The research was interdisciplinary in nature and it contributes to the field of post-migrant theatre and Turkish-German cultural integration:
• Within the discipline of post-migrant theatre, my study suggests ways in which such theatre practices and principles can be used to hear and challenge migrant narratives through canonical texts.
• My contribution to post-migrant theatre shows how theatre companies can extend this work to schools among young people and involve them in the process of generating authentic and honest migrant narratives.
• My study shows how improvisation can be used in diverse classrooms to elicit debates on cultural identity and experiences of hybridity.
• The study provides fresh insights for debates on Turkish-German cultural integration as well. It shows that taking a straightforward approach to cultural integration can lack reflective dialogues. Student performances showed that the discord between Turkish- German and German communities could be seen as an emotional and psychological difference between two communities. They also reflected on the difficulties which Turkish-German women face in their own communities. These perceptions suggest that migrant experiences are varied and nuanced. The study also shows that an embodied and emotional insight on students’ performances suggests that cultural integration is an ongoing dialogue on such perceived differences and difficulties between two communities.
• Last but not least, my study shows the value of canonical texts, emphasising the ability of such texts to elicit and promote cross-cultural dialogues between long-term Muslims and members of the host societies in Europe.
Conclusion
The world has become more and more divided since 9/11. On one hand, there is an upsurge of right-wing politics world-wide, on the other hand, liberal and left-wing approaches have also succumbed to rigid and unyielding approaches.191 Hence, there is no better time than now to initiate balanced and honest conversations on divisive political issues such as migration. Muslim migration in Germany has been a highly debated issue since the end of the second world war. Turkish guest-workers were invited along with workers from other European countries, but the integration of Turkish-Germans in German society is still under active discussion in German politics and society. A recent example of the #metwo movement in Germany, initiated by social media activist Ali Can, is case in point.192 To eradicate racism and speak out against it is useful and necessary, my study seeks to contribute in this debate from another angle. My project highlights the need for conversations which can provide insights on how individuals experience cultural hybridity and how they perceive cultural difficulties and differences. The main aim was to suggest that these conversations can be healing for Turkish- Germans and Germans. They assume that cultural integration should consist of actively trying to understand the ‘other’ and making sense of oneself in relation to the ‘other’. In this manner, the Turkish and the German aspects of identity are given a voice. In this manner, a new perspective on cross-cultural relations between Germans and Turkish-Germans is opened. Through this perspective, race relations between the two are viewed from the lens of a constant dialogue as opposed to tolerating and accepting the ‘other’.
My study has shown the complexity of the idea of migrant experiences within the context of Turkish-German secondary school students in Berlin. My study’s contribution to the field of post-migrant theatre and Turkish-German integration are manifold. My study has used the term to explore and challenge existing migrant narratives. It was mainly done through the engagement with Goethe’s Faust (Part 1); using the theatrical approach I showed that performance of literary texts can invite students to share insights on themselves and the others in society. An improvisational approach was used to ensure that data was collected to gain more holistic insights into how students perceived cultural identity and integration experiences. The three main characters in the text emerged as the vessels through which students replayed
191 Francis Fukuyama, Identity, the demand for dignity and the politics of resentment, (USA: Profile Books, Main Edition, 2014)
192 Deutsche Welle news piece on #MeTwo movement in Germany, https://www.dw.com/en/metwo-germany-
instances of cultural differences and difficulties while highlighting the lack of compassion within the German society on issues of migration and integration. This approach suggested that students’ performances on integration and experiences of feeling like the ‘other’ were diverse and different. Furthermore, a reflection of German identity and text provided students with a space to debate, deliberate and discuss the very meanings associated with German identity of German-ness, and lastly, a dialogical study allowed students to reflect on their own culture and particularly on the condition of women within Turkish-German society. The study concludes that performance can generate diverse, nuanced and uncommon experiences of cultural integration.
Although classical drama tends to be reserved for fancy stage plays or philosophical work in universities, my study shows that techniques used in rehearsal improvisation can be used to explore canonical texts in diverse class-rooms in Germany. My study shows that the themes within Faust can assist self-understanding and engage students in a reflective cross- cultural dialogue. The findings of my research provide useful material for improving theatrical techniques used in improvisational theatre to narrate migrant identity or experiences of cultural hybridity. These narratives can be enriched through their engagement with canonical texts to discuss dominant culture. Instead of using conventional means of data collection, such as interviews and surveys, my study employs an uncommon way of knowing the students, the body and movement becomes a site of knowledge production and reflection. Last but not least, my study concludes that the narratives and cultural experiences of Turkish-Germans are varied and lack homogeneity. My research provides a useful counter-argument to prominent research on Turkish-German experience in Germany which lacks diverse integration narratives. In short, the research presents a snapshot of cultural experiences of young adults from Turkish-German backgrounds in Berlin.
Further studies on topics of Turkish-German migration and post-migrant theatre can benefit from the findings and methods employed in my research. The literary techniques used for interpreting and improvising the text for theatre-based work is transferable and useful for cross-cultural school work across Europe. It examines how to use classical texts for young adults in creating dialogues on cross-cultural or even inter-faith issues. Research and applied work which seeks to create authentic and honest conversations between long-term Muslims in European societies can benefit from such exchanges. Last, but not least, my work inspires research on Faust or the Goethezeit. It revisits Goethe’s work for the purposes of initiating cross-cultural dialogue: something which Goethe himself would surely wish to be a part of his legacy.
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APPENDIX
I. Materials from Berlin Rehearsal Sessions