Policy & Practice

December 4, 2016 0

Why Feminism and Hijab Go Together

As Muslim refugees who choose to wear hijab become a lasting part of the societies of those European states that have taken them in, their right to be different must be defended. Most importantly, we must defend the right of women to choose. It is this choice that makes women free. This is why feminism and hijab go together. [Read More!]
women refugees Germany Cologne
February 8, 2016 0

“Not our Women” after Cologne

Sounding like the crescendo long-awaited by right-wing populists, the attacks on New Year's Eve in Cologne occurred. "Will they treat our women well? Will they know how to speak to and appreciate our women?" a Cologne politician asked on national German public radio in the days following the attacks. It is no slip of the tongue that a possessive article precedes "women". Belonging to a place can quickly devolve into sentiments of ownership, as well as xenophobia. [Read More!]
December 18, 2015 1

Lens: Four Hours at Lageso

This is Lageso (Das Landesamt für Gesundheit und Soziales), the State Office for Health and Social Affairs. This is Berlin's primary registration center for the initial reception of asylum seekers. This is Germany's most infamous symbol of the refugee crisis. Two days prior I had signed up to volunteer on a website called Volunteer Planner. After a cursory registration process, a click of a button was all it took to commit to a shift at a registration center, refugee home, or other institution in the city where help is needed (read: basically everywhere). [Read More!]
Donald Trump immigration
September 28, 2015 1

Moralpolitik and the Ressentiments of Change

According to headlines, the German government has pledged haven – albeit temporary in many cases – to up to 800,000 refugees or migrants applying for asylum in the country. The U.S., despite initial wavering, has signaled that it will work to raise its refugee quota yearly, with the goal of a 100,000 cap by 2017. Yet within and around this historical moment of humanitarian crisis and measured political response are the inflammatory words of Donald Trump. He recently roared to a crowd in Iowa that, if elected, he “will deport all of the 11 million illegal migrants in this country.” [Read More!]
December 5, 2014 0

Review: Circumcision at the Jewish Museum Berlin

Circumcision has a history of being used to make distinctions between 'us' and 'them', particularly in Germany. In the United States the debate on foreskin or no-foreskin looks much different, citing hygiene rather than religious freedom. This begs the question if arguments against a religious practice, such as the one raised in the German context, can ever be purely about legal arguments - for the rights of children, as German courts have decreed - when strong divisions between those of Christian heritage and those of Muslim and/or Jewish heritage remain. This question was the inspiration for the newest exhibition at the Jewish Museum Berlin, a timely one, at that... [Read More!]
July 28, 2014 0

World Cup Fever: How malleable is German identity?

Germany's World Cup victory has unleashed a new wave of patriotism, as well as a new identity crisis. This patriotism might only be as good as the boundaries it is ready and able to redefine. An act of flowing colors and neighbor-to-neighbor high-fives may have started a new understanding of who is allowed into the club, but policies and institutions need to take it one step further. Otherwise, patriotism is just as good as nationalism, which rules by way of exceptionalism. In the type of inclusive global society many of us would love to build, there is no room for exceptionalism... [Read More!]
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