In the Company of Plants: Multispecies care and migrant home-making in Germany

• Applicant: Dr. Hilal Alkan, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Social and Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 458661090

This project aims to look into the relationships different waves and generations of Turkish and Syrian migrants develop with the plants they grow and care for in Germany, in order to shed light onto the significance of multispecies networks in the processes of home-making and integration. It starts with the understanding that social processes always necessitate the collaboration of nonhuman actors. Plants accompany people in their struggles of home-making in new environments and they share their challenges of acclimatization and adaptation. They are also carriers of meanings and memories related to belonging. While caring for their plants, migrants invest in rooting and turning a foreign place into home. Understanding how this happens requires being attentive to the intimate relationship between the migrants and their plants, as well to the ethics of care that shapes these relationships. The project is built on innovative research methods and aims to present the research outcomes with an exhibition for the general public, alongside scholarly publications.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants