TY - JOUR
T1 - Negotiating belonging beyond rootedness
T2 - Unsettling the sedentary bias in the Dutch culturalist discourse
AU - Ghorashi, H.
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - In the era of late or “liquid modernity”, we can observe the re-emergence of solid categories in the form of nationalistic sentiments and cultural contrasts. The growing culturalist discourse in most European societies is an example of the reification of cultural difference. Within this discourse, it is posited that the most “natural” link for migrants is to their countries of origin. This discourse suggests that generations of migrants living inside the nation are constructed as not belonging to it. This “sedentary bias” produces dichotomies of rootedness in the places of origin and uprootedness in countries where generations of migrants presently live. When normalized, this positioning limits differentiated, multi-layered, and multi-sited possibilities of belonging. By comparing two sets of empirical data on diverse women in the Netherlands, this article shows how the inclusion of interpretations and negotiations of everyday interactions can enable alternative forms of positioning and belonging.
AB - In the era of late or “liquid modernity”, we can observe the re-emergence of solid categories in the form of nationalistic sentiments and cultural contrasts. The growing culturalist discourse in most European societies is an example of the reification of cultural difference. Within this discourse, it is posited that the most “natural” link for migrants is to their countries of origin. This discourse suggests that generations of migrants living inside the nation are constructed as not belonging to it. This “sedentary bias” produces dichotomies of rootedness in the places of origin and uprootedness in countries where generations of migrants presently live. When normalized, this positioning limits differentiated, multi-layered, and multi-sited possibilities of belonging. By comparing two sets of empirical data on diverse women in the Netherlands, this article shows how the inclusion of interpretations and negotiations of everyday interactions can enable alternative forms of positioning and belonging.
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U2 - 10.1080/01419870.2016.1248462
DO - 10.1080/01419870.2016.1248462
M3 - Article
SN - 0141-9870
VL - 40
SP - 2426
EP - 2443
JO - Ethnic and Racial Studies
JF - Ethnic and Racial Studies
IS - 14
ER -