Susan Beth Rottmann - In Pursuit of Belonging: Forging an Ethical Life in European-Turkish Spaces

General Editors:

Monica Heintz, University of Paris Ouest Nanterre La Dfense

Patrick Heady, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology

Europe, a region characterized by its diversity and speed of change, is the latest area to attract current anthropological research and scholarship that challenges the prevailing views of classical anthropology. Situated at the frontier of the social sciences and humanities, the anthropology of Europe is born out of traditional ethnology, anthropology, folklore, and cultural studies, but engages in innovative interdisciplinary approaches.

Anthropology of Europe publishes fieldwork monographs by young and established scholars, as well as edited volumes on particular regions or aspects of European society. The series pays special attention to studies with a strong comparative component, addressing theoretical questions of interest to both anthropologists and other scholars working in related fields.

Susan Beth Rottmann

Alison Snchez Hall

Edited by Andrs Barrera-Gonzlez, Monica Heintz, and Anna Horolets

Marie Cartier, Isabelle Coutant, Olivier Masclet, and Yasmine Siblot

Susan Beth Rottmann

First published in 2019 by

Berghahn Books

www.berghahnbooks.com

2019 Susan Beth Rottmann

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages
for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this book
may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information
storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented,
without written permission of the publisher.

A C.I.P. cataloging record is available from the Library of Congress

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-1-78920-269-4 hardback

ISBN 978-1-78920-270-0 ebook

This book is dedicated to Linda and Peter Rottmann, who inspire me to live an ethical life. Their love has been the essential element that enables me to be my best self, to achieve my goals, and to find belonging in this world.

It is also dedicated to Ergun, who nourishes my creativity and helps me to find meaning in my work and life. When I write my memoir, he will play the biggest part in my story. I am very lucky to have you, my most valuable friend, my love, hayatm.

I must start by acknowledging the most essential person: this book exists because of the total support of its main subject to whom I am eternally grateful. There are some friendships that transcend differences of national identity, education, language, age, and more. This book is the result of one such friendship. There are some friends with whom you can laugh, cry, and grow, and maintain a connection through it all. Leyla is one of those friends. Thank you manevi kardeim, spiritual sister. Over the years, you generously shared so much with me. I am honored to be able to share some pieces of your wisdom and kindness with the world in this book. I would also like to thank all of the other German-Turkish return migrants who shared their stories with me through the years.

Many colleagues supported my work on this book. I am extremely grateful to Kenneth M. George and Kirin Narayan for their mentorship during and beyond my graduate studies, for encouraging me to write life stories, and for their true friendship. Myra Marx Ferree and Katherine Pratt Ewings work on gender and Germany has been inspirational and every piece of advice they have given me has proven invaluable. I am especially thankful to Myra for a writing group she facilitated during graduate studies and her ongoing mentorship. Aye Parla and Eva-Marie Dubuisson provided feedback on drafts of chapters as part of an Istanbul writing group, and together we organized an ethnographic writing workshop that brought immense insights to this work. Their assistance on this and other projects has been priceless. It is wonderful to see that we have all published books as a result of our mutual support. Suzanne Carslon provided excellent editing assistance with early chapter drafts. Kimberly Hart provided very useful feedback on a draft that led to substantial improvements. For nourishing my intellectual curiosity throughout the years, I thank B. Venkat Mani, Claire Wendland, Leila Harris, Natalie Porter, Jeremy Walton, Ayhan Kaya, nver Cetrez, Soner nder, Maissam Nimer, Ayfer Bartu Candan, Bulent Kk, Daniella Kuzmanovic, Hae Yeon Choo, Ayeshah Kurshid, Erika Robb, Alison Carter, Krista Coulson, Mustafa zkaynak, Chris Butler, Aida Ibricevic, ule Hussein, and Didem and Zeynep Ikizoglu. Finally, I thank my colleagues and friends at zyein University for their support of my research and writing, in particular, F. Esra Gentrk, Sevgi sta, Nuray Akyz, Gray Erkol, Cimen Gnay Erkol, Berna Zengin Arslan, Asl Eren Kapakl, Michelle Martinez, and Ceren Mert.

Several institutions provided the funding necessary to complete parts of this project. I first met Leyla during dissertation fieldwork supported by a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) Grant (20082009), a Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Dissertation Fieldwork Grant (20082009), and an American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT) Dissertation Fieldwork Grant (20082009). The Institute of Turkish Studies (ITS) provided a Summer Research Grant (2007) for preliminary research, two Graduate Summer Language Study Grants (2005; 2006) and a Dissertation Writing Grant (20112012). The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) supported my work with a Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship (2007) and The Scott Kloeck-Jenson International Pre-Dissertation Travel Grant (2005) facilitated preliminary research. At the University of Wisconsin, the Center for German and European Studies (CGES) awarded me three graduate research fellowships (2005; 2007; 2010), which assisted me in developing my research plans.