Remembering in-between: Memory, exile, and belonging within liminal realms

Exile often means a profound rupture in both time and space, characterized by dislocation and transformation, and the continual negotiation of belonging oscillating between “before” and “after.” In this article, I examine exile as a liminal experience and liminal memory by analyzing the life story narratives of Turkey’s September 12th political exiles in Germany. Drawing on memory, exile, and diaspora studies, and employing participant observation and life story interviews, I explore how exile creates a dynamic state of liminality that fractures and diversifies individuals’ life narratives and their sense of home and belonging. Moving beyond an exclusively empirical study, I use the case as a site for conceptual and theoretical development, elaborating liminality as a dynamic and temporally layered condition in relation to memory, and thus engage with broader debates in memory studies and exile/diaspora studies.