When do societies become postmigrant? A historical consideration based on the example of Switzerland

Author(s) : Kijan Espahangizi

Source : https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839448403-004

Abstract:

“When and under what conditions do societies become postmigrant? While the search for historical starting points is always a delicate undertaking, it becomes most productive when searching for historical genealogies, junctures and moments of upheaval, rather than absolute origins: In the current – predominantly German-language – debate, “postmigrant societies” have been discussed on the whole from the point of view of social and cultural studies. Yet, a historiographical approach is equally vital to the development of a concept that already bears the mark of historical change in its very name: postmigrant societies – in short, societies “structured by experiences of migration”, existing in a space “after migration” (Yildiz/Hill 2015; Karakayalı/Tsianos 2014: 34).”