The Museumization of Migration in Paris and Berlin: An Ethnography Dissertation Zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades Doktor philosophiae (Dr. Phil.) eingereicht An der Philosophischen Fakultät I der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin von : M.A. Andrea Meza Torres Datum der Disputation: 05. Februar 2014 Gutachter/innen: Erstgutachter: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Kaschuba Zweitgutachterin: Prof. Dr. Regina Römhild 1 Abstract This dissertation is an ethnography about the field of the museumization of migration in Paris and Berlin. After having begun with a recognition of the visible differences between the national landscapes of France and Germany, the ethographer’s conclusion shifted into the opposite direction: the differences at the level of the “national” actually blur when colonial and imperial history are taken into account. Based on a combination of ethnographies and theory, this thesis shows how the representation of migration is historically connected with colonial history. This means that former representations of the “other” (the “indigenous” and the “primitive”) continue to exist today, but now attached to the figure of the “immigrant”. From this perspective, images of “Europe” and its “others” emerge anew in the present context. This thesis shows how, in both France and Germany, respective representations of the “others/immigrants” are very similar. In both countries, official representations of migration stand for how each nation selects and integrates diversity and mobility into the national narrative. On the other hand, images of the “national self” differ drastically between France and Germany. In this way, two distinctive fields emerge, namely: the European zone (made up of EU-nationals) and the non-European zone (made up of so called “immigrants”). In this thesis, the (conflicting) coming together of both fields at the museum is approached through the concept of the contact zone. This concept allows an ethnographic approach towards complex discussions about modernity, gender, racism, nationhood and citizenship – all of which emerge through the topic of migration. Finally, this thesis reflects on the impact of these conflicts on the making of “European” and “national” collective memories by looking at these debates from a power perspective and thus opening the path for the coexistence of collective memories in the public spaces of national and European landscapes. Zusammenfassung Die vorliegende Dissertation bietet eine Ethnographie über die Musealisierung der Migration in Paris und Berlin an. Die Autorin stellt fest, dass trotz klarer Unterschiede zwischen den beiden nationalen, politischen Landschaften, viele Differenzen verschwinden, wenn die Kolonialgeschichte berücksichtigt wird. Die Arbeit kombiniert Ethnographien und Theorien und zeigt auf, wie die Repräsentation der Migration an die Kolonial – und Imperialgeschichte gebunden ist. Dies bedeutet, dass ältere Repräsentationen der „Anderen” (wie “Eingeborenen/Primitiven“) immer noch präsent sind, und zwar als Teil der Repräsentationen von „Immigranten“. Aus dieser Perspektive werden Bilder von “Europa” und den “Anderen” neu konfiguriert. Die Arbeit zeigt weiterhin, dass in Frankreich und Deutschland die jeweiligen Repräsentationen der „Anderen/Immigranten“ sehr ähnlich sind, denn in beiden Ländern steht die Migrationsmusealisierung für eine selektive Integration von Diversität und Mobilität in den jeweiligen nationalen Gemeinschaften. Dennoch, und auch das zeigt die Arbeit, werden die Bilder des „nationalen/Eigenen“ in beiden Ländern unterschiedlich gestaltet. Aufgrund dessen emergieren zwei Felder: eine Europäische Zone (von EU- Mitgliedern) und eine Nichteuropäische Zone (von sog. „Immigranten“). Die Disertation analysiert das konfliktive Aufeinandertreffen der beiden Felder im Museum mit Hilfe des Konzepts der Kontaktzonen. Dieses Konzept ermöglicht eine ethnographische Annäherung an 2 komplexe Diskussionen über Moderne, Gender, Rassismus, Nationalismus und Staatsbürgerschaft, welche immer in Debatten zum Thema Migration auftauchen. Darüber hinaus reflektiert die Arbeit den Impact dieser Konflikte auf das Europäische und nationale Kollektivgedächtnis aus einer Machtperspektive. Somit bietet sie eine Reflextion über Europäische und nationale Erinnerungslandschaften an und schlägt vor, dass diese aus verschiedenen formen kollektiver Gedächtnisse zusammengesetzt werden können. Key Words / Schlagwörter Museum, migration, contact zone, Europe, colonial history, decolonial perspective, collective memory Museum, Migration, Kontaktzonen, Europabilder, Kolonialgeschichte, dekoloniale Perspektive, kollektives Gedächtnis 3 Table of Contents Introduction …………………………………………………………………….……...….… 6 1.- An Ethnography on the making of Exhibitions on Migration in Paris and Berlin.... 26 1.1.- Methodology: Interviews, Sources, Ideas….………………………………..…. 26 1.2.- The « Palais des Colonies » : the “Entrance” to the Cité nationale de l’histoire de l’immigration………………………………………………………………………….30 1.3.- Migration and Museums in Berlin: when Immigrants become Performing Actors, Colonial Heritage and / or Post-colonial Curators……………………………....……36 1.3.1.- Immigrants as Curators and Performing Actors (Jugendmuseum Schöneberg)…………………………………………………………………...37 1.3.2.- Colonial Imaginations in Liminal Spaces: “Africa” at the “Carnival of Cultures” and at the Museum………………………………………...…….…40 1.3.3.- New Ethnographic Objects and Contact Zones at the Rautenstrauch Joest Museum in Cologne ……………………………….............................…43 1.3.4.- Representation of Migration at the Stadtteilmuseum Neukölln – a District Museum……...………………………………...........………………..46 1.3.5.- The Immigrant Association Korientation and the Neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst………………………………………………………………...51 1.4.- A Comparison of Representational Practices in Paris and Berlin…………….....53 2.- On Exhibiting “Migration” and “Europeanization”: Images of Europe from Within…...……………………………………………………………………………….…...59 2.1.-Actors Articulating “Migration” from Within French, German and / or European Discourses …...……………………………………………………………………….60 2.2.- The European Space and the European Community (Europeanization)...…….. 63 2.3.- Images of “Others” Within Europe: the Case of the Franco-Geman Project for a Museum Exhibition: “Fremde. Bilder von den „Anderen“ in Deutschland und Frankreich seit 1871” (Cité nationale, Paris / DHM, Berlin) ………………………..75 2.4.- On Further Internal Differences and Tensions from Within the European Zone.80 3.- Zones of Contact and Conflict in Museums……………………………………………85 3.1.- My Role as an Anthropologist in Museums: Changing Methodologies……...…89 4 3.2.- Contact Zone No. 1: Gérard Noiriel vs. The Theatre Play «Vive la France!» & Gérard Noiriel vs. The Archive Génériques…………………………………….....…92 3.3.- Germany : Discourses on “Beyond Ethnicity” and “Postmigration” Meet the Turbulent Critique of Structural Racism (People of Color) …………………………99 3.4.- Mainstream Images of “Guest workers” in Germany vs. the Archive DOMID .......................................................................................................................103 4.- On Images of Europe from an Entangled Perspective: Imperial / Colonial History as a Genealogy to Trace Archives, Museums and the Museumization of Migration….…115 4.1.- The Archivo General de Indias in Seville, Spain (18th century) ………………116 4.2.- The Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam (19th century)………………………..……118 4.3.- King Leopold’s Colonial Exhibit at Trevuren (1897)…………………….……119 4.4.- The Cité nationale de l’histoire de l’immigration and “Immigrants” in the Context of Colonial History……………………………………………….……...…122 4.5.- Challenging the Institutions and Representational Practices: Approaches from the Immigrant’s Side…...…………………………..………………………………...….127 5.- Epistemologies and Every-day Experiences behind the Making of Representations: European and non-European Cosmologies on Modernity, Gender, Colonial History and Citizenship……………………………...………………………………………………..…135 5.1.- On Debates about Modernity (and Modernism)…………………………..…...137 5.2.- On Representations of Gender, Migration and Islam……………..………….. 145 5.3.- On Methodological Nationalism and Colonial History……………………..…149 5.4.- On Second-Class Citizenship at the Museum………………………………….157 6.- Conclusion: Collective vs. Particular Memories?.........................................................164 7.- Bibliography……………………………………………………………………….........171 Acknowledgements Selbständigkeitserklärung 5 Introduction When I started the research for this PhD thesis, I felt that a comparison of Paris’s and Berlin’s (and Germany’s) museum landscapes would be impossible to undertake. To me, it seemed difficult to find similarities between migration museums and exhibits on migration which were located in such different national contexts, memorial cultures and traditions of representation. The fact that France and Germany today make up the central axis of the European Union, also seemed a paradox to me. The Franco-German field seemed to be antagonistic by nature. How could two nations with such differing national myths join together on a common memorial quest? Beyond this, the fact that my observation fields were, on the one hand, a national migration museum (the Cité nationale de l’histoire de l’immigration) in one city (Paris) and, on the other hand, several temporary exhibits on migration not only in Berlin but in several German cities such as Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich, seemed to bea proof that both countries were non-comparable1. Beyond this, other facts