigrant research; and I go on to discuss the societal impact of artistic practices. After setting the theoretical framework, I describe, in Chapter 5, the projects that I analyze in my thesis: Newcomers, Leben Erzählen Schreiben, Hela Bilden, and the work of Alter & Ego. I then explain my methodological procedure including a description of the empirical material and reflections on my positionality. In Chapters 7 and 8 I then present the content and thematic analysis of my data. Lastly, the conclusion reviews the main findings of this study and potential further research.

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2. Previous Research

The following chapter addresses previous research in order to position this study in the current academic debate. I first introduce my interest in art projects and then give a brief description of studies that have applied a postmigrant approach to artworks in relation to the concept of integration.

2.1 The origin of “das Postmigrantische”

The term “das Postmigrantische”, translated in the English context as (the) postmigrant, originated in the culture and art scene in Germany, in part inspired by Anglo-American literature (Langhoff, 2009; Petersen, et al., 2019). Langhoff, Kosnick, Priessner, and Kulaoğlu initially developed the term in 2003 in connection to the film festival and conference “Europe in Motion”. Their goal was to coin a new term able to address the importance of transnational migration in the work of filmmakers and artists without evoking the exclusionary practices and fixed associations that other terms did, such as the German term “Migrationshintergrund” (migration background) (Kosnick, 2018).

In 2008 Langhoff founded the theater “Ballhaus Naunynstraße” in Berlin and established with colleagues the term postmigrant on an institutional level by designating the theater’s work as “postmigrant theater” (Gorki, 2020, para. 2; Kosnick, 2018). Langhoff emphasized that this theatre production should not be considered a migrant’s theatre (Foroutan, 2019). Rather, its objective was to give artistic voice to the social realities that developed in Germany as a result of different migration processes while looking beyond the dominant narrative on migration and integration (Espahangizi, 2016). This new theater concept aimed to have an impact in the traditional theatre field which is criticized for addressing the topic of migration by producing a cemented and stereotypical understanding of “the other” while excluding migrants and their descendants from the production. Moreover, the emphasis was to address the stories and perspectives of individuals from the second and third generations who did not migrate but remain part of the current migration discourse (Langhoff, 2009). Hence, the postmigrant theater stands more generally for an understanding of societal diversity that looks beyond the actual origin of an individual (Langhoff, 2011). The term postmigrant has therefore been used initially as a discursive tool both to express a critique in the culture and art scene in Germany, and to make a political statement (Petersen, Schramm, Wiegand, 2019). Through its new aesthetic and

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11 content-related impulses the postmigrant theatre became a success. Until nowadays the Ballhaus Naunynstraße is showing performances that induce new discourses on postmigrant cultural and artistic practices (Ballhausnaunynstraße, 2020).

The postmigrant theatre did not only have a significant impact on the German cultural scene but also in academia. Indeed, postmigration has been picked up and operationalized as a concept in the social sciences, especially in the domain of critical migration research. It is increasingly establishing itself outside of Germany and slowly resonates in the political and public European context (Foroutan, 2019). However, as Espahangizi (p.1) states, it is important to keep in mind that “the posmigrant is no child of academia”. Instead, the notion postmigration originated in the culture and art scene and, most importantly, it is part of an empowerment process of individuals for which the migration and integration discourse is an everyday reality (Espahangizi, 2016).

Lastly, it is important to keep in mind that the prefix “post” in postmigration does not signify an end to migration but rather an end to the “migrantization” of certain individuals and describes the social negotiation that takes place after migration occurred (Foroutan, 2015; Petersen et al., 2019, p.8). Moreover, it emphasizes the emergence of new narratives and reinterpretations of the established migration discourse (Yildiz, 2014).

For this research, I have found it important to assume not only a theoretical social scientist approach to the notion of postmigration but also to keep the field of origin of the concept as a significant component of the analysis. Hence, I am particularly interested in considering art projects when analyzing the academic development and expansion of the postmigra tion concept. My focus lies on art projects in their entirety as I consider their creation and the people involved in them to be as important for the present research as the artistic production per se. Therefore, the three art projects Newcomers, Leben Erzählen Schreiben, and Hela Bilden, as well as Alter & Ego’s work as complementary fourth perspective, will be analyzed and their relation to the concept of integration will be studied by taking a postmigrant approach.

2.2 Postmigrant approach to artworks

After its operationalization, several studies have emerged that apply a postmigrant perspective on different foci. A few studies have concentrated on postmigrant cultural and artistic practices and/or have taken a postmigrant perspective when analyzing works of art. Sharifi (2017) has analyzed social and cultural processes in Europe with a focus on the contemporary European

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12 theatre. He has observed how the postmigrant theatre initiated a shift in theatre production and has taken a postmigrant perspective when addressing new trends.

In the book by Schramm, Pultz Moslund, Petersen (2019), the postmigration concept is introduced academically, with a Scandinavian perspective, and different authors analyze artworks from Europe, mainly from Denmark, Great Britain and Germany, by taking postmigration as an analytical perspective. Three case studies are analyzed, being the art performance “Whip It Good” by Jeannette Ehlers, the novel “NW” by Zadie Smith, and the movie “Soul Kitchen” by Fatih Akin. In all three studies, the concept of integration that is commonly used in classical migration studies is being questioned and i ts meaning seems to shift. The studies indicate the increasing difficulty to support the discourse of a homogeneous national culture in which individuals are expected to integrate. These findings show how the postmigrant perspective can intersect with perspectives from disciplines such as migration studies. Indeed, several scholars such as Foroutan (2015) and Römhild (2017) address in their work the concept of integration by taking a postmigrant perspective. In this regard, I will analyze Schramm et al. (2019) and Foroutan’s (2019) recent works more closely in my analysis chapter.

It is important to emphasize that the postmigration concept is in development and subject to different interpretations. Therefore, it should not be understood as a fixed concept but rather as a critical analytical term which contributes to the reframing of discourses on migration in contemporary societies (Petersen, Schramm & Wiegand, 2019). In this study, I aim at analyzing the intersection between the postmigration concept and integration further by addressing both the current academical debate as well as looking at art projects and their impact on the understanding of (postmigrant) integration. In keeping with Langhoff’s (2015, para. 5) words “I consider art as a practice for societal change”3_{, I argue for the importance of incorporating}

the work of art projects in the academic discourse about integration.

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3. Contextual Background

The term integration and its notion play a significant role in the political domain. Indeed, integration can be understood as a permanent and irrefutable political task (Bommes, 2007). For the last fifty years, the topic of integration has been an official policy goal in liberal democracies. However, regarding the European Union and its member states, integration is not a universal policy goal and its definition varies between different states (Collyer, et al., 2020). As this study mainly focuses on art projects in Germany and Sweden, since the work of the Luxembourgish organization Alter & Ego is analyzed as a complementary artistic approach, I will briefly introduce in the following chapter the current situation in both countries regarding integration policies.

3.1 Integration policy in Germany

Germany is officially defined as a country of immigration since the end of the 1990s which led to several legislative and institutional changes (Sauer & Brinkmann, 2016). As a result of an immigration law, enacted in Germany in 2005, the topic of integration and its promotion became an official governmental task. Subsequently, several integration measures were implemented such as the establishment of integration classes which are composed of German language classes and so-called “orientation classes” which are teaching the so-called fundamental values of Germany, and knowledge about the country (Hanewinkel & Oltmer, 2017). Furthermore, a national integration plan was developed in 2007 and an integration law, affecting mostly asylum seekers and refugees, was enacted in 2016 (Hanewinkel & Oltmer, 2017; Sauer & Brinkmann, 2016). Integration measures are developed by the German government, but Germany’s integration politics is implemented separately on the level of the German federal states and municipalities (Hanewinkel & Oltmer, 2017).

According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees “Integration is a long-term process. Its goal is to involve all people who live permanently and legally in Germany into society. Immigrants should be given comprehensive and equal participation in all areas of society. They are therefore obliged to learn German and to know, respect, and obey the constitution and the laws.” (BAMF, 2020, para. 1)4_{. This definition follows the principle of the German integration}

4_{Integration ist ein langfristiger Prozess. Sein Ziel ist es, alle Mens chen, die dauerhaft und rechtmäßig in}

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14 policy, being “Fördern und Fordern” (promote and demand) (Hanewinkel & Oltmer, 2017, para. 2). Furthermore, in the description of integration by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building, and Community it is written that “integration can work only as a two-way process. It requires acceptance by the majority population and the willingness of immigrants to learn and respect the rules of the host country and to take responsibility for their own integration” (BMI, 2020, para. 3). Even though in the latter formulation, the “majority population” is addressed as part of the integration process, when looking at the public discourse and how the policies are put into practice, integration performances remain a requirement, especially for migrants. Furthermore, it has been shown statistically that individuals with a “migration background” (Migrationshintergund) in Germany do not have the same opportunities to participate in societal areas such as education, the labor market, or in politics as individuals without a “migration background” (Hanewinkel & Oltmer, 2017).

3.2 Integration policy in Sweden

Since the 1970s, the topic of integration has been present in Swedish politics as part of the debate around multiculturalism (Solano, 2018). A Swedish Integration Board was active since 1998 in implementing the integration policy goals in Sweden until its closure in 2007 (Sveriges Riksdag, 2020). Since then, its tasks have been taken over by the Swedish Migration Agency and different ministries with an emphasis on the integration in the labor market through policies by the Ministry of Employment (European website on integration, 2019; Government Offices of Sweden, 2009). According to the official Swedish integration policy fact sheet “the goal of integration policy in Sweden is equal rights, obligations and opportunities for all, regardless of ethnic or cultural background” (p.1). Like the official German description, general integration measures in Sweden are being described as supposed to target the whole population. Swedish integration policy emphasizes labor market integration, access to education, anti-discrimination measures, and housing. Furthermore, several reforms have entered into force in 2010 with a focus on the integration of newly arrived refugees (Government Offices of Sweden, 2009). Another emphasis of Swedish integration policy is put on proficiency in the Swedish language. Indeed, most newcomers are entitled to an education in Swedish through the program “Swedish for Immigrants” (SFI) to which newly arrived immigrants are highly encouraged to take part

gleichberechtigte Teilhabe in allen gesellschaftlichen Bereichen ermöglicht werden. Sie stehen dafür in der Pflicht, Deutsch zu lernen sowie die Verfassung und die Gesetze zu kennen, zu respektieren und zu befolgen.

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15 in. Similar to the German integration classes, newcomers, depending on their status, receive besides classes in Swedish an introduction plan composed of “civic orientation” and employment preparation training. The Swedish municipalities have an important responsibility in the implementation of these measures by i.a. providing SFI training and facilities (Government Offices of Sweden, 2009).

Even though Sweden has been addressed as a good example of immigrant integration and Swedish integration policies have been described to be effective (as cited in Solano, 2018), the lack of consideration of the “host society” within the integration process has been criticized. Indeed, most policies address only the immigrant’s and refugee’s needs while excluding the role of Swedish society. Their incorporation is however of importance in several domains such as in the labor market where immigrants have the right to work but get no jobs as well as in housing where landlords often exclude immigrants (Solano, 2018).

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4. Theoretical Framework

In the following chapter, I will outline the concepts and theories of importance for the present study. First, I introduce the concept of integration by addressing its common understanding in today’s European societies and by discussing two main sociological approaches. Second, I outline Stuart Hall’s (1992) conceptualization of national culture and national identity. I then present the postmigration concept more in-depth by addressing two current approaches in academia, the postmigrant perspective and the concept of postmigrant society. Lastly, I introduce the relation of artistic practices with the thematic of migration as well as their political and societal impact.

4.1 The notion of integration

The word integration is omnipresent and “on everyone’s lips” (Treibel, 2015, p.33). Indeed, the integration discourse has experienced growing salience since the beginning of the 21st century, with noticeable effects in domains such as politics, pedagogy, social work, and daily life (Varela, 2013). The everyday understanding of integration often refers to a smaller group of “others” supposed to integrate into an established bigger group. This understanding is applied to migrants who should integrate into the “host society” (Treibel, 2015). Hence, in public and political debates, the main topic is often if and how migrants should integrate by demanding an adjustment of the migrants to the culture and lifestyles of the “host society’s” population (Hans, 2016). In this regard, the term integration is often used synonymously with assimilation, which originates from the assimilation theory developed by the Chicago School (Sauer & Brinkmann, 2016), of which more below. Furthermore, in the public sphere, the term integration has become a political buzzword often used in everyday life without further explanation (Treibel, 2015). Outside this discourse, the polemical notion of a so-called German “Leitkultur” in which migrants should integrate into, has also gained popularity in Germany (Hans, 2016).

The integration term is being addressed more in-depth and as an analytical concept in academia among different disciplines, and it remains an instrument that can be developed further (Treibel, 2015). In migration and integration research, there seems to be no agreement on any consistent definition of integration, and several terms and concepts such as assimilation, incorporation, and inclusion are often used interchangeably with integration. Furthermore, in the German speaking context, a distinction between “system integration”, referring to the relation of the

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17 societies structures, and social integration, referring to the involvement of newcomers in societal domains such as in the labor market and politics, is made (Hans, 2016, p. 25). It therefore appears to be important to define what is being addressed when talking about “migrant integration”. When taking a general social scientist perspective, two integration processes that are of importance to my research can be observed: integration in a society, which is in accordance to the everyday understanding of integration, as well as integration as a society (Treibel, 2015). The following subchapters will concentrate on these two approaches to integration and their pitfalls.

4.1.1 Integration in a society

Since the emergence of the discipline in the 19th_{century, integration is a central term in}

sociology describing society as a whole entity in which its parts are interconnected (as cited by Hans, 2016; Treibel, 2015). In early research in migration sociology, the work of sociologists from the Chicago School was significant. Indeed, the classic assimilation theory, also known as the straight-line theory, addressed the integration of migrants in the “host society” through the process of assimilation, being the abandonment of their “culture of origin” and leading to the fusion of different groups and therefore also to the presumed disappearance of differences. In that context, assimilation was seen as an important and almost indispensable element for the integration process (Hans, 2016). This theory dominated for a long time the scientific discourse and remains partly present in current debates. Subsequently, different assimilation and integration models have flourished which have addressed how migrants should integrate, and these models have often taken the classic assimilation theory as their point of departure (Hans, 2016). For instance, the sociologist Esser has developed different dimensions of migrant’s social integration depending on whether they are socially integrated into the country of origin and/or in the country of destination. In this theory, “multiple integration” (p.2) is taking place when the migrant is socially integrated into both the country of origin and the country of destination. According to Esser (2001), this is only possible when special conditions are met and is generally unlikely to happen. Assimilation is taking place when the migrant is only socially integrated into the country of reception which is seen as important for successful integration (Esser, 2001; Hans, 2016).

The straight-line theory has been criticized for being ethnocentric and normative by assuming the existence of a homogeneous “host society” to which ethnic minorities should conform to. In response to this, new assimilation and integration theories have been formulated. However, theories such as Esser’s model remain dominant also in other German-speaking countries

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18 (Hans, 2016). The pitfalls of the straight-line theory have made classical migration research vulnerable to criticism for using a one-sided understanding of integration, focusing primarily on migrants and their descendants with the assumption that there is an established “host society” in which they should integrate (Foroutan, 2015). Furthermore, migration research is repeatedly understood and applied as research about or on migrants, and it amounts to what Römhild has termed “migrantology” (Römhild, 2017, p.70). Hence, classical migration research has often contributed to the reproduction of fixed categories and concepts which it aims to criticize at the same time. Indeed, by focusing exclusively on migrants and their integration, the counterpart of a homogeneous fixed national majority is being reinforced (Römhild, 2017). This understanding of integration does not address the needed integrative efforts from the si des of the “host society” (Foroutan, 2015).

I am aware that my account of how the concept of integration is used and applied in migration research cannot do full justice to the rich literature on the topic and numerous scholarly interventions in that regard. Yet, the general point retains its value, which is that integration tends to designate a one-sided process, which objectifies migrants as outsiders that need to be brought into a fixed and sedentary society. Hence, classical migration research tends to stick with fixed cultural and ethnic categories also known under “methodological nationalism” (as cited in Yildiz, 2018, p.46). In response to this criticism, critical migration research has aimed to “demigrantise” (p.70) migration research, while adding a migration perspective in the research about societies. By doing so, several new concepts and perspectives have been explored, such as the concept of postmigration (Römhild, 2017). Before delving into this approach, I would like to shed light on a different understanding of integration which comes back to its original conception.

4.1.2 Integration as a society

Of importance when addressing the main sociological approaches to integration, is the association of the term regarding equal access to and participation of individuals in specific areas of society, such as education, housing, and employment. In that regard, integration describes a situation that involves every individual, and thereby no individual can be seen as permanently integrated into society (Bommes, 2007). Hence, integration is not only associated with the migrant’s characteristics and effort but also with the societal, economic, and political condition of the “host society” as well as its openness. In that regard, integration is being decoupled from assimilation (Sauer & Brinkmann, 2016). The focus instead lies on the whole society and its condition regarding its integration (Treibel, 2015), which refers to the initial

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19 sociological definition of integration (Holzner, 1967). In this perspective, the assumption of a fixed national majority, i.a. the German “Leitkultur”, to which migrants should adapt, has no real foundation, and the assumption that migrants are a homogeneous cultural group seems equally invalid (Sauer & Brinkmann, 2016). This definition of integration has been described by Foroutan (2015) as a paradigm shift that took place in the last decade and tried to expand the concept of integration theoretically by looking beyond the association with migrants and their descendants and instead concentrate on the society as a whole. However, this shift is still barely observable in the public and political understanding of integration and is rarely applied in integration policies (Foroutan, 2015). Hence, scholars call for a reformulation of the integration term in the public sphere (Treibel, 2015).

In conclusion, it can be said that the term integration is a contested one due to its different meanings and implementation in several domains such as the public sphere, policymaking, and academic research. This makes it difficult to grasp the concept in its totality. Despite its inconsistency, the term integration is strongly present in European societal discourses where it is being instrumentalized to mark otherness and to define who belongs in a society and who does not (Treibel, 2015). It is in this context, that Stuart Hall’s analysis of national culture and identity seems essential for a deeper understanding of the current instrumentalization of integration.

4.2 The national culture and identity

Stuart Hall deconstructs in his work the dominant and hegemonic discourses around culture, the nation, and identity. More precisely he addresses the notion of national culture as a discourse that provides constructed national symbols, meanings, and narratives of the nation with which individuals can identify with. Hence, national culture creates and strengthens national identities and a feeling of national belonging. By doing so, a national culture emphasizes common origins, traditions, and “the idea of pure, original people” (Hall, 1992, p.295). Furthermore, differences between citizens are suppressed and the “other” is devalued. National identity is therefore constructed with the help of cultural power, which is creating inclusion and exclusion operations so that the national identity is perceived as unified. Following Benedict Anderson’s argument, Hall thus describes national identities as an “imagined community” (as cited in Hall, 1992, p.293) and the members of this community as believers in shared common values, origins, and traditions. However, Hall is stating that “Western Europe has no nations which are

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20 composed of only one people, one culture or ethnicity. Modern nations are all cultural hybrids” (Hall, 1992, p.297). Accordingly, Hall emphasizes that there is not one identity in unity but that individuals have different identities which should not be essentialized.

In his work, Hall assesses the potential changing effect of globalization on national cultures and subsequently national identities by analyzing the British case. Even though a pluralizing impact on identities can be observed, Hall is describing that national identities tend to be reinforced as a defensive reaction of members of the majority group. He is emphasizing the complexity of the subject which can’t be simplified in a shift between unified identities to their dislocation. However, he reminds us that individuals are not born with a national identity but that this identity is forming and transforming over time (Hall, 1992).

When looking back on the described policies in Germany and Sweden, and the common understanding of integration, it becomes clear that the current European discourses around national cultures are continuing the attempt to construct and maintain a fixed and homogeneous understanding of the nation and the national identity. Taking the example of the assumption of a “Leitkultur” of the German society displays the essentialist discourse of a German national culture and German national identity in which outsiders should integrate.

4.3 The postmigration concept

In academia, the still developing concept of postmigration has been subject to different interpretations. This in itself is seen as a strength, because it shows that the term does not refer to one clearly defined idea but instead can be used as a critical analytical tool which triggers the reconsideration of existing debates and perspectives (Petersen et al., 2019). Three major approaches in academic research regarding the use of the postmigration concept can be observed in the last decade, which shows similarities in certain aspects but also some mutually exclusive differences (Petersen et al., 2019b). For one, the term was initially applied to critically address ascribed identities to “postmigrant subjects” (p.5) such as descendants of migrants. Despite its actor-oriented approach, criticism arose that the term might be misused as another label for certain groups of individuals, which would perpetuate their marginalization (Petersen et al., 2019). From an actor-oriented approach, the term developed increasingly towards a critical social analysis that focuses on the entire society (Foroutan, 2019). Indeed, in other contexts, postmigration is used as an analytical perspective to address societal struggles by looking beyond the exclusive focus on migrants and their descendants. Lastly, the term is being

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21 applied to address contemporary societies as so-called “postmigrant societies” (p.5) which refers to a concept developed by the political scientist Foroutan (Petersen et al., 2019).

The concept postmigration was initially applied in academia in the German-speaking context before being addressed in the English, Spanish, and French-speaking context with different foci (Foroutan, 2016; Yildiz, 2018). In that regard, it has been asked whether the postmigrant perspective can be addressed beyond a national level by looking at the general European context (Römhild, 2017). This is an interesting problem which cannot be treated in any detail in this study, although it should be kept in mind as a background. As the present study analyses mainly art projects in Germany and Sweden, with the Luxembourgish organization Alter & Ego as complementary perspective, the focus will be especially on the German speaking postmigrant debate, carried out by scholars such as Foroutan, Römhild, and Espahangizi as well as on the recent Scandinavian debate by looking at the work from Petersen, Schramm, and Wiegand. In the following subchapters, I will present the application of the term as an analytical perspective and the conception of postmigrant society, these approaches will be of importance for the analyses of the present study.

4.3.1 The postmigrant perspective

Emerging from the criticism of much-existing migration research that I discussed above scholars have increasingly incorporated the postmigration concept in their work (Foroutan, Karakayali & Spielhaus, 2018). Indeed, we can here observe a clear shift in perspectives from “migrantology” (p.70) with an exclusive focus on migrants to a perspective based on the idea that migration encompasses all areas of society and culture, and thus also addresses the so-called “majority society” and its institutions (Römhild, 2017). Rather than taking migration as its object of study, this research takes migration as its perspective for the whole society and often suggests a critical revision of knowledge production (Römhild, 2017; Yildiz, 2018). In this way, migration is seen as an integral part of society and not as an exceptional phenomenon (Foroutan, 2019). The concept of postmigration has been developed into an analytical perspective which enables a new way of framing concepts and discourses used in migration studies. Thus, it forges new narratives and perspectives of migration (Petersen et al., 2019b). Important in this regard is that the binary coding of “migrant” and “local” should be dissolved, giving way to an idea of the plural society that now moves to the foreground. Indeed, the postmigrant perspective refers to a constant hybridization and pluralization of societies that are negotiated along with the topic of migration (Foroutan, 2019). The perspective has recently been applied for analysis in different domains as well as different concepts. The concept of

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22 postmigrant society is the attempt to apply a postmigrant perspective on the notion of society (Petersen et al., 2019b) and will be introduced in the following subchapter.

4.3.2 The postmigrant society

According to Naika Foroutan, postmigrant societies are characterized by sociopolitical negotiations, for instance, legislative initiatives, that take place after migration occurred or rather after having become a country of immigration. Furthermore, in a postmigrant society, it becomes increasingly difficult to follow binary coding and separate between “migrants” and “non-migrants” and the attempt to do so leads to an increase in racial thinking patterns. The conceptualization of a postmigrant society therefore demonstrates that the imagined clearly defined ethnic, religious, and cultural narrations of a society can no longer s tand. “New alliances and antagonisms” (p.60) are furthermore described as taking place in postmigrant societies. Alliances being marginalized groups getting together with other groups, not necessarily marginalized individuals to fight for their rights and recognition in a plural democracy (p.69) whereas antagonists oppose these alliances and their demands (Foroutan, 2019). Postmigrant societies are therefore dynamic and marked by struggles against discrimination and racism (Petersen, et al., 2019). The main conflict in postmigrant societies revolves around the topic of migration only superficially, instead the conflict is driven by the notion of equal opportunities and participation in democracies which is not being respected. To address societal issues, Foroutan encourages us to take a look beyond the notion of migration and to apply the postmigrant perspective to address these conflicts fully as most conflicts remain independently of migration (Foroutan, 2019).

Foroutan’s characterization of postmigrant societies has been criticized i.a. for its strong focus on the political recognition of migration. The scholar Espahangizi takes a Swiss approach to the concept and addresses the focus on the German context in Foroutan’s conceptualization. Indeed, the recognition as a country of immigration is a specific German characteristic that might not apply to other countries such as Switzerland which however experience similar societal struggles and debates around migration and integration as Germany. Instead, the focus should be as well on transformation processes that take place in societies in different domains such as social, cultural, and political so that the concept can be addressed in other national contexts (Espahangizi, 2018).

In conclusion, the postmigration concept leads to critical societal analysis and has established itself as such in the social sciences. Coming from an empowerment act from the art and culture

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scene, however, works of art revolving around the thematic of migration should be taken into consideration for the academic development of postmigration and their impact on discourses around migration and integration. In the following chapter, I address artistic practices concerning the topic of migration and their potential political role.

4.4 Artistic practices and their societal impact

Globalization and migration have led to a change in the practices and institutions in the art world over the last decades. Contemporary artists have increasingly engaged with this thematic in their work. Scholars from i.a. the social sciences, cultural studies, and art history have contributed to the growing discourse on the relation between contemporary art and migration. More precisely, it can be observed that some artistic practices question common assumptions about migration and give new perspectives on notions such as identity and community. This observation addresses the societal impact and the political dimension of artistic practices as it can lead to critical reflections upon different topics that artists, as well as the audiences, contemplate (Petersen, 2017).

Research on the contribution of arts and culture to society grew since the 1980s in Europe which led to the recognition of the sector’s impact and influenced policy development. Indeed, the positive social benefits of arts have been stressed in recent studies (Reeves, 2002). According to Landry et al., the social impact of the arts is described as the effect which goes beyond the art object and performance itself and influences individuals in their life activities (as cited in Reeves, 2002). Anttonen and colleagues (2016) expended the definition of the societal impact of art projects by describing potential direct and indirect impact. The former one describes the impact on a i.a. social level for individuals who participated in the projects such as a change in their thinking or actions. The latter one refers to the impact on the passive surroundings of art projects such as for non-attenders and the general environment in which the project took place. All in all, the power of art is being emphasized as every art project has an impact on its audience, project team members, and involved community (Anttonen et al., 2016). Despite the predominant view that the arts have a positive societal impact, some studies emphasize that the potential negative influence of the arts on individuals and societies should not be omitted (Belfiore & Bennett, 2008). In this regard, scholars wish for more research and efficacy in measuring the impact of the arts, for a stronger recognition of the sector’s contribution, and an increased public and policy investment (Belfiore & Bennett, 2008; Reeves, 2002).

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24 The political theorist Mouffe (2007) has asked, in this context, whether artistic practices can have a critical impact in a society dominated by capitalist production. She concludes that no distinction between political and non-political art can be meaningfully made because artistic practices necessarily have a political component. Indeed, artistic practices can contribute to the maintenance of common assumptions but could also challenge them by questioning the dominant hegemony. The latter case is referred to by Mouffe (2007) as critical art which is giving a voice to those who have been silenced under the dominant societal discourse. In this regard, Berggren (2019) addresses the connection between political and artistic representation and discusses novel artistic strategies to address the unrepresented. The notion of agency and empowerment of the portrayed persons is described as essential to political art. However, Berggren invites us to rethink artistic practices that deal with the topic of migration by reflecting on the role of artists and the meaning of representations, in other words, the depicted art subjects in their work, as well as on their engagement with the audience. For example, some artistic practices focus on the powerlessness of individuals and the system that generates it, the migration regime, instead of focusing on the migrant itself. By doing so, the system is being criticized and the audience is being included as they live in the system (Berggren, 2019). It should however be noted that the relation between the state and the art world influences artistic practices. Indeed, states take part in the production and distribution of art through a.o. laws that are in place and the provision of funding. By doing so, states can support artists and projects which reinforce their political interest and might undermine those who do not (Becker, 2008). Lastly, not only the thematization of migration-related issues are of importance when addressing the relationship between art practices and migration but also the recognition of migrant artists and their work. In this regard, a debate took place on the labeling of “migrant artist” or “artists with a foreign background” as it can lead to categorizations and differentiation from “actual artists” (Petersen, 2017). Bromley (2017) advocates rejecting these labels to overcome racializing tendencies. What remains of importance in that discussion is to consider the artist’s (and individual’s) self-description. In that regard, some artists, authors, and film producers described themselves as “postmigrants” when addressing their background which often referred to their experience as migrants from the second or third generation but not only (Ege, 2018).

Hence, artistic practices can generate counter-narratives to dominant hegemonic discourses which underlines their importance. However it is important to bear in mind that including the topic of migration in contemporary art can lead, on one hand, to new understandings of and

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25 perspectives on international migration and the societies we live in but on the other hand, it can also reproduce stigmatizations of the “others” and reproduce categorizations (Petersen, 2017). For this reason, new discourses and debates in the art world have emerged which call also for a rethinking of artistic practices. Lastly, as Mouffe points out, it is important to keep in mind that social transformations cannot be realized by critical artistic practices alone but needs the collaboration of traditional politics (Mouffe, 2007).

Before I present the chosen art projects for this study in the next chapter, I would like to summarize the main theoretical arguments that are relevant to the following analysis. Two theoretical approaches to integration have been presented. First, the association of the term with the effort of migrants to integrate into a homogeneous “host society”, in which integration takes place through assimilation; this is generally the everyday understanding of integration in European societies. Second, the association of the term with the equal participation of individuals in different areas of the society, in which integration is being decoupled from assimilation, and which connects the term to its initial sociological meaning concentrating on the society as a whole. Now the current notion of integration seems to feed and strengthen the discourse on national culture and identity of European societies conceptualized by Stuart Hall. As the term remains strongly present in societal discourses with an inclination to focus exclusively on immigrants and their descendants, its reframing seems essential. This is where the recently developed concept of postmigration appears as an interesting approach. It leads to a critical societal analysis by questioning societal hierarchies, binary categorizations , and by reframing concepts such as postmigrant society to open new academic debates and discourses. Of main importance in its conceptualization is the concentration on the whole society and the analysis of its conflicts by looking beyond the topic of migration. Emerging from the art and culture scene, the arts sector should not be omitted when looking at the development of the postmigration concept. Artistic practices have a political component and can potentially have a positive or negative societal impact which in turn can affect common assumptions such as about integration.

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5. The Art Projects in this Study

This chapter will introduce the art projects on which my study is based, being the Newcomers film project, the Leben Erzählen Schreiben (LES) story project, and the Hela Bilden painting project. I came across these projects during my Double Degree Master program in migration studies for which I spend my first year in Osnabrück in Germany and my second year in Norrköping in Sweden. Therefore, Newcomers and LES took place in Osnabrück and Hela Bilden in Norrköping. All projects revolve around topics concerning migration that have been addressed and reflected on through different types of visual arts, which was the criterion for their selection. My interest lies in encountered art projects in everyday life and which deal with the topic of migration. I therefore did not specifically look for projects describing their work as postmigrant art.

As a fourth case, I address the Luxembourgish non-governmental organization Alter & Ego in the study as its work in the art therapeutic domain enables an interesting and complementary perspective upon my research topic. It was not possible to focus on one particular project of Alter & Ego, because the art therapeutical projects finished and the organization concentrated for a few years mainly on training for social workers addressing themes such as interculturality and the deconstruction of prejudices. However, its work and the idea behind its approach are of interest to my study topic and certain aspects from it will be considered in the analysis of this study.

5.1 Newcomers

The project Newcomers is a documentary film depicting self-narrated stories of individuals with “migration background” and who experienced forced migration. The movie has been divided into chapters which are addressing different themes of the protagonist’s story and which have been named as followed: “The Flowers of the Pomegranate Tree”, “Lost Love”, “The Absence of Freedom”, “Rebellion and Death”, “Destruction and Hopelessness”, “Departure and Arrival”, “Fear and Longing”, “Forgetting and Remembering”. In total 29 persons, originating from eight countries and living in Germany, share their stories in different languages. Subtitles in i.a. German and English are available to the audience. Every person is being introduced through the appearance of their name and the city they currently live in. The protagonists were filmed frontally and are telling their story in front of a black background as it can be seen in the

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27 film’s poster (Figure 1). The project aims at creating a sense of understanding towards refugees and their reasons for fleeing and wants to emphasize on their stories as human beings (Newcomers, 2020).

The film team was composed of people with and without refugee experience and has been produced in cooperation with the “Exil – Refugee Centre Osnabrück”, a non-governmental and non-profit organization in Osnabrück which supports refugees and people with a “migration background” in Germany (Exil, 2020; Newcomers, 2020). The film was released in May 2018 and has since then been shown in cinemas and during discussion events throughout Germany as well as in other European countries. In the future, the film is to be made available on social media and a film booklet has been created for school classes to thematize different topics of the movie and discuss these in school classrooms and educational institutions (Newcomers, 2020).

Figure 1. Newcomers film poster. Retrieved from https://newcomers-film.de/downloads/.

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5.2 Leben Erzählen Schreiben

The project Leben Erzählen Schreiben (live tell write, LES) collected stories on the theme of exile, border crossing, and arrival. The stories have been written and collected through multilingual writing and “storytelling” workshops to which people living in Osnabrück and surroundings were invited to participate. People with “migration background”, refugees as well as locals were invited to participate in the workshops by sharing their stories, writing them down, and/or listening to the stories of others. Subsequently, an event has been organized in Osnabrück during which the authors could read their stories in front of an audience. According to the project’s website, the project’s goal is to give all residents in Osnabrück a feeling of belonging in the city in which they can commonly take part in and in which their stories have a place (Exil, 2020b)

The collection of stories was initiated in 2012 by the “language activist” (“Sprachaktivistin”) Daniela Boltres and is since February 2018 a project supported by the “Exil – Refugee Centre Osnabrück” to which Daniela Boltres is the project manager. A similar project initiated by Daniela Boltres collected poems that contributed to LES and which resulted in the creation of an exhibition entitled “Wer versteht das schon?” (who understands that?) which exhibited the poems in several European countries (Figure 2). The LES project ended in December 2018 and its work resulted in the creation of a book entitled “Wir schreiben Geschichte(n)” (we write (hi)story) (Figure 3) in which the collected stories and poems figure. This book is currently a work in progress and has not been published yet (Exil, 2020b, Exil, 2020c).

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29 Figure 2. Poem by Jonas Dogesch for the exhibition “Wer versteht das schon“ by D. Boltres, 2020.

Figure 3. Book “Wir schreiben GeschichteN” from the project Leben Erzählen Schreiben by D. Boltres, 2020.

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5.3 Hela Bilden

The project “Hela Bilden” (the whole picture) is an oil painting project which invited people in Norrköping and surrounding to collectively repaint the painting “Breakfast in the Open” (Frukost i det gröna), a pastoral idyll by the renowned Swedish painter Carl Larsson, who is generally seen as the major exponent of romantic nationalism (Figure 4). A copy of the painting has been shared in 198 parts by the artist and project initiator Sahar Burhan and each project participant could choose one part and repaint it on a canvas. The project took place for five weeks during which the participants met and painted the canvases. Project participants were according to the project’s description of different professions, gender, nationality, and ages, the youngest being 3 years old and the oldest 90 years. Subsequently, all canvases were merged into a single large work of art which depicted the “Breakfast in the Open” painting (Figure 5) (Galleri Kameleont, 2020).

The project has been initiated and carried out in 2012 by the artist Sahar Burhan who owns the “Kameleont” Art Gallery in Norrköping. The Gallery is exhibiting international works of art, hosting art performances, and regularly organizing events and lectures on different topics such as the production of art in diverse societies. Hela Bilden took place in collaboration with the Norrköping Art Museum and Mirum Galleria. The project has been repeated a few years later, in 2019, during which a different painting has been repainted by employing the same technique. On the gallery’s website, the resulting paintings are described as expressing the beauty and diversity taking place in the Swedish society and in which everyone has the right to be involved in (Galleri Kameleont, 2020).

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31 Figure 4. Painting “Breakfast in the Open” by C. Larsson, 1913. Retrieved from

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frukost_i_det_gr%C3%B6na_1910-13.jpg

Figure 5. Painting “Hela Bilden” by S. Burhan, 2012. Retrieved from

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5.4 Alter & Ego

The non-governmental and non-profit organization “Alter & Ego” (the other and I) is working through different mediums on topics such as identity, diversity, and interpersonal relations to increase tolerance and respect in the Luxembourgish society. In their work’s description, cultures and identity are not understood as fixed entities which individuals represent. The organization’s work moreover aims at going beyond a national understanding of culture and identity and at reaching out to the totality of individuals living in Luxembourg. By doing so, the organization developed pedagogical material, did training courses as well as different projects. Creativity and art play a central role in their work through i.a. the work with art therapy. Two projects were on at the organization, being “asile et adaptation” (asylum and adaptation) which was working monthly through art therapy with asylum seekers around the topic of adaptation and “zesumme liewen” (living together) which consisted in the creation of a guide against prejudices towards migrants and workshops and discussions around it ( Alter-Ego, 2020).

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6. Methodological Procedure

This chapter will inform on the methodological approach that I took to conduct the present research. The goal of my thesis is to investigate the concept of integration through a postmigrant lens and to analyze how art projects and their artistic production contribute to its reframing both socially and academically. In the introduction above, I asked three questions that we shall now return to and which were the following:

RQ1. How is the concept of integration shaped theoretically when taking a postmigrant perspective?

RQ2. How do art projects (Newcomers, Leben Erzählen Schreiben, and Hela Bilden) contribute to a new understanding of integration in European societies?

RQ3. Do these projects contribute to the postmigrant conceptualization of integration? To respond to my first question (RQ1), I chose to do a qualitative content analysis on a sample of material composed of two significant works in the domain of postmigrant research in German-speaking countries and Scandinavia. I decided to concentrate on specific chapters of the work of Foroutan (2019) entitled “Die Post-migrantische Gesellschaft” (the postmigrant society) and the work from Schramm and colleagues (2019) entitled “Reframing Migration, Diversity and the Arts”.

To respond to my second question (RQ2), I conducted eight qualitative semi-structured interviews among the art projects Newcomers, Leben Erzählen Schreiben, and Hela Bilden as well as the organization Alter & Ego as complementary perspective. For the analysis of my interviews, I employed qualitative thematic analysis by following Braun and Clarke’s methodological approach (2006). My interest was to assess the reasons behind the creation of the project, its aim as well as how the project was experienced. Therefore, conducting interviews with the project team members as well as with project participants was of importance to me. A further interest is moreover on the final product and its reception outside of the project which I thematized in the conducted interviews.

I will address the last research question (RQ3) through the outcomes of the content analysis of the academic works and the thematic analysis of the interviews.

In the following subchapters, I introduce the informants of this research and their selection before discussing the chosen interview methods and my critical reflection upon them. I then

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34 address the reflections on my positionality as a researcher and develop further on the analytical approach of this thesis.

6.1 Informants

The informants of this research have been selected among the initiators and participants of each of the three art projects that I have chosen to discuss in this study. The project director and/or film director of each project has been contacted. Concerning the project participants, contacts were established through ‘snowball’ sampling (Flick, 2009) by asking the interviewed project team members and searching for individuals in my own broader environment. Other than the participation in the specific project, I did not define further criteria when contacting or selecting the informants. The informants read and signed the informed consent form which was composed of a short description of the research, a description of the participant's rights such as their anonymity, and the confidentiality of the produced data as well as information about me as the researcher. The interviews, which lasted between thirty minutes and one and a half hours, took place in a calm environment, mostly in the informant’s offices or in the student council room of the University of Osnabrück. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, two interviews took place online via the software Zoom. All interviews have been recorded, after having my informants’ consent, which facilitated its transcription. Two informants wished to receive the transcripts of their interview and one informant wished to receive the quotes of his/her interview that were used in the analysis.

In total eight persons participated in the study. Within the Newcomers film project , Ma’an Mouslli the film director as well as Sara Höweler the film producer and Exil Verein manager have been interviewed. Furthermore, I conducted an interview with Badreldeen Babiker who participated in the project and is a protagonist in the film. Within the project LES, I interviewed Daniela Boltres the project manager, and Mohammad Oudai Haidar who participated in the project by writing several stories. For the project Hela Bilden, I interviewed Sahar Burhan the project manager, and Margareta Brandin who participated by drawing one canvas of the painting. Lastly, I interviewed Mylène Porta, Alter & Ego’s manager. Regarding Alter & Ego, as already described previously, the interview concentrated on the NGO’s work in general and will be considered as background and complementary information to the other three art projects which are the focus of the study.

What can Art Teach us about Integration? : The role of art in postmigrant integration: cases from Germany, Sweden and Luxembourg

What Can Art

Teach us about Integration?

–The role of art in postmigrant integration: cases from

Germany, Sweden, and Luxembourg

“Kein Mensch, den ich kenne, gehört einem einzigen, geschlossenen Kulturraum

an. Unser wirkliches Leben ist schon längst transkulturell und translokal, und

zwar jenseits von Herkunft. Uns ist es vielmehr ein Anliegen, die

Selbstverständlichkeit von Hybridität und Transkulturalität zu feiern und

durchzusetzen”

Shermin Langhoff

Abstract

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

1. Introduction

1.1 Aim and research questions

1.2 Structure of the thesis

2. Previous Research

2.1 The origin of “das Postmigrantische”

2.2 Postmigrant approach to artworks

3. Contextual Background

3.1 Integration policy in Germany

3.2 Integration policy in Sweden

4. Theoretical Framework

4.1 The notion of integration

4.2 The national culture and identity

4.3 The postmigration concept

4.4 Artistic practices and their societal impact

5. The Art Projects in this Study

5.1 Newcomers

5.2 Leben Erzählen Schreiben

5.3 Hela Bilden

5.4 Alter & Ego

6. Methodological Procedure

6.1 Informants