The Europeanisation of German ethnic identities: the case of German and Turkish students in two Stuttgart secondary schools

Abstract

Germany’s national (or ethnic) identity has become thoroughly European and there are even signs of Eurocentrism. This is particularly problematic for the Turkish Muslims who, arguably, are not European. This article explores how fifteen‐year‐old German and Turkish youth in two Stuttgart secondary schools, one in a predominantly working‐class area (Tannberg Hauptschule) and the other in a more middle‐class environment (Goethe Gymnasium), negotiate their identities. Drawing on documentary sources, focus groups and semi‐structured interviews, the research found that at Tannberg, which at times adopted a Eurocentric approach and where some teachers were getting close to being Islamophobic, young people developed ethno‐national identities. In contrast, at Goethe, which promoted European values alongside rather than instead of multicultural values, young people employed national‐European hybrid identities. This article raises important questions about the role of education in the development of identities, and how to address notions of cultural insensitivity and inequality.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Madeleine Arnot for the stimulating discussions and comments which helped inform this article. I also thank Lynne Chisholm for her advice during data analysis and interpretation; and the British Economic and Social Research Council (Award no. PTA‐030‐2002‐00853), the Cambridge European Trust and Clare Hall College Cambridge for their financial contributions.

Notes

1. In 1978, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education (Kultusministerkonferenz, KMK) published the document ‘Europe in the Classroom’, which was the first attempt to determine how notions of Europe should be tackled in German schools. In 1990, the KMK published a revised version stating that the goal of education must be ‘to awaken in young people the consciousness of a European identity’ (KMK, 1990, emphasis added).

2. Ius sanguinis (citizenship by birth) was complemented by a conditioned ius solis (citizenship by territoriality). This legislation gave citizenship rights to children of foreigners born in Germany of parents where one parent has been resident in Germany for a minimum of eight years with an unlimited residence permit.

3. In 2001, for instance, senior members of the conservative Christian Democratic Union demanded that every public person in Germany must confess to be proud of Germany. Arguably, these debates around notions of national pride (Nationalstolz) symbolise Germany’s ongoing struggle with its past and national identity.

4. The term ‘German’ is used here to refer to the native youth. In Germany, nationality plays a much greater role with regard to group identification compared with other European countries, where collective identities range from policy‐status identities (e.g. immigrés in France) to racial classifications (e.g. ‘white’ or ‘black’ in England).