Abstract
Abstract. The Faculty of Information Management and Media (IMM) at Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences received funding for a project called ‘Fremdsein 4.0’. It targeted experiences about educational migration through applying various media means. Two interdisciplinary workshops were conducted focussing on the German words ‘Fremdsein’ and ‘Heimat’ as main topics, which relate to feelings of “foreignness” or of being at home. Among other results, two Web map apps that help to reflect on the two terms were conceptualized and evolved over time to become part of an exhibition towards the end of the project. The paper starts with describing the various contexts in which the map apps are placed: maps used in exhibitions, a reflection on ‘Fremdsein’, interdisciplinary learning and conceptualizing, and finally Web mapping and personalized maps. Next, the process of the map app development is covered, which led to two robust browser-based offline apps named ‘Ideal Home Finder’ and ‘Emotional Foreignness Ranking’. The former app, based on the research of Hofstede et al., makes use of empirically derived dimensions on cultural differences. By answering six questions, the user can find out in which countries he/she might feel at home. The latter app, which more directly resulted from workshop outcomes and personal experiences of the participants, allows to come up with rankings of emotional “foreignness” for five previously selected countries. We discuss and conclude with reflections on the two workshops, the developed apps and the exhibition.
Highlights
Two interdisciplinary workshops were conducted focussing on the German words ‘Fremdsein’ and ‘Heimat’ as main topics, which relate to feelings of “foreignness” or of being at home
The paper starts with describing the various contexts in which the map apps are placed: maps used in exhibitions, a reflection on ‘Fremdsein’, interdisciplinary learning and conceptualizing, and Web mapping and personalized maps
Depending on how you were brought up, the experience of particular aspects e.g. food differs: German people are particular about bread, Indians complain about the rice German people prepare, and what is called ‘ugali’ in Kenya is named ‘posho’ in Uganda and ‘papp’ in South Africa but it was claimed not to be the “same”
Summary
The Faculty of Information Management and Media (IMM) at Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HsKA) received funding for a project on ‘Fremdsein 4.0’ aiming at a grounding on different experiences in regard to educational migration at the university through applying various media means. The start made a diplomat by sharing very personal experiences of feeling foreign and not at home, when sent to a country like Germany This triggered self-reflection and awareness among the participants, fourteen students from eight different countries and six lecturers/staff, who collected their experiences and thoughts around the two “hot words” ‘Fremdsein’ and ‘Heimat’. It provided the ground for transferring the experiences of and implications by ‘not feeling at home’ into physical or digital items by multi-media means.
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