Department seminar: Besim Can Zırh
The Department of Social Anthropology is happy to announce the upcoming seminar with Besim Can Zırh, Assistant Professor at the Middle East Technical University. The title of the lecture is "Building New Neighborhoods among Germany’s Diversifying Population: The Bridal Market in Duisburg-Marxloh".
Main content
Seminar paper
The bridal dress markets in Weseler Straße (Duisburg-Marxloh) is a significant example of neighborhood-based local economic development in the post-industrial Europe. Although, this long street located in ‘immigrant populated’ neighbourhood used to be stigmatized as a ‘no-go area’ in the wake of the deindustrialization, a group of entrepreneurs were able to transform their streets into a trans-local junction where (a) migration-background population from Turkey residing in different countries such as Denmark, France, and the Netherlands and (b) immigrants from different parts of the world such as the Middle East, the Balkans and North Africa come to find the most important items for organizing their weddings: a bridal gown. Moreover, (c) German customers now began to shop mainly for the ball or graduation gowns. As a result, this junction appears as a ground for these people on which they encounter, negotiate, and also influence each other in relation to their taste for celebration fashion; therefore, also as a new neighbourhood for Germany’s diversifying population. In my (ongoing) sabbatical research in Germany, I aim to develop a holistic understanding and transdisciplinary approach of this phenomenon in relation to transnationalism (as it became dominant in migration studies), ethnic entrepreneurship (focussing on the entrepreneur agency), marriage (as a form of life-cycle rituals but also became of interest linking the first two themes in the age of globalization).
About the lecturer
Dr. Besim Can ZIRH is an assistant professor of Social Anthropology at the Middle East Technical University (Ankara), Sociology Department. He received his PhD from UCL Social Anthropology Department in 2012 and previously graduated from Political Sciences (MSc) in 2005 and Sociology (BA) in 2002 – METU. Dr. ZIRH has been working on migration since his graduate years and has participated in various research projects on the issue. His PhD was on transnational social networks established by Alevi immigrants in-between Turkey and Europe (London, Oslo and Berlin). Dr. ZIRH is a founding member of the Association for Migration Research (GAR) established in 2017 in Turkey.