Posts by Miriam Gutekunst:
One click away?
It has never been easier to meet people from all over the world. Social networks and dating sites make it possible. More and more couples are meeting via the web – and across international boundaries. The seemingly borderless digital world is limited though, by national borders that are insurmountable for many, depending on their nationality. What does this ongoing development mean for people from third countries subject to visa requirements if they have found a partner in Europe?
What a woman should be like
A fieldnote from a hairdressing salon in Munich, Germany (December 2013)
Who actually benefits?
Backpacking in Mexico; volunteering in India; surfing in South Africa; relaxing in Thailand – the current generation is travelling a lot and preferably in regions far away, on the other side of the globe. You can learn languages, gain “intercultural competence“, meet interesting people. Back at home the travellers draw on the experiences they gained and tell their family and friends of the fantastic beaches and the great hospitality. But isn’t it weird to travel around the world while the majority of the global population isn’t able to get neither a flight ticket nor a visa? Doesn’t tourism in the Global South* rather stand for a neocolonial age than for liberty and borderless mobility?
