Lecture: Prof. Dr. Hella von Unger (LMU Munich): Location-bound research - (How) can "othering" be avoided in flight and migration research?

Social science research has a problematic legacy: it has contributed significantly to the social construction of migrants (and other groups) as "others". In recent years, research into the sociology of migration in German-speaking countries has become much more dynamic, differentiated and reflexive, not least thanks to post-migrant approaches and post-colonial criticism. However, the fundamental question remains: To what extent do researchers today still willingly or unwillingly contribute to processes of 'change' and exclusion? What influence do the social positionings of researchers have on the reproduction of social structures of power and inequality in and through research? In this article, I explore the question of what follows from sociological premises on the location-bound nature of knowledge and constructivist assumptions on the involvement of observers for refugee and migration research in methodological and methodological terms. Is "othering" unavoidable - for example, when researchers without a migration history and/or white, German middle-class academics research the situation of migrants? Or does such a conclusion fall short? There is no question that the personnel structure of academia must become more diverse in order to incorporate different "locations", perspectives and biographically shaped bodies of knowledge and also to better track down implicit forms of racism, heteronormativity and other oppressive relationships. At the same time, however, an epistemological reductionism must be contradicted. Every standpoint is accompanied by limitations that - beyond what is intended - can have a detrimental effect on research processes. In this lecture, I will develop arguments for a reflexive, (self-)critical research practice that calls on all researchers to reflect on their positioning, avoid essentializations, question the seemingly self-evident and systematically seek entanglements of perspectives in order to expand the potential for knowledge and transformation through qualitative and participatory research strategies.

Registration at: https://veranstaltungen.uni-kassel.de/event/iag-unger