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On expectations in the aftermath of the ‘refugee crisis’: Ethnographic prospects from a post-industrial German city

Ringel, Felix

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Abstract

At the height of the ‘refugee crisis’ in Europe, right‐wing critics challenged refugees’ rights to asylum. One of the ways they did this was by predicting chaotic, doom‐laden futures. In reality, nobody – neither the communities hosting the refugees, nor the refugees themselves – knew what the post‐crisis future would bring. Anthropologists are in a position to consider that future ethnographically. This article discusses the emerging future expectations of one Afghan family in the German post‐industrial city of Bremerhaven. It attends to the local production of representations of the future during the aftermath of the crisis. The author uses this material to literally look ahead with ethnography and to thereby intervene in the broader context of the politics of expectations. He argues that the earlier we anthropologists can provide detailed accounts of how the future is starting to take shape in our fieldsites, the more efficiently we can stop further fearmongering and the deprivation of human rights. These ‘ethnographic prospects’ may allow us to ask different questions and offer different imaginations of the future.

Citation

Ringel, F. (2018). On expectations in the aftermath of the ‘refugee crisis’: Ethnographic prospects from a post-industrial German city. Anthropology Today, 34(3), 26-28. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12437

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 14, 2018
Online Publication Date Jun 1, 2018
Publication Date Jun 1, 2018
Deposit Date Jul 1, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Anthropology Today
Print ISSN 0268-540X
Electronic ISSN 1467-8322
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 34
Issue 3
Pages 26-28
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12437

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Copyright Statement
This is the accepted version of the following article: Ringel, Felix (2018). On expectations in the aftermath of the ‘refugee crisis’ Ethnographic prospects from a post-industrial German city. Anthropology Today 34(3): 26-28, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12437. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.





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