ANTH 321/521

ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE MIGRATION AND THE CITY

Fall 2019
Wednesdays, 12.40 – 14.30 FASS G056
Fridays, 12.40 – 13.30 FASS 1081

Kristen Biehl1
kristenb@sabanciuniv.edu
Office Hours (FASS 1021): Fridays, 13.30-15.30, or by appointment

Course Description: Migration stands out as one of the most characteristic and complex
features of the 21st century as more people than ever, coming from increasingly more disparate
places, are migrating to new destinations for a greater variety of reasons and under
distinct circumstances. A shared aspect is that most of these migrations are urban in nature, being
concentrated in cities attracting human, financial and other flows from across the globe. This
course is designed to understand the impact of such migrations for urban life from an
anthropological perspective. It examines the city as a context of reception and explores how
ethnography contributes to understanding the ways that cities are responding to migrant arrivals.
It focuses on several conceptual approaches gaining interest over the recent decade, and situates
these within the expanding field of international migration research in Turkey.
Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Identify and understand anthropological approaches to the study of migration
2. Explain and compare key concepts underpinning current discussions around the impacts of
migration on cities
3. Explore and evaluate the experiences of diverse migrant groups in Turkey and their urban
social and economic impacts
4. Construct and deliver structured presentations to peers
5. Engage in constructive debates and discussions
6. Apply theoretical concepts to actual events and observations
Requirements and Grading:
Participation (15%) The class will be conducted as a combination of lectures and a seminar
format that relies on student engagement and interaction. Therefore students are expected to
attend all classes (10%) and come prepared to discuss the assigned readings in the syllabus (5%).
During class, students will be asked to engage with readings through different formats, including
talking points and group discussions. Please note that active engagement includes attentive
listening as much as speaking. Evaluation of participation will be based on the quality of what

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The course instructor reserves the right to modify the syllabus at any point during the course.

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you contribute. Arriving late or departing early will affect your participation and attendance
grade if they happen recurrently. To encourage participation, and out of respect for fellow
students, cell phone use will not be permitted in class.
Presentations (15%) To ensure focused discussions of the weekly readings, and help students
develop their presentation and participation skills, students will be asked to make brief (10-15
minute) presentations on assigned readings that feature some of the following: main arguments,
strengths/weaknesses, relation or comparison to other readings, unclear points, discussion
questions, and the like. Students will also be asked to evaluate the weekly discussions in relation
to migration issues in Turkey (e.g. based on media/social media coverage, personal experiences,
field observations, etc.).
Mid-term exam (30%) The mid-term will be an open book exam conducted in class, aimed at
testing students’ familiarity with the basic discussions and conceptualization of urban migrations
from an anthropological perspective. Students will be asked to write two (undergraduates) and
three (graduates) short essays from a list of questions to choose from.
Final Exam (40%) For undergraduates the final exam will again be an open book exam
conducted in class. Graduate students will submit an original research paper of their choice. This
can be a conceptual paper, engaging with the breadth of approaches covered throughout the
course, or an empirical paper, engaging with a selected concept through some field research in
Istanbul. The second option will require the instructor’s consent, to be approved by 1st of
November, the latest. In their papers students are expected to give references properly, and avoid
plagiarism at all costs. Make sure to familiarize yourself with the university’s policy on
plagiarism and academic integrity:
http://www.sabanciuniv.edu/eng/?genel_bilgi/felsefemiz/akademikdurustlukilkeleri.html

Week 1 (Sep 18, 20) Introduction

Week 2 (Sep 25, 27) Anthropology of migration in urban contexts

Bretell, C. (2018). “Conceptualizing migration and mobility in anthropology: An historical

analysis.” Transitions: Journal of Transient Migration, 2(1): 7-25.
Vertovec, S. (2007). “Introduction: New directions in the anthropology of migration and
multiculturalism.” Ethnic and Racial Studies, 30(6): 961-978
Suggested:
Brettell, C. (2003). “Bringing the City Back In: Cities as Contexts for Immigrant Incorporation.”
In American Arrivals: Anthropology Engages the New Immigration, edited by N. Foner, 163-
196. Santa Fe: School of American Research Press.

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Week 3 (Oct 2, 4) Methodological nationalism

Wimmer, A. and N. Glick Schiller (2002). “Methodological nationalism and beyond: nation–
state building, migration and the social sciences.” Global Networks, 2: 301-334.
Malkki, L. H. (1995). “Refugees and Exile: From "Refugee Studies" to the National Order of
Things.” Annual Review of Anthropology, 24: 495-523
Suggested:
De Genova, N. (2016). “The ‘native’s point of view’ in the anthropology of migration.”
Anthropological Theory, 16(2–3): 227–240

Week 4 (Oct 9, 11) Re-thinking ethnicity

Wimmer, A. (2004). "Does ethnicity matter? Everyday group formation in three Swiss
immigrant neighborhoods.” Ethnic and Racial Studies, 27 (1): 1-36.
Glick Schiller N., Caglar A. and Guldbrandsen T.C. (2006). “Beyond the ethnic-lens: locality,
globality, and born again incorporation.” American Ethnologist, 33(4): 612–633.

Suggested:
Fox, John and Jones, Demelza (2012). “Migration, everyday life and the ethnicity bias.”
Ethnicities, 13: 385-400.

Week 5 (Oct 16, 18) Super-diversity

Vertovec, S. (2007). “Super-diversity and its implications.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 30(6):
1024 – 1054.
Grzymala-Kazlowska, A. and J. Phillimore (2018). “Introduction: rethinking integration. New
perspectives on adaptation and settlement in the era of super-diversity.” Journal of Ethnic and
Migration Studies, 44(2): 179-196.
Suggested:
Meissner, F. and S. Vertovec (2014). "Comparing super-diversity." Ethnic and Racial Studies, 38
(4): 541- 555.

Week 6 (Oct 23, 25) Mid terms

Week 7 (Oct 30, Nov 1) Conviviality and everyday multiculture

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Nowicka, M. and Vertovec, S. (2014). “Comparing convivialities: dreams and realities of living-
with difference.” European journal of cultural studies, 17: 341–356.
Back, L. and S. Sinha (2016). "Multicultural conviviality in the midst of racism’s ruins." Journal
of Intercultural Studies 37 (5): 517-532.
Suggested:
Berg, M. L. and M. Nowicka (2019). Studying Diversity, Migration and Urban Multiculture
Convivial Tools for Research and Practice. London: UCL Press. Available for free download at:
www.uclpress.co.uk
Wise, A. and G. Noble (2016) “Convivialities: An Orientation.” Journal of Intercultural Studies,
37(5): 423-431.

Week 8 (Nov 6, 8) Spaces of encounter

Jones, H., S. Neal, G. Mohan, K. Connell, A. Cochrane and K. Bennett (2015). “Urban
multiculture and everyday encounters in semi-public, franchised cafe spaces.” The Sociological
Review, 63: 644–661.
Wessendorf, S. (2014). “'Being open, but sometimes closed'. Conviviality in a super-diverse
London neighbourhood.” European Journal of Cultural Studies, 17(4): 392-405.
Suggested:
Matejskova, T., & Leitner, H. (2011). Urban encounters with difference: the contact hypothesis
and immigrant integration projects in eastern Berlin. Social & Cultural Geography, 12 (7): 717-
741.
Valentine, G. (2013). “Living with difference: proximity and encounter in urban life.”
Geography, 98: 4-9.

Week 9 (Nov 13, 15) No Class

Optional Reading on international migration background of Turkey

Baban, F., Ilcan, S. & Rygiel, K. (2017). Syrian refugees in Turkey: Pathways to precarity,
differential inclusion, and negotiated citizenship rights. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies,
43 (1), 41-57.
Düvell, F. (2018). “From migration transition to integration challenge.” New Perspectives on Turkey 58:
179-200.
Içduygu, A. and K. Biehl (2013). "The Changing Trajectory of Migration to Turkey." In Countries of

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Migrants, Cities of Migrants: Italy, Spain, Turkey, edited by Marcello Balbo, Julio Perez and Ahmet
Içduygu. Istanbul: Isis Press.
Kirisci, K. (2007). “Turkey: A Country of Transition from Emigration to Immigration.” Mediterranean
Politics 12(1): 91-97
Tolay, J. (2015). “Discovering Immigration into Turkey: The Emergence of a Dynamic Field”
International Migration Vol. 53 (6): 57-73

Week 10 (Nov 20, 22) Migration and city-making

Glick Schiller, N. and A. Caglar (2009). “Towards a Comparative Theory of Locality in

Migration Studies: Migrant Incorporation and City Scale.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration
Studies, 35(2): 177-202.
Glick Schiller, N. & Caglar, A. (2013). “Locating Migrant Pathways of Economic Emplacement:
Thinking beyond the Ethnic Lens.” Ethnicities, 13 (4): 494-514.
Suggested
Hall, S. M. (2013). “Super-diverse street: a ‘trans-ethnography’ across migrant
localities.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 38(1): 1-14.

Week 11 (Nov 27, 29) Migration infrastructures

Burchardt, M. and S. Höhne (2015). “The infrastructures of Diversity: Materiality and Culture in
Urban Space - An Introduction.” New Diversities, 17(2): 1-13.
Meeus, B., K. Arnaut and B. van Heur (2019). “Migration and the Infrastructural Politics of
Urban Arrival.” In Meeus, B., K. Arnaut and B. van Heur (eds.) Arrival Infrastructures:
Migration and Urban Social Mobilities, Palgrave MacMillan.
Suggested:
Simone, A. M. (2004). “People as Infrastructure: Intersecting Fragments in
Johannesburg.” Public Culture, 16(3): 407-429.
Hall, S. M., J. King and R. Finlay (2015). “Envisioning migration: drawing the infrastructure of
Stapleton Road, Bristol.” New Diversities, 17(2): 59-72.

Week 12 (Dec 4, 6) International migration to Turkey

Yukseker, D. (2004). “Trust and Gender in a Transnational Market: The Public Culture of Laleli,

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Istanbul.” Public Culture 16(1): 47–65
Saul, M. (2014). “A different kargo: Sub-Saharan migrants in Istanbul and African commerce.”
Urban Anthropology vol. 43(1, 2, 3)

Suggested
Bloch, A. (2011).“Intimate circuits: modernity, migration and marriage among post-Soviet
women in Turkey.” Global Networks 11, 4 (2011) 502–21

Week 13 (Dec 11, 13) Refugees in Turkey

Dagtas, S. (2017). Whose misafirs? Negotiating difference along the Turkish–Syrian border.”
Int. J. Middle East Stud. 49: 661–679
Ikizoglu Erensu, A. and Z. Kasli (2017). “A Tale of Two Cities: Multiple Practices of Bordering
and Degrees of ‘Transit’ in and through Turkey.” Journal of Refugee Studies 29(4): 528-548
Suggested:
Senoguz, P. H. (2017). “Border Contestations, Syrian Refugees and Violence in the Southeastern
Margins of Turkey.” Movements vol. 3: 165-178.

Week 14 (Dec 18, 20) Migration and urban encounters in Turkey

Biehl, K. S. (forthcoming). “A dwelling lens: super-diversity and boundary-making in an

Istanbul neighbourhood”
Gokariksel, B. and A. Secor (2018). “Affective geopolitics: Anxiety, pain, and ethics in the
encounter with Syrian refugees in Turkey” Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space
0(0) 1–19
Suggested
Erman, T. (2017). “Syrian Refugees in a Slum Neighborhood: Poor Turkish Residents
Encountering the Other in Önder Neighborhood, Altındağ, Ankara.” In Turkey’s Syrians: Today
and Tomorrow edited by D. Eroglu, K. O. Unutulmaz and I. Sirkeci. Transnational Press
London.
Kilicaslan, G. (2016). “Forced migration, citizenship, and space: the case of Syrian Kurdish
refugees in İstanbul.” New Perspectives on Turkey, no. 54: 77–95.