As part of the project “Learning About Mainz from the Perspective of Critical Refugee Studies,” fourteen master’s degree students of Cultural Anthropology explored how Mainz is perceived from different perspectives. Through interviews, they investigated how people with migration and refugee experiences perceive the city, which places are important to them, and why. The goal was to understand their perspectives and tell urban stories that are often overlooked. More about the theoretical framework of the project can be found here.

Based on their empirical research, the students prepared a digital map of the city of Mainz, which reflects the experiences of migrant individuals in Mainz. You can click on the markers on the map to learn more about the places our interviewees identified as important for their daily lives.

The students also offered city tours that follow this map. In two different tours, they present various locations, including public squares, buildings, and shops that were highlighted by the respondents in the interviews. The city tours are not just about showing Mainz but also about the personal stories of migrants and their perception of the city. For each stop, the students prepared corresponding presentations that focus on these experiences in the city of Mainz. With these two city tours, they aim to provide a broad audience with a new way to access the city of Mainz by highlighting important everyday spaces to illustrate the respective realities of people’s lives.

Further information about the project can be found in the flyer here.