Far Away So Close: Race, Whiteness, and German Identity

Mueller, Ulrike

doi:10.1080/1070289x.2011.672863

Cited by 28 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Other studies have identified speaking accent‐free German and not being Muslim as key attributes in individuals’ understandings of Germanness (Foroutan et al ., ; Mäs, Mühler, & Opp, ). Such findings support a master narrative privileging white, non‐Muslim, native German‐speaking individuals, a normative link echoed in theoretical and empirical research (Müller, ; Walgenbach, ). Furthermore, everyday language reinforces this narrative, as ‘German’ is generally used to refer exclusively to white Germans, whereas ‘German citizen’ can include minoritized individuals (Mandel, ).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Being both German and Other: Narratives of contested national identity among white and Turkish German young adults

Moffitt

Juang

Syed

2018

British J Social Psychol

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Recent discursive research has built on Michael Billig's theory of banal nationalism, arguing that minoritized individuals who explicitly claim adherence to a national group may be further marginalized from a perceived majority who view such acts as socially undesirable. In Germany, a master narrative of muted national pride precludes hot nationalism, while a narrative of integration calls for overt national allegiance from anyone perceived as Other. Integration is demanded not only of recent immigrants, but also of the second generation and beyond, bolstering a related narrative of unquestioned Germanness as ethnically based. We conducted narrative analysis of interviews with white and Turkish German young adults to explore these master narratives, examining national identity through the lens of banal and hot nationalism. We found it is not only hot nationalism that marginalized Turkish German participants, but also the unrealizable narrative of integration. Situated within research into exclusionary notions of German identity, we argue that the integration demand reiterates the narrative of Germany as ethnically homogenous while fostering a feedback loop of contested belonging. With the recent increase in refugees and other immigrants, this critical examination of identity and belonging in Germany offers a timely and underexamined perspective to an important discussion.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Being both German and Other: Narratives of contested national identity among white and Turkish German young adults

Moffitt

Juang

Syed

2018

British J Social Psychol

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“…Yet, practice often differs from theory. Being German still tends to be equated with exclusionary norms, including being white (Hubbard and Utsey, 2015; Müller, 2011), speaking accent-free German (Foroutan et al., 2014), and having German ancestry (Ditlmann et al., 2011). Though such norms are no longer part of the explicit curriculum taught in schools, this understanding continues to inform expectations of societal success and belonging.…”

Section: Education Policy On Cultural and Ethnic Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“We don’t do that in Germany!” A critical race theory examination of Turkish heritage young adults’ school experiences

Moffitt

Juang

Syed³

2018

Ethnicities

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Turkish heritage students are underrepresented at university-track secondary schools in Germany, yet the institutional discrimination contributing to this ongoing disparity often remains unquestioned, situated within inequitable norms of belonging. Drawing on critical race theory and a risk and resilience framework, the current study investigated the interplay between institutional and interpersonal discrimination in relation to exclusionary norms enacted in university-track schools. Using thematic analysis, interviews with eight Turkish German young adults from multiple regions of Germany were analyzed, highlighting the need for culturally responsive teaching, more teacher reflexivity regarding bias, a greater focus on equity, and more direct discussions of racism and its impact.

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“…We did observe that the conceptual importance of the English language studies we reviewed was frequently transferable to the teaching of other languages. For instance, unpacking Whiteness in teacher identity (Liggett, 2009) is important for English, with its long history of associations with Whiteness, but it is similarly relevant to many other languages from the Global North, such as German (Müller, 2011). In a parallel vein, the notion of inner circle and outer circle countries (Kachru, 1992) has emerged from the colonial past of English, but it is necessary that we understand the similar ways that discrimination across language varieties is intertwined with national histories of conquest, colonization, and occupation across all of the major languages (Smith, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Race and language teaching

2020

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In this review article on race and language teaching, we highlight an urgent need for the international educational community to continue to develop a complex understanding of how language teaching and learners’ lives are shaped by our global history of racist practices of colonial expansion, including settler colonialism and transatlantic slavery. We outline the genesis of research on race and language teaching and review literature that reflects a recent increase in scope and range of studies that problematize the workings of race and racism in language teaching and point to hopeful solutions for addressing effects of racial inequities. We conceptualize two key terms, ‘race’ and ‘language,’ then overview theories that appeared most significant in the research literature. We explore five interconnected themes that featured prominently throughout the existing literature on race and language teaching: standard language ideology and racial hegemony, the idealized and racialized native speaker, racial hierarchies of languages and language speakers, racialization and teacher identity, and race-centered approaches to pedagogies and educational practices. We offer a critical analysis of the current status of scholarship on race and language teaching, including gaps and necessary reframing, and conclude with implications for future directions and questions arising from the work.

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Far Away So Close: Race, Whiteness, and German Identity

Cited by 28 publications

References 24 publications

Being both German and Other: Narratives of contested national identity among white and Turkish German young adults

Being both German and Other: Narratives of contested national identity among white and Turkish German young adults

“We don’t do that in Germany!” A critical race theory examination of Turkish heritage young adults’ school experiences

Race and language teaching

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