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Prof. Dr. Serhat Karakayali

21335 Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, C5.235
Fon +49.4131.677-2753, serhat.karakayali@leuphana.de
Professor, Professorship of Migration and Mobility Studies

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Vita

Serhat Karakayalı received his PhD from Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main and wrote his dissertation on the genealogy of illegal migration in Germany. At the same time, he co-designed and implemented the TRANSIT Migration project at the Institute for European Ethnology (Frankfurt). In this interdisciplinary research group, the concept of migration regime was linked back to empirical research, resulting in methods such as "ethnographic regime analysis", mediation tools and also a new network for critical migration research. In the meantime, he was, among other things, head of a project on anti-Semitism in the immigration society in Berlin and curator of an exhibition on modern architecture in the colonial context of North Africa.

From 2009, he worked as a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of General Sociology at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. From 2014, he was involved as a post-doc in the establishment of the newly founded Berlin Institute for Empirical Integration and Migration Research. His research focused on voluntary engagement with refugees, cosmopolitan concepts of solidarity, and civil society as a site of political socialization in the migration society. 

In 2016, he led the first representative survey to determine the proportion of members with a migration background in a large civil society organization – the metalworker’s union IG Metall, with over 2 million members. Following the findings of this project, he conducted a study on the motives and trajectories of migrant involvement in workplace co-determination, which was funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation. In the BMBF-funded collaborative project entitled "ZoMiDi," he worked with colleagues from Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich and the Max Planck Institute in Göttingen to examine how various civil society organizations deal with migration-related diversity in their structures. At BIM, he also led the Einstein Research Group on "Migration and Diaspora" and established the MERGE network.

From 2020, he was head of the "Migration" department at the German Center for Integration and Migration Research, a research institution funded by the German government, where he conducted research on migration in and from the Middle East as well as a series of public events, including on the crisis of refugee protection in Europe. The DeZIM Institute is also home to the Racism Monitor, commissioned by the German government, where Prof. Karakayali continues to be responsible for networking with international research and theoretical foundations. Since July 2021, he has been Professor of Migration and Mobility Studies at the School of Cultural Studies at Leuphana University.

Projects

  1. Unfinished Business: Zum Stand der industriepolitischen Interventionen in der Halbleiter- und Batterie(zell)produktion
    Serhat Karakayali (Project manager, academic) , (Project staff)
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    Project: Research

  2. Konflikte um Antisemitismus und Rassismus. Aktuelle Kontroversen zwischen Solidarität und Instrumentalisierung in Deutschland
    Serhat Karakayali (Project manager, academic) , Benjamin Opratko (Project manager, academic)
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    Project: Research

  3. Transforming Solidarities
    Serhat Karakayali (Partner)
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    Project: Research

  4. Migration und Mitbestimmung
    Serhat Karakayali (Project manager, academic)
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    Project: Research

  5. Zivilgesellschaftliche Organisationen und die Herausforderungen von Migration und Diversität
    Serhat Karakayali (Project manager, academic) , (Project manager, academic) , (Project manager, academic)
    →

    Project: Research

View all projects

Publications

Books and anthologies

  1. Gesellschaft der Migration: Zur sozialtheoretischen Revision einer kontroversen Wissenspraxis
    Serhat Karakayali (Editor) , Helge Schwiertz (Editor) , 2026 , 340 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Collected editions and anthologies › Research

  2. Grausamer Optimismus
    Lauren Berlant (Author) , Çiğdem Inan (Editor) , Serhat Karakayali (Editor) , Jen Theodor (Translator) , 2024 1 ed. Berlin , 440 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Monographs › Transfer

  3. Organisationaler Wandel durch Migration?: Zur Diversität in der Zivilgesellschaft
    Hella von Unger (Editor) , Helen Baykara-Krumme (Editor) , Serhat Karakayali (Editor) , Karen Schönwälder (Editor) , 2022 Bielefeld , 268 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Collected editions and anthologies › Research

  4. Colonial modern. Aesthetics of the past, rebellions for the future
    Tom Avermaete (Editor) , Serhat Karakayali (Editor) , Marion von Osten (Editor) , 2010 London , 314 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Collected editions and anthologies › Research

  5. Das Staatsverständnis von Nicos Poulantzas: Der Staat als gesellschaftliches Verhältnis
    Stephan Adolphs (Editor) , Alex Demirović (Editor) , Serhat Karakayali (Editor) , 2010 1 ed. Baden-Baden , 265 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Collected editions and anthologies › Research

View all publications

Journal contributions

  1. Negotiating Organizational Identity in Polarized Times Migration, Representation, and the Future of Civil Society Organizations
    Yvonne Albrecht (Author) , Serhat Karakayali (Author) , 01.04.2026 , in: Management Revue, 37, 1 , 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  2. Migration der Krise und Beschleunigung. Zur aktuellen Situation in den USA
    Serhat Karakayali (Author) , 15.12.2025 , in: Sozial.Geschichte online, 39 , 23 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  3. Counting racism: quantitative methods and the challenges of structural analysis in Germany
    Serhat Karakayali (Author) , 01.04.2025 , in: Ethnic and Racial Studies, 48, 7 , p. 1357-1374 , 18 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  4. Participation as a Mode of Conflict
    Serhat Karakayali (Author) , 01.09.2022 , in: Zeitschrift für Kulturwissenschaften, 17, 1 , p. 144-147 , 3 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Comments / Debate / Reports › Research

  5. Doris Liebscher, Rasse im Recht, Recht gegen Rassismus. Genealogie einer ambivalenten rechtlichen Kategorie. Berlin: Suhrkamp 2021, 498 S., br., 26,00 €
    Serhat Karakayali (Author) , 16.05.2022 , in: Soziologische Revue, 45, 1 , p. 134-138 , 5 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Critical reviews › Research

View all publications

Contributions to collected editions/anthologies

  1. Institutioneller und struktureller Rassismus
    Serhat Karakayali (Author) , 01.05.2026

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research › peer-review

  2. Gesellschaft der Migration: Einleitung
    Helge Schwiertz (Author) , Serhat Karakayali (Author) , 01.05.2026 , p. 7-32 , 26 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research

  3. Das Drama im Leben der Institutionen: Zivilgesellschaftliche Organisationen und affektive Performanzen um migrantische Diversität
    Serhat Karakayali (Author) , Yvonne Albrecht (Author) , 01.09.2025 Essen , p. 501-513 , 13 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research › peer-review

  4. Diversität und Zugehörigkeit
    Serhat Karakayali (Author) , Naika Foroutan (Author) , Urmila Goel (Author) , Hüseyin Topel (Author) , Aladin El-Mafaalani (Author) , 01.01.2024 1 ed. Bonn , p. 342-381 , 40 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research

  5. Kampf um Ein- und Ausschluss.: Die IG Metall als Organisierungskontext migrantischer Beschäftigter
    Celia Bouali (Author) , Serhat Karakayali (Author) , 01.01.2024 1 ed. , p. 240-256 , 17 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research

View all publications

Activities

  1. Die Grammatik des Bias: Über Maschinen, Sprache und Rassismus
    Serhat Karakayali (Speaker)

    Activity: Conference Presentations › Research

  2. Zugangsbarrieren zum Engagement: Erkenntnisse aus dem Vierten Engagementbericht der Bundesregierung
    Serhat Karakayali (Speaker)

    Activity: talk or presentation in privat or public events › Transfer

  3. Migrationspolitik und Gewerkschaft
    Serhat Karakayali (Consultant)

    Activity: Consultancy ›

  4. Repositioning critical border and migrationstudies in the face of authoritarian turns
    Serhat Karakayali (Speaker)
    →

    Activity: Guest lectures › Research

  5. “Behind the data: quantitative approaches to interdisciplinary racism research”
    Serhat Karakayali (Speaker)
    →

    Activity: Conference Presentations › Research

View all activities

Press / Media

  1. Aus Sicht der Migrationsforschung: Migration und Demokratie
    2 Media contributions

    Press/Media: Press/Media

  2. »Es hat sich kaum verändert, wer in diesem Land die Taxis fährt und die Wohnungen putzt«
    1 Media contribution

    Press/Media: Press/Media

  3. Der Begriff »Rasse« im Grundgesetz
    1 Media contribution

    Press/Media: Press/Media

  4. ENGAGIERTE ZUWANDERER
    1 Media contribution

    Press/Media: Press/Media

  5. Können Organisationen Vielfalt
    1 Media contribution

    Press/Media: Press/Media

View all press/media coverage

Prizes

  1. Fulbright Award Forschung
    Serhat Karakayali (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research

  2. LIAS Faculty Fellowship
    Serhat Karakayali (Recipient) ,

    Prize: Leuphana internal Prize, Scholaships, distinctions, appointments › Research

View all prizes

Courses

...
Serhat Karakayali

Inhalt und Konzept: Das Modul geht der Frage nach, inwieweit akademische Texte, Lektüren und Wissensformen nicht nur Erkenntnisinstrumente sind, sondern sich auch in Handlungsformen im kulturellen Feld übersetzen lassen. Zunächst gilt es, die gesellschaftspolitische Relevanz von Texten herauszustellen und zu diskutieren, ob Deutungsangebote allein schon intervenierendes Potential haben. Was bedeutet konzeptionelles Denken und Handeln im Rahmen von Institutionen, welche Herausforderungen und Konflikte sind damit verbunden? In der Vorlesung werden diese Fragen im Gespräch mit Gästen aus unterschiedlichen Praxisfeldern (Museen, NGOs, Theatern, Literaturinstitutionen, Medienanstalten, Ministerien etc.) verhandelt.

In diesem Seminar liegt der Schwerpunkt auf zivilgesellschaftlichen Organisationen und institutionellen Schnittstellen:  Migrant*innenselbstorganisationen, Diversitäts- und Gleichstellungsarbeit sowie – als Grenzfall zwischen Bewegung, Stadtpolitik und Kulturproduktion – Orte sozialer Bewegungen. Leitend ist dabei weniger eine Bestandsaufnahme („was machen diese Akteure?“), sondern die Frage, welche organisatorischen und institutionellen Logiken, welche Kategorien und welche Formen von Wissensarbeit (Regelwissen, Know-how, implizites Wissen, wissenschaftliches Wissen) in diesen Feldern praktisch wirksam werden. Im Seminar wird also nicht nur über „Engagement“ oder „Intervention“ gesprochen, sondern darüber, wie Handlungsfähigkeit unter den Bedingungen von Zuständigkeiten, Ressourcen, rechtlichen Rahmen, statistischen Kategorien und Öffentlichkeiten überhaupt hergestellt wird – und wo sie konflikthaft wird.
Next appointment:
Tuesday, 2026-06-30 at 16:00
Room: C 12.102 Seminarraum
cultural studies - the software of cultural institutions?
Kevin Drews, Serhat Karakayali, Beate Söntgen
Das Modul geht der Frage nach, inwieweit akademische Texte, Lektüren und Wissensformen nicht nur Erkenntnisinstrumente sind, sondern sich auch in Handlungsformen im kulturellen Feld übersetzen lassen. Zunächst gilt es, die gesellschaftspolitische Relevanz von Texten herauszustellen und zu diskutieren, ob Deutungsangebote allein schon intervenierendes Potential haben. Was bedeutet konzeptionelles Denken und Handeln im Rahmen z.B. von Institutionen, welche Herausforderungen und Konflikte sind damit verbunden? Diese Fragen werden auch im Gespräch mit Gästen aus unterschiedlichen Praxisfeldern (Museen, NGOs, Gewerkschaften, Theatern, Literaturinstitutionen, Medienanstalten, Ministerien etc.) und auf Exkursionen diskutiert. In welcher Weise befördert ein kulturwissenschaftliches Studium eine reflektierte, kritische und konzeptionelle Handlungsfähigkeit?
Während die Vorlesung von Gästen bestritten werden wird, dienen die begleitenden, unterschiedlichen Schwerpunkten gewidmeten Seminare der Diskussion von Texten sowie der Aufarbeitung der Exkursionen.
Das Seminar mit dem Schwerpunkt Museen schließt eine verpflichtende Exkursion nach Berlin ein (nähere Angaben dazu finden Sie auf der Seite des Seminars).
Next appointment:
Lectures for this semester ended.
Feedback Meeting Cultural Studies Major
Serhat Karakayali, Jan Teichmüller
Liebe Studierende,

am Dienstag, 30.06.2026 findet von 16 - 18 Uhr in Raum C12.102 ein Feedback-Treffen zwischen den Studierenden und der Programmleitung/den Lehrenden des Major Kulturwissenschaften statt.
Ziel des Gespräches ist es, den Major anzuschauen, um Erwartungen und Erfahrungen zu überdenken und mit anderen zu teilen. Wir sind sehr interessiert an Ihren Eindrücken. Was gelingt gut? An welchen Stellen besteht ggf. Handlungsbedarf? Was bewegt, was stört, was fehlt? Die Rückmeldungen möchten wir nutzen, um den Major weiterzuentwickeln sowie Studienbedingungen zu verbessern.

Spread the word! Wir brauchen Ihre Beteiligung - ohne studentische Perspektive, keine Weiterentwicklung und/oder Verbesserung.

Wir freuen uns auf den Austausch mit Ihnen!

Herzliche Grüße
Serhat Karakayali (Programmverantwortlicher)
Jan Teichmüller (Koordination BA-Programme)
Next appointment:
Tuesday, 2026-06-30 at 16:00
Room: C 12.102 Seminarraum
Protest as Performance and Infrastructure in contemporary U.S. Migration Struggles
Serhat Karakayali
The seminar approaches protest as cultural practices of critique in which “the political” and its subject—collectives, their composition, and the forms of public through which they appear—are renegotiated.

In contemporary migration-related protests in the United States, this performative, world-making dimension of protest becomes especially visible. These are not only mobilizations against a particular policy, a governmental overreach, or an injustice suffered by a defined group. They often contest something more fundamental: the state’s claim to decide—now and for the future—who may count as “the people.” In that sense, migration protests frequently operate as collective liminal situations, in which membership, belonging, and political voice are suspended, tested, and reassembled in public. They bring to the foreground the question of the demos: who can claim it, on what grounds, through which forms of appearance, and with what consequences.

Across the term, we analyze how actions stage credibility, solidarity, and antagonism; how they address specific audiences and attempt to constitute them; how digital and offline infrastructures interlock (or not); how policing and administrative institutions shape the logic of protest. Cases from ongoing U.S. migration struggles serve as shared material for in-class analytic exercises and written work.

The course is organized in thematic blocks. Working with concrete cases and examples, we examine: bodies assembling, choreographies of protest; networks of care and protection; infrastructures; the semantic work of naming and framing; the construction of publics and counterpublics; the production of evidence, juridical and criminal-justice formats. Each block combines case materials (images, stories, video, organizational artifacts) with one or two core texts.

Regarding the submissions due for the seminar:

Part I:
For each session upload two questions concerning the session's topic and literature. The questions are to be uploaded at least one day in advance. After the session, submit a response paper explaining to what extent your questions were answered in the session.

Part II:
A 5-page essay on one of four topics/questions. Topics/questions will be set by the instructor.
Next appointment:
Tuesday, 2026-07-07 at 10:15
Room: C 12.111 Seminarraum
Research colloquium sociology and cultural organisation
Armin Beverungen, Timon Beyes, Serhat Karakayali, Andrea Kretschmann, Anna Lisa Ramella, Stephan Scheel
Das Promotionskolloquium dient der Präsentation und vertieften Diskussion der Forschungsvorhaben im Kreise der Mitglieder des Promotionskollegs. Pro Kandidat*in steht üblicherweise 1 Stunde für Vortrag und Diskussion zur Verfügung. Die Präsentationen und Diskussion finden in deutscher oder englischer Sprache statt.
Next appointment:
Lectures for this semester ended.
Understanding Culture and Society with Marx
Serhat Karakayali
“Understanding Culture and Society with Marx” starts from a mismatch: Many of Marx’s concepts—capital, labour, exploitation, fetishism, ideology, critique—are regularly invoked in debates about culture, economy, and politics and their interrelation, but common misunderstandings persist, not least because ‘critique’ is taken to mean moral evaluation and ‘political economy’ is taken to mean economics in the narrow sense
Against these common misreadings, Marx’s project is not primarily to describe markets, nor to offer a moral denunciation of ‘the economy.’ It is an analysis of the social forms through which modern societies organize and the mechanisms that make these mechanisms invisible. Rather than treating value, money, capital etc as features of an external sphere called ‘the economy,’ governed by timeless laws”, Marx treats them as products of social relations. He criticizes political economy as a form of knowledge. What economists (and everyday common sense) take to be objective and self-evident objects—money, capital, markets— according to him appear to us as relations between things, exerting objective constraints. The twist is that this appearance is not simply a cognitive error or an illusion that disappears once corrected. It is socially real, reproduced in practice, and therefore persistent.
Reading Marx’s Capital is an introduction to a theory of social forms: how labour becomes abstract and objective; how relations between people take the form of relations between things; how categories like “capital” or “profit” become common sense.
The course is a reading seminar. We begin with a small set of short texts on Marx’s notion of critique and his way of defining the object of political economy, and then proceed to a close reading of selected passages from Capital.
Next appointment:
Tuesday, 2026-07-07 at 12:15
Room: C 40.146 Seminarraum