Annual Report 2021

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Confronting Hostile Terrains

INTERCULTURAL KNOWLEDGE

A well-founded anthropological exhibition

This exhibition used powerful images and memorable art installations to draw attention to the consequences of contemporary global border and migration policies. It was organized by researchers from the Institute of Social Anthropology to promote dialog between academia and society.

 

The interactive exhibit entitled “Confronting Hostile Terrains” offered well-founded anthropological insights into contemporary border policies. It examined the complexity of global border policies and what consequences they have for people and was geared toward a broad audience of people interested in learning more about the humanitarian crisis on international borders.

The exhibit at Kornhausforum Bern embraced a differentiated look at the situation. Drawing on the many years of research conducted by all participants, it provided an in-depth look at the complex lives of those people affected most by contemporary border and migration policies.

Das Mittelmeer als «feindliches Terrain». Bild der Künstlerin Sarah Hildebrand, «Strasse von Gibraltar».
The Mediterranean as “enemy territory”. Image by artist Sarah Hildebrand, “Strait of Gibraltar”. (© Sarah Hildebrand)

Tribute to the people

“Our exhibition is a tribute to the people who have who have lost their lives attempting to cross international frontiers as well as to those who are being detained in asylum and deportation centers where they face an uncertain future,” said the exhibition’s co-organizer Darcy Alexandra from the University of Bern when talking about the project.

Zeichnung von Marie-Claire, einem neunjährigen Kind, das mit seinen Eltern nach Irland geflüchtet ist. Das Bild entstand im Rahmen eines Workshops, den Darcy Alexandra für die Installation «Living in Direct Provision» geleitet hat - einer Serie von Fotofilmen basierend auf der Zusammenarbeit mit asylsuchenden und geflüchteten Menschen, die im irischen Asylsystem leben.
Drawing by Marie-Claire, a 9-year-old child who fled to Ireland with her parents. The picture was created during a workshop conducted by Darcy Alexandra for the installation “Living in Direct Provision” – a series of photo films based on a collaboration with asylum seekers and refugees living in the Irish asylum system. (© Darcy Alexandra)

What kind of collective responsibility does each and every individual bear?

Gerhild Perl, another social anthropologist at the University of Bern and co-organizer, added: “The exhibition is simultaneously a critique of contemporary migration and border policies that systematically exclude people from political, socio-cultural and economic participation. Last but not least, it asks how we can keep memories alive and what kind of collective responsibility each and every individual bears.”

Dr. Gerhild Perl (links) und Dr. Darcy Alexandra vom Institut für Sozialanthropologie haben die Ausstellung «Confronting Hostile Terrains» organisiert.
Dr. Gerhild Perl (on the left) and Dr. Darcy Alexandra from the Institute of Social Anthropology organized the “Confronting Hostile Terrains” exhibition. (© University of Bern / Image: Vera Knöpfel)

“Hostile Terrains 94”

This exhibition addressed the topic of migration and border policies in four different projects. One of them was the “Hostile Terrains 94” installation, a participatory traveling exhibition that the two co-organizers brought to Bern. It is dedicated to those people who have lost their lives in their attempt to cross the desert between Mexico and the US. The exhibition was developed by the “Undocumented Migration Project” at the University of California, Los Angeles, under the leadership of anthropologist and MacArthur Fellow Jason De León. Jason De León attended the closing event to talk about his project and discuss the issues.

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The participatory traveling exhibition “Hostile Terrains 94” forms part of the “Undocumented Migration Project” by Jason De León (USA). It was also on display at the “Confronting Hostile Terrains” exhibition at Kornhausforum Bern.

Long moments of silence and contemplation

The participatory element took place while the exhibition was being prepared. People were invited to fill out toe tags – small ID tags usually hung on the toes of human remains found in North America’s Sonora Desert to document the people who lost their lives while fleeing.

Gerhild Perl and Darcy Alexander held preparatory events all around Switzerland. In an interview with “uniaktuell”, Darcy Alexander said that listening to the conversations this triggered had been fascinating:

“There were long moments of silence and contemplation. Small talk while participants were getting to know each other was accompanied by anger about the violence inherent in the policy, sadness at the injustice of the lives lost, and many questions about how this policy can be changed. All in all, we filled out more than 3,300 toe tags.”

Visitors to the Kornhausforum were invited to fill out other toe tags and hang them on the map of the border region.

The University’s Institute of Social Anthropology

Teaching at the Institute of Social Anthropology of the University of Bern covers the broad subject of social anthropology and the Institutes’s research focuses on activities on the areas of migration, anthropology of the state, economic and ecological anthropology, as well as media anthropology. One bachelor degree course and three master degree courses – including the specialized ATS program (“Anthropology of Transnationalism and the State”) and the CREOLE international master degree course – provide students with a solid foundation in the field and opportunities for specialization. The Institute also participates in several postgraduate programs for doctoral and post-doctoral researchers. The department performs anthropological and paleopathological analyses and samples remains to perform radiocarbon dating, stable isotope and paleogenetic analyses in the laboratory. The resulting data is the basis for interdisciplinary studies of nutrition, mobility, disease burden, population genetics, and relationships of past populations.

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