Paper Short Abstract:

How can we ethnographically explore the promissory dimension of urban territories and help destabilize promises that compel people to endure, rather than dissolve, powerful clusters of promises (Berlant 2011)? With audio-/visual material of go-alongs I propose to problematize promises of social participation and cultural recognition in Paris.

Paper Abstract:

The urban territory is co-constituted by a multiplicity of promises that function like vectors within the urban fabric: promises made in the city may compel people to stay, promises of urbanity may have been the reason people left non-urban areas, and promises of a specific city may have influenced the decision to live in a particular place. Therefore, I conceive of the city as a promissory assemblage (Färber 2019), acknowledging the reliably unreliable nature of promises.

How can we ethnographically explore the promissory dimension of urban territories? And how can this help destabilize those promises that compel people to endure, rather than dissolve, powerful—and not always empowering—clusters of promises (Berlant 2011)?

In this paper I would like to discuss material from my longterm research in Paris that is based on audio-/visual material from go-alongs that I conduct with diverse people between the Institut du monde arabe (IMA) and the Institut des cultures d’islam (ICI) in Paris. Using mobilizing ethnographic methods such as itinéraires, we explore together the spatial experience of urban promises of social participation and cultural recognition. From the discussion in this panel, I hope to gain inspiration for analyzing various materials and creating a multimodal presentation that enables a critical examination of promises as vectors in urban life.