Doctoral Dissertation Research: Turkish Immigrants in Germany: Constructing Multiple Identities and Transforming Urban Space

国际移民将来自不同文化背景的人聚集在一起，极大地改变了移民定居地区的种族构成，既给老居民带来了挑战，也给新来者带来了挑战，也给那些试图为快速变化的人口服务的人带来了挑战。地理学家、社会学家和许多其他学科的科学家已经使用了各种各样的理论和方法方法来研究彼此生活在一起的不同群体内部和之间的社会互动过程，特别是在城市地区。这个博士论文研究项目将研究移民适应和融入东道国社会的过程，特别强调移民构建自己身份的具体过程，以及移民彼此互动的方式，以及他们新社区中更成熟的居民。进行该项目的博士生将对杜伊斯堡-马科斯洛进行案例研究，杜伊斯堡-马科斯洛是位于德国较老的工业化鲁尔地区的一个社区，许多来自土耳其的移民都在那里定居。通过从多个来源收集信息，包括密集访谈、焦点小组、观察、档案记录、报纸和统计来源，学生将解决德国人如何描述土耳其人和他们的社区以及土耳其身份的构建；族群邻里在建构和强化土耳其身份认同中的作用；土耳其人和德国人在公共和私人社区空间中的互动以及这些互动对感知和态度的影响；身份建构在性别、代际、年龄、宗教和阶级界线上的差异；以及不同的社区经历影响移民对德国社会和文化的反应的过程。除了为移民形成自身身份的过程提供有价值的新见解，以及与社区长期居民的关系，该项目还将加强文化同化的主流理论，并为那些从事新移民政策和计划制定的人提供信息。作为博士论文研究改进奖，该奖项还将提供支持，使有前途的学生建立一个强大的独立研究生涯。

International migration has brought people from many different cultures together, dramatically changing the ethnic composition of areas where immigrants settle, posing challenges for both established residents and newcomers as well as well as for those trying to serve the rapidly changing populations. Geographers, sociologists, and scientists from many other disciplines have used a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to study the processes of social interaction within and among different groups that come to live in close proximity to each other, especially in urban areas. This doctoral dissertation research project will examine the processes of adaptation and incorporation of immigrants into host societies, with special emphases on the concrete processes through which immigrant construct their identities and the ways that immigrants interact with each other and more established residents of their new communities. The doctoral student conducting this project will conduct a case study of Duisburg-Marxloh, a neighborhood located in Germany's older industrialized Ruhr area where many immigrants from Turkey have relocated. By gathering information from multiple sources, including intensive interviews, focus groups, observations, archival records, newspapers, and statistical sources, the student will to address how German characterizations of Turks and their neighborhoods and the construction of Turkish identities; the role of the ethnic neighborhood in the construction and reinforcement of Turkish identities; the interaction between Turks and Germans in public and private neighborhood space and the influence of those interactions on perceptions and attitudes; differences in identity construction along gender, generation, age, religious, and class lines; and the processes through which different neighborhood experiences affect immigrants' responses towards German society and culture. In addition to providing valuable new insights into the processes through which immigrants form their own identities and relate to longer-established residents of their communities, this project will enhances prevailing theories of cultural assimilation and inform those engaged in the development of policies and programs for new immigrants. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.