Non-Belonging

In May 2026, the legacy session "Non-Belonging: Perspectives from the Anthropology of Emotion", held at Freie Universität Berlin and moderated by Anita von Poser, synthesized key insights from our long-term research within the CRC 1171 Affective Societies. The session examined the interplay of migration, emotion, transnational family life, and post-migrant identities, using the example of Vietnamese migrations to Germany. It focused not only on multiple belonging as a perceived asset but also on its painful flip side: experiences of non-belonging, alienation, and intergenerational silence.

Who belongs and who does not? Who prevents belonging, and for what reasons? And who mobilizes what kind of efforts to shape our coexistence in a world in flux—fostering togetherness rather than division? These and other questions were discussed collectively.

An introductory talk by our colleague Birgitt Röttger-Rössler, followed by brief presentations from Edda Willamowski, Dạ My Ðào, Max Müller, and another colleague, Giang Thierbach, opened up numerous complementary perspectives on intergenerational silence, embodied memories, and linguistic barriers to recognition within German-Vietnamese families, as well as post-migrant spaces of listening and self-organization.

It became clear that non-belonging is not a private, marginal matter, but a socially produced experience that affects family relationships, mental well-being, and public debates on migration. In this sense, the session also served as a public anthropology intervention with public health relevance. It brought together ethnographic knowledge regarding migration, aging, mental health, and care within a shared public space for dialogue, a space where we, as researchers, met with academic colleagues as well as many acquaintances and experts from our research communities.