مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - FROM GASTARBEITER TO PEOPLE WITH MIGRATION BACKGROUND: A CRITICAL OVERVIEW OF GERMAN MIGRATION SOCIOLOGY

Abstract :

Migration as a social fact was neglected by Gennan society and public bodies until the 1990s. Hence as sub-discipline migration sociology was a research area which received little attention. Only when the interest of German society on migration rose, migration sociology in Germany became important. The result was a explosion of academic publications on migrations and the problems of migrants. The aim of this article is to give a concise and critical overview about German migration sociology. It will draw its basic characteristics and the methodological and interpretative problems Migration sociology must deal with. By neglecting the fact that the contend of German migration sociology is shaped by means of public demand and discussion, the researchers with non migration background are faced with a lack of self reflexivity, which biased their results and gives a wrong picture of migration and migrants.