290018 EX Ecxursion in Human Geography: Southeast Asian Communities in Vienna (2013S)

Immigrants from all over the world have shaped the appearance and development of Vienna for centuries. Urban economies have been influenced fundamentally by globalizing factors as e.g. impacts of new technologies, identity politics or different forms of mobility including tourism and immigration. In this context, not much is known about the Southeast Asian Communities in Vienna. Official data of Statistik Austria registered 12.589 Southeast Asians in Vienna with immigrant groups from the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam constituting 91.6% (Statistik Austria 2010). The increasing appearance of SEA communities in form of ‘ethnic’ businesses (e.g. restaurants, food shops, health spas), religious manifestations (e.g. Buddhist temples) or other groups (e.g. marriage migrants, student migrants) in Austria's capital is not only enhancing the "exotic" and cosmopolitan outlook of the city, but is also reflecting the rise of and the quest for "exotized" entrepreneurial activities and the deepening transnational links between Central Europe and Southeast Asia. This course consists of a mandatory meeting where basic excursion topics and issues are discussed (meaning of ‘community’, social networks and transnational relations, immigrant business) and an excursion day where we will have the chance to visit Southeast Asian Institutions in Vienna and talk to and discuss with community representatives.