Serhat Karakayali is head of the department for Migration Research at DeZIM-Institute (Berlin, Germany). He is also a member of the Berlin Institute for Empirical Research on Integration and Migration (BIM), Humboldt University. His research interests range from the study of volunteers and refugee support groups in Germany and Europe to the role of migrant activism in the context of German trade unions and on political attitudes of migrants in transnational spaces. Recent publications: „Helfen, Begründen, Empfinden. Zur emotionstheoretischen Dimension von Solidarität“ in: Helfen zwischen Solidarität und Wohltätigkeit. Schwerpunktausgabe von WestEnd. Neue Zeitschrift für Sozialforschung, 1.2019; „The social space of Autonomy. Constructing Scopes of Solidarity“, Special Issue South Atlantic Quarterly, 2017. 

Panel "Affect Works": Institutional dynamics of affecting and being affected: The emotionalization of injustice and the threat of withdrawing the organizational identification

28th May 11.30 – 01.00 pm | Yvonne Albrecht, Serhat Karakayali, Annemarie Kern (Berlin)

Organizations attempting to increase and institutionalize diversity in their structures are often facing internal resistance. Whether such resistance is expressed in open debates, or in “silent” obviation partly depends on existing structures, and the organizational culture. According to Alexander (2017) actors need to emotionally dramatize injustices for successfully making their demands. Aesthetic “tools” of framing experiences must be employed for creating critical moments. For investigating aspects of dramatization in organizations, we adapt Alexander’s insights and present empirical data from our current research project about civil society organizations. We investigate how the trade union “ver.di” is dealing with migration and diversity.