The Meaning of Home and Practices of Home-Making: An Example of Turkish Migrants Living in Germany

Drawing on twenty qualitative interviews and five participant observations at home settings with migrants from Turkey in Germany, this paper will illustrate the meanings attributed to the idea of home. For most individuals the idea of home ‘often remains as the uninterrogated anchor’ (Morley, 2000:2) and indicates stability and is attached in location, whereas mobility challenges all these ideas about home. If home is conceptualized as both a physical space as well as a symbolic perception of belonging, it is obvious that international migration experience alters individuals’ ideas of home which this paper discusses. 

The preliminary results suggest that respondents perceive home as a ‘shelter’, ‘a place where they can be themselves’. In addition, how they decorate the home space will be elaborated. For instance, the living room is considered to be ‘the most important room’ because although it is a private space, it is the ‘public’ space of the home.