Study Overseas: Ethnography about Ambivalence among Iranian Students in Germany

Naderi, Ahmad; Bayat, Reza

doi:10.22035/ijcr.2016.305

Document Type : Scientific Research Manuscript

Authors

Ahmad Naderi ¹
Reza Bayat ²

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Tehran, Iran

² PhD Candidate of Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Germany

https://doi.org/10.22035/ijcr.2016.305

Abstract

In this study, immigrant students’ lives in Germany have been investigated and the aim was to understand the subjective meanings of agents with respect to the questions of the study. We can say that a student who moves to another country to continue his education, finds himself in a new culture, (the general culture of country of destination as well as its academic culture.) he experiences the trends of changes starting from the time he decided to leave his own country and lead to his final act of returning or staying in country of destination forever. These changes happen in the lives of students through different phases that it can be said each experience in student’s life is a phase for him to change and every change, stimulates a feeling in him. Therefore, in this study, unlike other studies on this field, research efforts to investigate lived experience of participants. To achieve this goal, observation, participant observation, in-depth interviews and group interviews were used and eventually it became clear that the final act of the participants in this study was associated with a sense of ambivalence. Thus “Ambivalence” was driven to write ethnography. This feeling, regardless of their act, is always with them and its strength depends on the duration of inhabitancy and the success of their coordination with the host society and it reminds some notions in post-colonial theory which are called being on threshold, being in the middle and third space and being linked. During this study, we try to survey paths, each students traverse to study in Germany to answer why this feeling exists.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Higher Education, Planning the development of higher education

References

Abdolāhiān, H. (1387/2008). Mas'aleh va hal-e mas'aleh dar ertebātāt-e beynāfarhangi: Ma'refat šenāsi-e zabān va ertebāt-e mu'aser. Tahqiqāt-e farhangi-e Irān, 1(4), 21-55.

Asgari, H., et al. (1376/1997). Farār-e maghz hā; Enteqāl-e ma'kus-e teknuluži. (trans: Mohamadi, M.). Tehrān: Qatreh.

Bafekr, S.; & Leman, J. (1999). Highly-qualified Iranian immigrants in Germany: the role of ethnicity and culture. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 25 (1), 95-112.

Bāstāni, M. (1382/2003). Ᾱšnāyān-e gharib: Nemuneh-i az zendegi-e nasl-e duom-e Irāniān-e mohājer dar Orupā. Tehrān: Mu'aseseh-ye Pažuheši-e Negāh-e Mo'āser.

Bhabha, H. (1994). The location of culture. New York: Routledge.

Bohnacker, A. (2001). Verknüpfungsprozesse: Biographische fremdheitserfahrung und gesundheit-dargestellt am beispiel iranischer frauen im exil. Frankfurt A. M.: IKO-Verl. für Interkulturelle Kommunikation.

Braakman, M. (2005). Roots and routes: Questions of home, belonging and return in an Afghan diaspora. Leiden: Leiden University Press.

Ebrāhim Ᾱbādi, H. (1379/2000). Mohājerat-e noxbegān. Tehrān: Daftar-e Motāle'āt va Barnāmeh Rizi-e Farhangi va Ejtemā'i.

Farahmand Far, M.; & Nojumiān, A. 'A. (1392/2013). Peyvandxordegi-e huviat dar nazarieh-ye pasāeste'māri: Motāle'eh-ye muredi-e film-e “Piānist” asar-e Ruman Polānski (Roman Polanski). Nāmeh-ye honar hā-ye namāyeši va musiqi, 3, 63-73.

Fassin, D. (2001). The biopolitics of otherness: Undocumented foreigners and racial discrimination in French public debate. Anthropology Today, 17 (1), 3-7.

Fassin, D. (2007). Humanitarianism: A nongovernmental government. Nongovernmental Politics, edited by Michel Feher. New York: Zone Books.

Fāzeli, N. (1387/2008). Farhang va dānešgāh: Manzar hā-ye ensān šenāsi va motāle'āt-e farhangi. Tehrān: Sāles.

Fāzeli, N. (1390/2011). Mardom negāri-e safar: Tusifi ensān šenāxti az farhang va jāme'eh-ye emruz-e gharb. Tehrān: Ᾱrāsteh.

Finley, E. P. (2012). Fields of combat: Understanding post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan (the culture and politics of health care work). London: Cornell University Press.

Geertz, C. (1973). Thick description: Toward an interpretive theory of culturs, the interpretation of cultures. New York: Basic Books, Inc., Puhlishers.

Göktürk, D.; Gramling, D.; & Kaes, A. (eds.) (2007). Germany in transit: Nation and migration. Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Hall, S. (1391/2012). Ma'nā, farhang va zendegi-e ruzmareh. (Persian translation of Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practice). Translated by: Gol Mohamadi, A., Tehrān: Našr-e Ney.

Hess, S. (2009). Globalisierte hausarbeit: Au-pair als migrationsstrategie von frauen aus osteuropa. Heidelberg: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.

Hess, S.; Binder, J.; & Moser, J. (2009). No Integration?! Kulturwissenschaftliche Beiträge zur Integrationsdebatte in Europa. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag.

Ja'fari Mo'atar, F. (1387/2008). Mohājerat-e noxbegān: Barresi-e zamineh hā-ye mu'aser bar gerāyeš-e dāneš āmuzān-e noxbeh beh mohājerat az kešvar. Tehrān: Mu'aseseh-ye Tahqiqāt va Tuse'eh-ye 'Olum-e Ensāni.

Martinez, M. D.; Craig, S. C.; & Kane, J. G. (2005). Pros and cons: Ambivalence and public opinion, in ambivalence and the structure of political opinion, Craig, Stephen C. and Michael D. Martinez (eds). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Mason, C.; & Rawlings-Sanaei, F. (2014). Academic migration, discipline knowledge and pedagogical practice, voices from the Asia-Pacific. New York: Springer.

Moti', N. (1378/1999). Moqāyeseh-ye naqš-e noxbegān dar farāyand-e nusāzi-e Irān va Žāpon. Tehrān: Šerkat-e Sahāmi-e Entešār.

Naficy, H. (1993). The making of exile cultures: Iranian television in Los Angeles. University of Minnesota Press.

Nafisi, N. (1390/2011). Mardom negāri va nim qarn taghyir va tahavol dar farhang-e herfeh-ie ensān šenāsi. Pažuheš hā-ye ensān šenāsi-e Irān, 1 (1), 61-78.

Naghdi, A. (2010). Iranian diaspora: With focus on Iranian immigrants in Sweden. Asian Social Science, 11 (6), 197-208.

Ngo, B. (2010). Unresolved identities: Discourse, ambivalence, and urban immigrant students. New York: State University of New York Press.

Rahmāni, J.; & Ša'rbāfči Zādeh, Z. (1391/2012). Huviat beh masābeh-ye farāyandi sayāl va nātamām: Lāyeh hā-ye huviati-e Irāni hā-ye Bhopal dar Hend. Tahqiqāt-e farhangi-e Irān, 5 (2), 115-135.

Rajabi, M. (1380/2001). Barresi-e mizān va 'avāmel-e gerāyeš beh mohājerat az kešvar; Motāle'eh-ye nazari hamrāh bā tahqiqi dar beyn-e dānešjuān-e fani-e Dānešgāh-e Tehrān. (Pāyān nāmeh-ye kāršenāsi-e aršad). Tehrān: Dānešgāh-e Tehrān, Dāneškadeh-ye 'Olum-e Ejtemā΄i.

Reis, H. T.; & Sprecher, S. (2009). Encyclopedia of human relationships. California: SAGE Publications.

Ryang, S. (2008). Writing selves in diaspora: Ethnography of autobiographics of Korean women in Japan and the United States. New York: Lexington Books.

Saladin, P. (Hg.) (2009). Diversität und chancengleichheit: Grundlagen für erfolgreiches handeln im mikrokosmos der gesundheitsinstitutionen. Bern: Bundesamt für Gesundheit in Zusammenarbeit mit H+ die Spitäler.

Sālehi, F. (1371/1992). Moruri bar padideh-ye farār-e maghz hā va 'elal va 'avāmel-e moterateb bar ān. (Pāyān nāmeh-ye kāršenāsi-e aršad). Tehrān: Dānešgāh-e Tehrān, Dāneškadeh-ye 'Olum-e Ejtemā΄i.

Šarifi, M. (1376/1997). Barresi-e gerāyeš-e a'zā-ye hey'at 'elmi-e dānešgāh hā-ye Tehrān beh mohājerat az kešvar. (Pāyān nāmeh-ye kāršenāsi-e aršad). Tehrān: Dānešgāh-e Tehrān, Dāneškadeh-ye 'Olum-e Ejtemā΄i.

Sheller, M.; & Urry, J. (2006). The new mobilities paradigm. Environment and Planning. A (38), 207-226.

Sojudi, F. (1388/2009). Ertebātāt-e beynāfarhangi: Tarjomeh va ta'sir-e ān dar farāyand hā-ye jazb va tard. Tahqiqāt-e farhangi-e Irān, 2 (5), 124-134.

Solibakke, K. I. (2012). Muslim migration to Germany: A Response to Thilo Sarrazin, Deutschland schafft sich ab. Migration and religion christian transatlantic missions, islamic migration to Germany, becker-cantarino, Barbara (eds). Amsterdam, New York: Rodopi.

Strakowski, S.M. (2014). Bipolar disorder. New York: Oxford University Press.

Ticktin, M. (2011). Casualties of care: Immigration and the politics of humanitarianism in France. London: University of California Press.

Van Houte, M.; & Davids, T. (2014). Moving back or moving forward? return migration, development and peace-building. New Diversities. 16 (2), 71-87.

Voqufi, H. (1380/2001). Farār-e maghz hā (barresi-e mohājerat-e noxbegān az zavāyā-ye gunāgun). Tehrān: Mu'aseseh-ye Farhangi va Entešārāti-e Zāhed

Name *

Email Address *

Affiliation *

Comments *

Security Code *

Journal of Iranian Cultural Research

Study Overseas: Ethnography about Ambivalence among Iranian Students in Germany

References

References

Send comment about this article

Volume 9, Issue 2 - Serial Number 34
November 2016
Pages 1-28

Study Overseas: Ethnography about Ambivalence among Iranian Students in Germany

References

References

Send comment about this article

Volume 9, Issue 2 - Serial Number 34November 2016Pages 1-28

Volume 9, Issue 2 - Serial Number 34
November 2016
Pages 1-28