Poster Presentations

Making Sense in a Transforming World: The Power of Objects in Situations of Change

How do people move forward in circumstances that are apparently determined by more obstacles than solutions? In situations of change that migration often brings with itself, the materials people carry with them along their way can often help to make it through these difficult times: They remind them of their experiences, families, relatives, people they’ve met on their way and the faith or values they believe in. The following stories show in which ways objects can act as ‘sense makers’ and motivational forces that provide people with hope, a sense of stabilizing continuity and the courage to carry on in life, no matter how rapidly (material) landscapes, people, or social norms change.

Author Katharina Brunner
(Institute for Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Göttingen)

Katharina Brunner