Disengaging culturalism: Artistic strategies of young Muslims in the Netherlands Termeer, B.M.H.

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1 UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Disengaging culturalism: Artistic strategies of young Muslims in the Netherlands Termeer, B.M.H. Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Termeer, B. M. H. (2016). Disengaging culturalism: Artistic strategies of young Muslims in the Netherlands General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam ( Download date: 13 May 2018

2 Disengaging Culturalism ARTISTIC STRATEGIES OF YOUNG MUSLIMS IN THE NETHERLANDS BREGJE TERMEER

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4 Disengaging Culturalism: Artistic Strategies of Young Muslims in the Netherlands Bregje Termeer

5 ISBN: Cover design: Bregje Termeer Cover photo: Omar Layout: Nikki Vermeulen - Ridderprint BV Printing: - Copyright 2016, Bregje Termeer

6 Disengaging Culturalism: Artistic Strategies of Young Muslims in the Netherlands ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam op gezag van de Rector Magnificus prof. dr. ir. K.I.J. Maex ten overstaan van een door het College voor Promoties ingestelde commissie, in het openbaar te verdedigen in de Agnietenkapel op dinsdag 18 oktober 2016, te uur door Bregje Marie Hélène Termeer geboren te Tilburg

7 Promotiecommissie Promotores: Copromotor: Overige leden: Prof. dr. W.G.J. Duyvendak, Universiteit van Amsterdam Prof. dr. E.H. Tonkens, Universiteit voor Humanistiek Dr. O.G.A. Verkaaik, Universiteit van Amsterdam Prof. dr. D. Dalakoglou, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Prof. dr. P.L. Geschiere, Universiteit van Amsterdam Prof. dr. A.C.A.E. Moors, Universiteit van Amsterdam Prof. dr. M.P.J. van de Port, Universiteit van Amsterdam Dr. L.R. Wainwright, The Open University Faculteit der Maatschappij- en Gedragswetenschappen

8 Voor Aya en Meysam

9 This project was part of the larger research project on Citizenship, National Canons and the Issue of Cultural Diversity (NWO project number ) headed by Prof. dr. Jan Willem Duyvendak, Prof. dr. Evelien Tonkens and Prof. dr. Peter Geschiere. This project ran from September 2008 to November 2013 at the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR) at the University of Amsterdam. It was funded by NWO, the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, by Oxfam-Novib, by FORUM, Institute for Multicultural Affairs and by the AISSR.

10 Quaevis terra patria Heel de wereld is mijn vaderland Desiderius Erasmus, Adagia no. 1193

11 Table of Contents Acknowledgements 11 Chapter One. Introduction 13 Start of Fieldwork: Reconsidering the Research Question 15 Culturalism: Identifying a Dominant Discourse 19 Resistance, Accommodation and Exit 25 Culturally Open Images and Stories 30 Artistic Production and Authorship 33 Muslims and the Research Imagination 37 Notes on Methodology 39 Structure of the Dissertation 43 Chapter Two. It is (Not) an Ethnic Thing 47 Introduction 49 Globalized Culture vs. Nationalist Culture 50 Paradoxes of Cultural Diversity 53 Negotiating Cultural Diversity in the Arts 57 The Efficacy of Cultural Openness: Pictures of the Everyday 62 The Efficacy of Cultural Openness: Creating New Horizons 71 Conclusion 75 Chapter Three. Framing the Radical: An Exhibition 79 Introduction 81 Redefining Radical: The Curators 82 Redefining Radical: The Rebellious Artist 84 Redefining Radical: The Mediator 88 Frame, Identity, and Legibility 94 Discursive Miscommunication 97 Conclusion 100 Chapter Four. Authorship: An Embedded Practice 101 Introduction 103 Creativity, Materiality and Power 104 Walking, Talking, Making 105

12 Genres, Materialities, Subjectivities 115 Culturalism, Classification, Confusion 119 Conclusion 126 Chapter Five. An Alternative Tale of Belonging 129 Introduction 131 Navigating Subject Positions 132 Longing for Rotterdam 136 The Supervisor 141 Longing for Japan 144 Imagining Post-Ethnicity 147 Conclusion 150 Chapter Six. Liminoid Subjectivity: Three Self-Portraits 153 Introduction 155 Liminal and Liminoid 156 The Sensory Self-Portrait: Subjectivity as a Colour 157 The Unintended Self-Portrait: Inescapable Alterity 160 The Other-as-Self Portrait: Reverse Mirror Images 167 Conclusion 173 Chapter Seven. Conclusion: Dynamics of Exit and Authorship 177 Power and Context 180 Agency and the Imagination 182 Disengaging Culturalism: Anthropological Strategies of this Study 184 Appendix 187 References 195 English Summary 207 Nederlandse Samenvatting 213

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14 Acknowledgements This dissertation and the research on which it is based could never have been realised without the support of the many people whom I have had the pleasure of working with along this journey. First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the respondents who generously took me along in their everyday lives and shared with me their views, ideas, worries and passions. Many thanks especially to Omar, Zeyneb, Yasmin, Saeed, Hasan and Ali Kaya, whose real names remain undisclosed, for inspiring me through their work and their stories. I have great admiration and respect for my supervisors Jan Willem Duyvendak and Evelien Tonkens. Your dedication to the project and your thorough analysis of my work has been invaluable throughout my research and has allowed me to sharpen my vision. I am very grateful for you giving me the space to pursue my own course, and for directing me whenever I tended to derail. In particular, I want to thank Oskar Verkaaik who was there not only from the start of this project, but also many years before during my BSc. and MSc. Your work has been and continues to be an important influence on the development of my thinking. I hope that I have been able to incorporate what I have learned from you in this study. Thank you for your supervision and support throughout the project. I want to thank Peter Geschiere for his motivating and inspiring presence in our research team, and for giving me the feeling that I belonged at times when I felt challenged. Your sharp vision has left an indelible mark on my research and I am very grateful for that. I am also very thankful to the other research members in our team. Paul Mepschen you have provided me with important feedback that helped me to question some of my ideas. Your sense of humour has been of great value during this endeavour and I look back with joy on our many discussions. Rogier van Reekum and Francio Guadeloupe, you have stimulated me to always look further and ask more questions. I am very grateful to have been able to share my work with the research fellows that were part of the project. In particular, I want to thank Murat Akan and Sandrine Bertaux for our stimulating discussions in Montecatini, and Jacinthe Mazzocchetti. Many thanks also to the students, colleagues and staff that were part of the project: Josip Kesic, Anne Brouwers, Fatiha El-Hajjari, Nazima Kadir and Martine Buijs. I also owe much gratitude to the staff at the department and at the AISSR, especially Muriël Kiesel, Gaby Evers and Joris de Vries. The late Gerd Baumann has been an inspiring force in my studies and in this dissertation. His words and advice have been with me throughout this research. I owe many thanks to the colleagues and friends who have contributed to this study: Apostolos Andrikopoulos, Frank van As, Markus Balkenhol, Daan Beekers, Marguerite van den Berg, Marten Boekelo, Laurens Buijs, Sébastien Chauvin, meneer Evers, Éric Fassin, Petra Gerschner, Halleh Ghorashi, Özkan Gölpinar, Lotte Hoek, Barbara Honrath, Efecan Inceoglu, Manu van Kersbergen, Anouk de Koning, Sam Maipauw, Amade M charek,

15 Birgit Meyer, Annemarie Mol, Annelies Moors, Tanja Ostojić, Mattijs van de Port, Baukje Prins, Jan Rath, Rachel Spronk, Naomi van Stapele, Irene Stengs, Thijl Sunier, Siebe Thissen, Markha Valenta and Anick Vollebergh. I especially want to thank Margreet van Es and Sandra Wölke for agreeing to be my paranymphs, and Javier Gimeno-Martínez and Joana Ozorio de Almeida Meroz, for introducing me to the area of design cultures and for giving me valuable feedback on my work. During my research I could always rely on my family for support. I am very sad that my grandparents are no longer there to witness the completing of this study, but grateful for the love and wisdom that they have given me. I owe many thanks to the Musa family for their support and trust. I especially want to thank Shirin, Nusret and Abbas for lending an ear in difficult times. It is hard to put into words how grateful I am to my parents who have always been there for me, supporting my choices at every turn and giving me all the opportunities I could wish for, and more, to pursue my goals. Thank you for your love and trust and for being so patient with me. Many thanks also to my brother Jasper who has always motivated me to persevere. Without Ayatollah Musa I would not have taken up anthropology; I would not have been introduced to the many other worlds and ideas that today shape who I have become; I would not have been challenged, to the extent that I have been, to question my views and my common sense; needless to say I could never have conceived of doing this research, or of pursuing any PhD, without him. But, most importantly, without Aya I would not have become the mother of Meysam. Thank you Aya for your love and dedication and for giving me the time to finish this dissertation. Thank you Meysam for the joy and kindness you bring into our lives and for making me a better person.