The Asi and the Buerger: Prospects and Problems for Durable Civility

“The Asi and the Bürger: Prospects and Problems for Durable Civility,” uncovers barriers and possibilities for integrating ethnically Turkish migrants into German society. Its empirical basis is in-depth ethnographic work at a Berlin-based language school teaching Turkish to native Germans (N=26).  These research participants had frequent interactions with ethnically Turkish residents, expressed a positive interest in them, and were engaged in voluntary activities to gain this understanding (i.e. learning Turkish). Having this set of receptive features, their experiences attempting to integrate with Turkish residents unveil deep cultural and social barriers for social integration, and possible means to address them.  In a more conceptual vein, this paper historically situates students’ articulations of German national character - using the work of Norbert Elias - and brings these into dialogue with Jeffrey Alexander’s work on the civil sphere and multicultural modes of incorporation.