FACULTY OF CULTURE AND SOCIETY | Seminar
Migration seminar: The Story Behind the Wedding: Piety Codes in Union Formation

Welcome to the migration seminar! 

Title

The Story Behind the Wedding: Piety Codes in Union Formation among Turkish Communities in Denmark

Speakers

Maria Lindebæk Schmidt Lyngsøe, Postdoctoral researcher and Petek Onur, Assistant professor, at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen.

Abstract

Wedding rituals and celebrations are critical life-cycle events that showcase piety and cultural identity, often enhanced by aesthetic preferences. This research project investigates the dynamics and diversity of performative activities and aesthetic expressions of piety among Turkish communities in Denmark, through stories of couples and their wedding celebrations, with a qualitative methodology. It firstly asks how the codes, norms, and symbols of piety regarding gender roles and femininities are changing in union formation practices.

The second research question asks about the role of aesthetic concerns as a means of reflecting piety, femininity and gender norms. The research examines the entanglement of ritual conventions, transnational influences, and social life within the Muslim diaspora. The analysis highlights the increasingly complex intersections of family values, religious norms, emotions, and different Muslim-minority contexts in Denmark. Factors such as age, urban-provincial differences, social class, education, economic independence from family, interaction with the majority culture and immigration policies also shape the stories behind weddings.

Attendance

This is a hybrid seminar, you are welcome to connect via Zoom or join us at MIM seminar room, floor 9, Niagara, Nordenskiöldsgatan 1. To attend on campus, please gather by the reception area at 13.05.

If you have any questions, send an email mim@mau.se

Zoom

Will be available closer to the seminar date.

Upcoming seminars at MIM