Contested Spaces of Arrival – Negotiating Mechanisms of Inclusion and Exclusion in Local Migration Societies from a Historical Perspective

In view of strengthening of racist discourses and practices and the far-reaching helplessness of progressive forces as to how to oppose these developments, it is worth taking a look at history: The investigation of past struggles can help to identify reoccurring structural patterns inherent in these developments or, vice versa, to make a case for their historic singularity. This panel aims to scrutinize the contested spaces of arrival from a historical perspective, focusing on structures and mechanisms of border drawing processes and strategies of resistance. It intends to map out migrants’ claims for participation in their host societies and the possibilities and limitations of fulfilling these claim, and thus takes into closer consideration mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion in the contested spaces of arrival from a local-historical perspective. Since the non-European migrants’ role in the struggle for participation is central to the panel, the contributions are supposed to either emphasize the perspectives and practices of the migrants or focus on the negotiation processes between migrant and institutional actors and ideally be theoretically embedded in micro- or cultural historical approaches. Possible questions the contributions may engage with include: How were border drawing processes constituted at the local level and to what extent did they differ from border drawing processes at the national and supranational levels? What consequences did the processes of drawing borders have for the everyday life of migrants? In what ways did migrants resist exclusion, what alliances did they form, and how successful were their struggles? How important were local socio-economic support structures for the successful implication of resistance against mechanism of exclusion? What role did class, gender, and educational background play in the ability to form strong alliances and networks? What conclusions can be drawn from past struggles for today's conflicts?

Panel presentations by:

Kennetta Hammond Perry (Leicester), Hannah Elizabeth Martin (Newcastle), Svenja von Jan (Göttingen), tba

Panel organizers:

Malte Borgmann (Osnabrück), Svenja von Jan (Göttingen)

Comment by:

Bettina Severin-Barboutie (Giessen)