Narratives of Foreignness and Belonging: Migration as a Discursive Process in Western European Border Regions (1815–1871)

Migration was already a common component of society in the early nineteenth century, but it was only with the concept of the nation-state that it came to be perceived as a significant political and social challenge. The research project thus takes a fresh look at inner-European migration between 1815 und 1871, how it was regulated, at the accompanying practices of exclusion and inclusion and the actors involved in these processes. It conceives of the production of alterity and belonging as a process in order to explore the homogenization and modernization of society as well as nation-building. To this end, the study undertakes a contrasting analysis of state practices surrounding migration as well as the motivations and behaviours of mobile people. With a regional focus on Alsace and Schleswig-Holstein, the study emphasizes the diversity of actors in migration processes on the one hand and the particular significance of border regions on the other. The project combines two axes of investigation: The first enquires into the categories of social difference in migration processes. Methodologically and theoretically, the study applies an intersectional perspective to the interactions among various categories of social inequality: alterity, gender and education. The second axis of investigation links the analysis of discourses, regimes and actors: an analysis of foreignness / belonging as a central distinction in European societies is followed by an exploration of the administration of migration and of the motivations and behaviours of mobile people. In the nineteenth century, the distinction between foreign / not foreign constituted a central category of difference and structured discourses and regimes alike. The increasing mobility of people also mobilized norms and practices, as is shown for the border regions of Schleswig-Holstein and Alsace, which I understand both as political-administrative territories and transnational social spaces. These case studies permit us to draw conclusions about the relationships among region, state and nation, not least because the regions studied experienced momentous political changes. Petitions for the right to settle, documents on the treatment of foreigners and economic and political regulations are analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. These state sources are supplemented by contemporary accounts and ego-documents; in order to explore the actor perspective, the project will also investigate migrant life stories through collective biography. The project opens up various levels for evaluating migration and tackles key gaps in the literature: First, through its combination of meso- and micro-levels, it expands existing lines of enquiry into social and regional history within migration studies. Second, taking up transnational approaches, it systematically elaborates regional logics and documents them with concrete case studies. Third, with a focus on the negotiation of categories of difference, it contributes to current debates on the production of social inequalities. Finally, with its innovative theoretical and methodological framework, it broadens the conceptual horizons of (historical) migration studies.