300096 Price of Belonging (S) (SoSe 2019)

During the last two decades, the concept of belonging rapidly caught attention among social scientists. Belonging, in its general sense, evokes mostly positive associations in that it expresses a basic human desire for interpersonal connections and maintenance of social and material attachments (Anthias 2002; Bauman 1995; Feld and Basso 1996; Weil 1952). Yet, belonging cannot be viewed in exclusively positive terms (Das 1995; Geschiere 2009; 2013; Pfaff-Czarnecka 2012; 2013). Those included - within the boundaries of a nation, an ethnic group, or a family - must balance their quest to enjoy safety offered within the given constellations of belonging against individual preferences. Accordingly, collective belonging, be it on biological, ethnic, economic or political grounds, comes with a "price.” Social contracts rewarding a person with entitlements and safety simultaneously confront her with claims of loyalty, lifelong commitments, and limitations on personal freedoms. Social incorporation may therefore lead to collisions of social expectations, conflicts between individual will and "collective good,” and tensions between personal autonomy and social bonding. Given the "symbolic power" (Bourdieu, 1992) of belonging, such tensions frequently remain concealed, and personal obligations are rarely acknowledged as sacrifices or submissive. Consequently, the notion of the "price of belonging” refers metaphorically to sites of the social life that are shadowed and charged with tensions.
By focusing upon specific case studies across the globe, our aim in this seminar is to investigate when and how belonging comes at a "price”. We will concentrate on the interior of human ties and its hidden, restrictive, and at times, even violent effects.