CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2023
| Author | Panossian, Vicky |
|---|---|
| Title | Contextualizing the Bros: Kinship Terminology as a Tool to Structure Social Relations among Arabic Speakers in Berlin |
| Summary | This thesis is an exploration of the use of traditional kinship terminology to structure social relations among the Arabic-speaking community in Berlin. Based on the data collected from my ethnographic fieldwork, I use participant observation and interviews to understand the role of Arabic kinship terminology in different social settings. In my literature review, I justify the use of kinship anthropology as an approach, while also explaining my choice of Berlin rather than any other city in Europe. This thesis begins with an archival overview of the history of migration to Berlin and the arrival of initial Arabic-speaking community members since the early 1900s. I then look into the advancements of the Arabic-speaking community while thematically tracing the journeys of different sets of Arabic-speaking migrants. I then move on to describe the contemporary setting of Berlin and the different factions of Arabic speakers. I structure the analytical chapters of this thesis as a journey through the use of kinship terminologies, from strangers to close friends. I begin by offering a sociolinguistic overview of the use of fictive kinship in contemporary Berlin, focusing on some of the most predominantly used terms and their definitions and implications. In the second analytical chapter, I look into the use of kinship terminology to mark parameters of safe spaces for sub-community formation. Since kinship terminology is used in a non-traditional and non-familial sense, I argue that, when used through humour, it functions as a means of inclusion and exclusion in certain social circles. In the last analytical chapter, I observe the way kinship terminology becomes solidified through the cultural practice of honorary titles that replace people’s names; I end my analysis with the example of graveyards across Berlin with tombstones of Arabic speakers with kinship terminology engraved upon them, marking the importance of the use of kinship terminology for community and identity formation. |
| Supervisor | Dafinger, Andreas ; Zinnenburg Carroll, Khadija |
| Department | Sociology MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2023/panossian_vicky.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University