Free Telling in the Total Space?—On the Procedures of Power in the Asylum Procedure and Their Relevance for Biographical Interviews of Refugees

Authors

  • Marc Thielen Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-10.1.1223

Keywords:

migration, asylum, narrative interview, biographical research

Abstract

Based on a research project with migrants from Iran this paper focuses on the influence of a strictly regulated German asylum life situation on autobiographical telling in research contexts. Regardless of the specific research topic the interview situation and the relationship between interviewer and interviewee always influence shape, form and fashion of the biographical narration. As a result of the strict regimentation of the asylum procedures and their far-reaching impact on biographies in the "total refugee space," an intensification of the hierarchical structure in the interview situation can be observed. Considering the empirical results this paper calls for a reflexive biographical research. This approach has to analyze the power relations in the transnational space and their consequences on the research process. It also has to recognize that researchers and interviewees are not only confined to their culture differences, but that the setting comprises all intersectional localizations, which are defined by social and economic status, nationality, gender, sexuality etc. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0901393

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Author Biography

Marc Thielen, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main

Marc THIELEN ist als promovierter Erziehungswissenschaftler am Institut für Sonderpädagogik der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main tätig. Seine Arbeitsschwerpunkte sind Migrations- und Geschlechterforschung sowie die berufliche Integration benachteiligter Jugendlicher und Erwachsener.

Published

2009-01-28

How to Cite

Thielen, M. (2009). Free Telling in the Total Space?—On the Procedures of Power in the Asylum Procedure and Their Relevance for Biographical Interviews of Refugees. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-10.1.1223

Issue

Section

Researching Special Themes, Phenomena, and Contexts with Qualitative Approaches