Overview

Despite economic growth in Kazakhstan, more than 80 per cent of Kazakhstan’s ethnic Germans have emigrated to Germany to date. Disappointing experiences of the migrants, along with other aspects of life in Germany, have been transmitted through transnational networks to ethnic Germans still living in Kazakhstan. Consequently, Germans in Kazakhstan today feel more alienated than ever from their ‘historic homeland’. This book explores the interplay of those memories, social networks and state policies, which play a role in the ‘construction’ of a Kazakhstani German identity.

Full Product Details

Author:   Rita Sanders
Publisher:   Berghahn Books
Imprint:   Berghahn Books
ISBN:  

9781800730045

ISBN 10:   1800730047
Pages:   270
Publication Date:   01 October 2021
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

List of Maps, Figures, Illustrations and Tables Acknowledgements Note on Transliteration Introduction Kazakhstani Germans and the Study of Nationalities in Central Asia Concepts of Ethnicity Based on Cultural Grounds - Ethnicity as a Resource - Categorization and Power - A Product of Individual Life Experience - Ethnic Boundaries as Cultural Schemas Fieldwork in Taldykorgan PART I: MEMORIES, HISTORIES AND LIFE STORIES Chapter 1. Memories and Histories Shifting Memories of the Past The Deportation of 1941 - Discrimination against Germans - Transition and Continuity - The Hard-Working German The Russian Empire: Colonization of the Kazakh Steppe The Russian Empire: the Settlers from the German States The Soviet Union: Concepts of Nation and Nationality The Soviet Union: Its Formation and Nationality Policies National Delineation - Collectivization - Facing the Menace of the German Reich: The Passport System and Deportations - The Kazakh SSR after 1945 Kazakhstan: The Formation of a Nation-State and the Role of Nationality 'Kazakhization' - Language Policies - Kazakhstani Identity - Kazakhstani Germans Chapter 2. The Enmeshment of Identities and Life Stories The Truth of Life Stories Four Life Stories, Four Identity Types Soviet Identity - Kazakhstani Identity - Russian German Identity - Kazakhstani German Identity Summary PART II: NATIONALITY, POWER AND CHANGE Chapter 3. Assessing Nationality Nationality as a Unifier of Territorial Belonging, Language, Religion and 'Mentality' Common Ancestry - Language - Religion - 'Mentality' National Dichotomies Kazakh Primordialism vs. Russian Constructionism Kazakhs' Esteem - Russians' Inclusiveness Normative Entanglements Summary Chapter 4. Everyday Nationality in the Kazakh Nation-State 'The Friendship of Peoples-Is Our Wealth!' Losing Language Hegemony Identification: Strategies and Emotions Kazakhstan as a Homeland Summary PART III: NON-MIGRANTS' SOCIAL TIES Migration and Social Networks Chapter 5. Relations in the Locality: Ethnic Mixing and Missing Kazakhs The Relevance of Nationality in Personal Networks The Relevance of Nationality in Marriages Is there a 'German Community' in Taldykorgan? Summary Chapter 6. Disruption in the Transnational Social Field Relatives and Friends Abroad Exodus to a 'Historic Homeland' Views on Germany Networks and Identity Summary PART IV: THE EFFECT OF TWO STATES' POLICIES OF 'GERMANNESS' ON KAZAKHSTANI GERMANS Chapter 7. Changing Transnational Institutions The 'German House' Support from Germany Socializing with other Germans A Parish in Transition from 'German' to 'Lutheran' The German House in Transition Summary Chapter 8. The Divergent Ethnic Policies of Kazakhstan and Germany The Kazakh State's Official Promotion of Interethnic Harmony The German State's Contradictory Policies Summary Conclusion: Germans at Home in Kazakhstan Identity and Memories Identities and Identifications Friendship of the Peoples? Exclusion through Inclusion: The Role of Personal and Institutional Links to Germany References Appendix

Reviews

The strengths of this book lie in the author's analytical approach, creative methodologies, and the breadth of her empirical work. Sanders offers an important perspective on migration by looking at how it impacts those who do not leave. By triangulating what people say with how they think and behave, she points to the contradictions inherent in everyday understandings of ethnicity and belonging. * Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (JRAI) Sanders' [seminal study] is a significant contribution to the literature on diaspora, migration and minority studies. * Euro-Asia Studies This comprehensive study of the German-Kazakhstanis provides a thoughtful analysis of post-Soviet identity/ethnicity/nationality entanglements. Anyone interested in these issues would benefit by reading this book. * Slavic Review Ethnographically rich, the study is based on a fertile mix of quantitative and qualitative methods such as pile sorting, free listing, network analysis, genealogy, participant observation and interviewing of all sorts. The author convincingly demonstrates that not leaving is nonetheless a dynamic lifestyle which demands efforts of fine-tuning and readjustment to a changing social environment. * Florian Muhlfried, University Jena, Germany

“The strengths of this book lie in the author’s analytical approach, creative methodologies, and the breadth of her empirical work. Sanders offers an important perspective on migration by looking at how it impacts those who do not leave. By triangulating what people say with how they think and behave, she points to the contradictions inherent in everyday understandings of ethnicity and belonging.” • Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (JRAI) “Sanders’ [seminal study] is a significant contribution to the literature on diaspora, migration and minority studies.” • Euro-Asia Studies “This comprehensive study of the German-Kazakhstanis provides a thoughtful analysis of post-Soviet identity/ethnicity/nationality entanglements. Anyone interested in these issues would benefit by reading this book.” • Slavic Review “Ethnographically rich, the study is based on a fertile mix of quantitative and qualitative methods such as pile sorting, free listing, network analysis, genealogy, participant observation and interviewing of all sorts. The author convincingly demonstrates that not leaving is nonetheless a dynamic lifestyle which demands efforts of fine-tuning and readjustment to a changing social environment.” • Florian Mühlfried, University Jena, Germany

Author Information

Rita Sanders is a Research Project Member at the Department of Cultural and Social Anthropology at the University of Cologne. She has worked as a lecturer at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Zurich, Switzerland.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Countries Available

All regions