Biography:

I am a first-year PhD student in the Department of Comparative Human Development. I hold a B.A. in Anthropology and German Studies from Williams College and an M.A. in German and European Studies from the Georgetown Walsh School of Foreign Service. My research interests include the representation, participation, and exclusion of asylum seekers and refugees in social and political contexts, which I have examined through projects on art workshops for refugees, housing for asylum seekers, and the political participation of noncitizens in Germany.  

Project Title: Welcome Home? Race, Representation, and Migrant Housing in Berlin

Abstract:

This research project aims to compare the ways that asylum seekers and refugees from Ukraine, Syria, and Afghanistan are differently “welcomed” in Germany, paying attention to racial, religious, and geopolitical distinctions that shape and are shaped by law and policy. It will examine differences in representations and attitudes toward asylum seekers and refugees facing forced displacement to Germany in the contexts of housing assignment and opportunities for non-formal political participation via migrant advisory councils.  

Through qualitative research, including observations at housing sites and district-level migrant advisory councils, as well as semi-structured interviews, the project aims to understand the roles, expectations, and values of various stakeholders, including city officials, council members, community members, and residents. It will identify gaps in understanding and communication about migration and housing policies between policymakers and those whose experiences they impact. This preliminary research will lay the groundwork for a dissertation project on the racial and ethnic disparities in the social and political representation and participation of asylum seekers and refugees in Germany, as embedded both in formalized integration and housing policies and local level interactions.