Intergenerational perceptions of integration through positioning and boundary making: A family case study of Turkish migration to Germany
This PhD research set out to understand the multidimensional nature of social integration through the perceptions and experiences of a German Turkish family within a historical intergenerational context. It also aimed to explore the interplay between institutional and self-directed actions through a lens of positioning and boundary making using a bricolage approach. The research was prompted by a ‘problem Turk’ analogy, of which the essence is how to reconcile German national identity with a multicultural society which has become increasingly centred on Islam as a boundary marker.
The family’s story highlights the influence of cultural assumptions, and the ways in which family members have had to counter these and prove their belonging within a society where integration is largely conceived in assimilatory terms. The family’s integration journey has been constructed through processes of belonging predominantly shaped through self-directed actions. The foundations of which were built by the first-generation and have continued since. The relational aspect is central. For the family this provided bridging social capital and set them on a journey towards belonging (integration).
Findings highlight the need for wider recognition of belonging as a better framing for integration narrative. This will then address the untenable position occupied by the descendants of those who moved from Turkey to Germany. These descendants while born in Germany, continue to feel an overwhelming need to demonstrate their integration as a destigmatisation strategy. Hegemony underlies integration, which is why as a concept to describe sense of belonging to a society, the term becomes a misnomer when considered from the perspective of lived experiences such as those of family.
Key words: integration, belonging, German Turks, intergenerational, boundary making, positioning, bricolage