Preliminary Programme

Who am I? Where do I belong? Where is home? And where is homeland? These are central questions to most migrants but this paper will focus on female Polish migrants of the first and second generation, living in Vienna. Besides the results of a quantitative survey I carried out, I will particularly consult Oral History-Interviews with women of Polish background. While the quantitative results give the impression, that the interviewees might be clear on their identities, this impression is quickly revised when it comes to the qualitative statements of those questioned.
Even for the first generation whose answers are initially quite definite, it becomes a more complexe question to them once they start reflecting on their individual situation and different external influences on their identity – such as citizenship, the family situation or the perception by others opposing ones introspection.
Still the question of identity is definitely more difficult for the second generation to answer. For decades the researchers/scientists defined the second generation as a problematic one, finding itself in a dilemma between two cultures or societies. This pessimistic view multiplied through the public discourse and is therefore also responsible for the reputation of the 2nd generation as problem children. The root lied and lies in the assumption, that only a clear identification with one or another culture, country or society can lead to a healthy identity.
This paper will on the one hand show the diversity of migrant identities and will on the other hand investigate how and if they fit into common concepts of identity.
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Migration movements always affect transit spaces – such as roads, ports, train stations or detention centers. Migration routes are therefore intermediary spaces, where global phenomena like international migrations become locally evident. In this regard the example of the so called Guest Workers’ Route illustrates the mobility of the labour migrants who travelled from Southeast Europe to Northwestern Europe and poses the question of the consequences this mobility had for the transit area. The mobility of labour migrants, which was a result of the recruitment policy all over Europe, became locally evident on this road through Austria.
In the present context, migration is essentially considered as a process, which occurs at the crossroads between mobility and immobility. Migration is therefore a multi-perspectival phenomenon, since it incorporates at least two perspectives – the perspective of those who move and the perspective of those who do not. Where these perspectives coincide, an intermediary space can be discerned that allows to observe migration phenomena in a new light.
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The presentation will focus on Albanian migrants from a Macedonian village and their ambivalent stance towards return. This ambivalence is marked on the one hand by a widespread desire to return, on the other hand, the dire economic situation in the village and the social dynamic of on-going emigration restrict the return-opportunities considerably. This leads to the development of double strategies that are to focus on a future life abroad but to keep one foot in the village as well.

The juxtaposition of return imaginations with the concrete experiences of returnees, offers some interesting insight into the mind-set of migrants. It becomes obvious to which extent migration to the West influences the thoughts and actions of people at both sides of the translocal network. Whereas the imagination to leave the village is nurtured by the bleak expectations for a better life in Macedonia, migrants who left the country still preserve at least the final return option. In doing so they can easier handle the various difficulties they face at their places of destination which are often related to economic and social marginalisation and cultural alienation. In leaving the door open for a return to the village they simultaneously invest enormous resources in the village. The building boom and the architecture are cases in point.

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„Talking about migration“ is dominated by a row of bi-polarities: „we and the others“, „invited and illegal”, - which directly leads to – „good and bad“ are put into opposition. Discussions on “strangers” in Austria, their right to stay – or need to leave- are dominating public perception of “migration” for years. Every kind of movement gets interpreted as problematic behavior, and – of course – it is always “the others” who are migrating.
Critical research is aware of this tendency and trying to work against it. Nevertheless during the research-process very often negative assumptions are reproduced: by isolating and analyseing special groups of migrants, stereotypes get repeated constantly.
Trying to overcome this circle the paper will discuss movements of a group which hasn’t been in focus of migration-studies yet, which’s members commonly are not understood as migrants at all: Artists of performing arts, opera singers, actors and actresses. Their position in society was ambivalent, even the admired gods and godesses of stage remained „outsiders“ – which for sure may get traced to the fact of their often practiced “traveler lifestyle”. Subtle attributions manifest. From the public’s point of view stands and guest appearances of stars were of relevance; artists themselves often defined their movements as „years of wandering and learning“ and connected them to the early periods of a career. „Journeyman actors“ were connected to failure, the word became a synonym for actors „of average talent“.
The network of „german“ stages all around the world forms the room of analysis. The artists movements on these pathways (including those „coming in“ and „going out“) shall get reflected for a period of about 100 years (1850 to 1950), that showed the coexistence of travelling and fixed theatres. The „moving artists“ are viewed from diverse perspectives: they themselves (personal testimonials), as well as “public” (reviews; articles; novels) and authorities (law and its violation) will be asked as to broaden and diversify the “talk on migration”.
The presentation discusses benefits and difficulties of the approach, gender-relations are of special interest.
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