Audio-Visual Migration Correspondence in Archives of Migration: Connecting Personal Narratives to Collective Histories

Drawing on critical perspectives of archival practices addressed by scholars such as Jacques Derrida and Achille Mbembe, Dr. Faime Alpagu discusses archival practices of migration in the German-speaking world. She focuses on a case study of a family that migrated from Turkey to Germany as “guest workers” in the 1970s, with their materials being archived at DOMiD - Documentation Center and Museum of Migration in Germany. Alpagu explores how personal, familial, and social class backgrounds influence the production, archiving, and accessibility of communication materials. By juxtaposing various data materials, such as audio recordings, written correspondence, and a biographical-narrative interview with the donor of materials, this talk aims to reveal the richness and complexities of migration through a critical archival perspective. This allows also to discuss the question of representation from the angle of collecting and archiving.

Dr. Faime Alpagu is a postdoctoral researcher funded by the MAX KADE Foundation in New York City. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Vienna. Her dissertation project entitled "Migration Narratives Juxtaposed: A Sociological Analysis of Biographies, Photos and (Audio) Letters of 'Guest Workers' from Turkey living in Austria" was funded by a doctoral scholarship from the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Her current research focuses on the intersections between migration/refugee studies, audio-visual studies, archive studies, biographical research, and memory, applying an interpretative social research approach. She is currently working on a comparative study entitled Photographs, Biographies, and (Audio) Letters across Borders: A Comparative Study of Migration from Turkey to Austria and the United States.