Constructions of Collective Belongings through Art by Migrants from Cuba in Germany and South Florida

Authors

  • Michaela Köttig Fachhochschule Frankfurt am Main

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-10.3.1386

Keywords:

Cuban migration, South Florida, Germany, constructions of belongings, biographical case reconstruction, art

Abstract

This essay focuses on Cuban immigration to South Florida and Germany. Focusing on two biographies, this essay shall introduce the migration backgrounds and living conditions in the countries of immigration. The construction of ethnic belonging for migrants from Cuba is unquestioningly self-evident for migrants from Cuba both in Germany and Florida. In creating this ethnic belonging, immigrants refer to Cuba's history, culture and art. Strong similarities can be found in these constructions despite the rather different circumstances that the migrants face in their countries of immigration. In terms of the use of art in these constructions, a biographical empirical approach can show how occupation as an artist can either help individuals find solutions for contradictory aspects of life in the country of immigration or help create continuity with the migrants' past prior to their migration. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0903318

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Author Biography

Michaela Köttig, Fachhochschule Frankfurt am Main

Dr. Michaela KÖTTIG, born 1965, is currently a research assistant at the Center of Methods in Social Sciences at the Georg-August-University of Göttingen. She studied at the University of Kassel and was employed at the University of Cologne. Her research concerns female right-wing extremism in Germany. She also focuses on political socialization, family sociology, and family history as well as the influence of these factors on peer interactions. Furthermore, she is interested in young people's transition from school to work and the construction of belongings in transnational families. Here, she focuses on the constellations of families with very different political opinions and patterns of actions. In her research, she employs biographical, intergenerational, and ethnographical methods and has written about the productive transfer of interpretative research methods to different fields of social work. As of 2003, she has been secretary of the Research Committee on Biography and Society (RC 38) at the International Sociological Association (ISA). In October, she will begin a professorship at the University of Applied Sciences at Frankfurt/Main for interviewing techniques, communication, and conflict management.

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Published

2009-09-29

How to Cite

Köttig, M. (2009). Constructions of Collective Belongings through Art by Migrants from Cuba in Germany and South Florida. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-10.3.1386

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 3 (2009): Biography and Ethnicity

Section

Thematic Issue

License

Copyright (c) 2009 Michaela Köttig

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.