Nourhan Maher
(affiliated Fellow)
Art and Existentialism: Arab Diaspora in Berlin
Art and Existentialism: Arab Diaspora in Berlin
My project focuses on Arab diasporic communities in Berlin and artistic and cultural expression. Drawing on questions from existential anthropology and the anthropology of mobility, my project focuses on how “critical events” can cause disruptions that propel people into alternative life paths where they seek to create viable lives elsewhere. My research follows an ethnographic approach, where I explore how themes of homemaking, existential mobility, and the lifeworld of migrants shape their artistic and creative works in the form of visual art, music, and performance. While scholarship is dominated by the figure of the Arab migrant in terms of being a refugee or a Muslim subject, my project addresses a gap in literature by providing an ethnographic account of Arab cosmopolitan elite movements. My research also addresses a gap in literature on transnationalism that often overlooks the lifeworld of migrants by adopting a critical, phenomenological approach.
Doctoral Fellow at Manchester University
First Supervisor @ BGSMCS: PD Dr. Samuli Schielke