Page - 105 - in Mobile Culture Studies - The Journal, Volume 1/2015

In 2013, the author Sabine August had the possibility to conceptualise and create an exhibit about the emigration of Swiss people from the two cantons of Appenzell (Appenzellerland). This exhibit focused on the individual, the emotional moments of emigration, and the charac- ter of transition. The visitor had the possibility to observe the historical lines and main destina- tions of emigration and got an insight into the individual story of the whole process (push and pull factors, which media helped for the decision, the farewell, the departure, the tweendeck for the third class passengers, the formal immigration procedure, the integration into the new homeland, and the transformation of Swiss traditions in the new Swiss society abroad). The exhibit showed the psychological dimensions of the migration process and the personal experi- ences of the emigrants. The history and personal stories of historical and recent individuals were combined. In the exhibit, the voyage as a form or experience of transition, could only really be shown by the use of visual effects. Between the two floors, in the middle of the stairway, the visitor could observe a blown-up photo of 1915 by the photographer Edwin Levick, which showed the arrival of an emigrant ship into the harbour of New York. All the passengers were on deck when the ship passed the Statue of Liberty – still on their voyage shortly before landing – a symbolic and an emotional moment of the beginning of a new life and a (his)story for all. In fact the author shares the assumption that the sea voyage might be an experience of transition and that the ship was “the heterotopia par excellence”, to quote Michel foucault. But as the author tries to show, the reality on board for the passengers was totally different. Their focus was not on that opportunity to look both backward and forward, even though it is a fact that the emigrants passed through a «suspended» time and space which would be perfect for considering their life experiences. In all letters, diaries, and reports from Swiss emigrants about the sea voyages which the author studied (especially the examples from Schelbert & Rappolt (2009), hasler (1985) and Der Kolonist, a magazine about emigration for Swiss emigrants (1851- 1857) and others, it is obvious that in reality, the emigrants had no time to deal with this transi- tion or weren’t even aware of it. Passengers have described and documented the sea voyage as “No one from the countryside possibly imagines how you feel in heavy seas” Swiss people on their way to America Extended Abstract Sabine August Mobile culture Studies. The Journal, Vol. 1 2015, 105-106 Editor reviewed article Open Access: content is licensed under cc BY 3.0