Turkish Immigration, Art and Narratives of Home in France

Turkish immigration, art and narratives of home in France makes the case for a cultural - rather than sociological or economic - approach to understanding how immigrants become part of their new country. Arguing that the language used to talk about immigration determines the kinds of things that can be said about it, the book rejects ''integration'' and ''assimilation'' in favour of ''settling'', an open-ended concept that makes it possible to see how immigrants and their descendants engage in the on-going process of adaptation. In order to understand settling, it is important to pay particular attention to immigrants not only as consumers but also as producers of culture. Artistic production provides a unique perspective on immigrants'' sense of home and belonging, especially within the multi-generational process of settling. Anchoring theoretical questions in actual experience, the book combines artist interviews and textual analysis of lyrics, scripts and novels with the sociological and historical context of migration in France and Turkey in order to provide a more nuanced picture of what it means to be part of both the culture of one''s immigrant parents and the culture in which one grew up. Turkish immigration, art and narratives of home in France will be of interest to advanced undergraduates and graduate students in French Studies, as well as providing a new approach to migration for students of migration studies, public policy and sociology.