Till Manderbach, M.Sc.

• Forschung

  My research explores the impact of migration on the shifting collective practices and identifications among members of rural communities in Southeast Turkey who either stayed behind in the village or left for the diaspora. I will access the questions arising from this overall theme through the meaning of ‘the village’ for members of both groups. The ‘stayers’ form an under-researched group in the migration and diaspora studies. Mass migration and the digital technologies, I propose, transform also their and not only the migrants’ worlds. Inquiring how it does so is one objective of my research project.

  Digital devices play a double role. For migrants it is easier than ever before to stay connected to their place of origin in real time and, on the other hand, for those staying beyond it is possible to access practices and ideas beyond traditional local forms. I understand the leaving of and remaining in shared spaces as a decision that only partly corresponds with migration or non-migration—i.e. I assume the possibility of a person to retain a strong sense of ‘groupness’ with their community while migrating and, vice versa, the possibility to dis-identify with collective practices while remaining in a geographical locality. I thus explore the interaction of two kinds of spaces in the actions of the individual: the trans-local space of collective belonging based on inter-personal networks, and the geographical place.

• Forschungsschwerpunkt

  • Migration and Diaspora
  • Identity and Belonging
  • Psychological implications of place

• Forschungsregion