300064 The Price of Belonging (S) (WiSe 2015/2016)

Belonging as an everyday experience of being in the world commonly evokes positive associations. In contrast, concepts such as ‘perils of belonging’ (Geschiere 2009) and ‘regimes of belonging’ (Pfaff-Czarnecka 2011) reveal the ambiguous character of this practice and emphasize its darker side by illuminating the violent politics of exclusion and inclusion. While these concepts are helpful for an understanding of how social boundaries are delineated and safeguarded, the question what happens after an individual or a collective ‘achieved’ inclusion is still not sufficiently investigated. Thus belonging to a group, be that a biologically, ethnically, economically or politically defined formation, has its price and payment might be expected through a lifelong commitment. The grant of the inclusion therefore represents the beginning of a ‘social contract’, which rewards a person with entitlements and safety, but confronts her also with claims such as the continuous demonstration of loyalty, the fulfillment of specific obligations and the limitation of personal freedom. Tensions in the process of social incorporation might arise therefore not only from the collision of social expectations and individual will, but also within the individual himself striving simultaneously personal autonomy and social bond. Due to the symbolic power (Bourdieu) of belonging, such tensions frequently remain concealed while personal obligations are rarely acknowledged as ‘sacrifices’ or submissive. Our concern in this seminar will be to explore the ‘price of belonging’ that individuals and collectives are willing or have to pay for belonging together.