THE CONSTRUCTION OF A EUROPEAN IDENTITY Refugees and Europe’s Identity Crisis

The fundamental purpose of my thesis is to consider the ongoing formation of European identity within the context of the contemporary refugee/migrant crisis in Europe. In doing so, I will briefly survey how a European identity has been conceived and constructed through legal documents, treaties, and political speeches. Moreover, I will use different theories such as Anderson’s imagined communities to consider whether European identity is post-modern and post-national as it is sometimes celebrated to be. The EU is frequently regarded as a unique experiment in history and the first real post-modern political entity. However, looking deeper into the identity construction process, it does not seem to reflect a post-national construction but rather an identity often constructed on national and primordial resources, making the EU more supranational than a post-national entity. This is particularly true in relation to the refugee crisis which has been framed as a threat to European identity and culture. The role of borders, the Mediterranean Sea, and fortress Europe are critical terms I will analyze to consider the refugee crisis case study. Refugees have become the “other” or the “enemy” in contrast to the “Europeans.” Migrants are seen as a threat to one’s culture and identity, but if the European identity is still evolving and not clearly defined, how can migrants pose a threat to it? The migrant crisis provides the context that clearly demonstrates the contradictions and paradox inside the idea of a European identity

Challenging hierarchical research relations and improving research trustworthiness: the use of member checking

This contribution discusses the use of member checking in Tot, Kenya and Engaruka, Tanzania as enriching practices for both the researched and the researcher. By utilising a series of pamphlets produced in local languages, participants are able to see the result of their contribution to the research and give them a chance to have a second say by adding or rectifying what they would have reported earlier. In this way, member checking enables a researcher to realise any erroneous understanding of community practices under examination. Member checking is indeed far from perfect, but its employment improved the trustworthiness, transferability and confirmability of the study, writes Martina Angela Caretta

Feminist participatory methodologies in geography: creating spaces of inclusion

This introduction prefaces a special issue on the topic of feminist participatory methodologies in geography. Drawing upon the experiences of the contributors in developing new tools and methods to facilitate interaction with participants and working with groups that tend to be forgotten, subordinated and/or alienated, we argue for the methodological significance of instating a feminist perspective to participatory research. Although much theoretical debate has taken place among feminist and post-colonial scholars on unequal research relationships between ‘researchers’ and ‘research subjects’, the literature on how to operationalize greater equality remains quite limited. We attempt to fill this research gap by bringing together scholars working in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres in order to illuminate the multifaceted ways in which these methods can be used not only to debunk hierarchical research relationships, but also to produce new scientific insights with greater validity

Household Water Security: An Analysis of Water Affect in the Context of Hydraulic Fracturing in West Virginia, Appalachia

Hydraulic fracturing has been booming in the last decade in the United States. While natural gas extraction and production has improved the national energy security, it has raised questions around the water security of those communities where extraction is taking place. Both scientists and residents are concerned about hydraulic fracturing’s impacts on surface- and groundwater, especially regarding how hydraulic fracturing impacts residents’ access to safe household well water. In the past decade, the Marcellus Shale has been developed in Northwestern West Virginia, yet the human geography dimensions of oil and gas extraction in West Virginia remain to be investigated. This article, based on 30 in-depth interviews, explores household groundwater insecurity due to hydraulic fracturing experienced by residents (i.e., mineral owners, surface owners, and concerned citizens) in Northwestern West Virginia. The concept of water affect is used to attend to the emotional and subjective dimensions of water security by unveiling the power, emotional struggles, and mental stress inherent in water testing practices and environmental regulation around hydraulic fracturing. Water testing is typically conducted by contractors hired by oil and gas companies, but it is mired in delayed test results and incorrect testing procedures, triggering residents’ negative feelings toward oil and gas companies. This article furthers the understanding of water security, commonly defined in terms of individual access to adequate water quality and quantity, by studying Appalachian residents’ anxieties about well water contamination and uncertainty around the long-term water impacts of hydraulic fracturing. By investigating the uneven power relations around groundwater in West Virginia, the emotional experiences and responses are articulated to further the notion of water affect as impacting household groundwater security

Arsenic Poisoning in Rural Bangladesh-An intersectional analysis of impact in women

Based on a qualitative case study in six arsenic acute villages in southwest Bangladesh, this paper presents the intersectional impact of the arsenic poisoning crisis in rural Bangladesh. Findings indicate that the arsenic poisoning crisis is aggravating existing gender inequalities as well as gender roles and responsibilities. The gender inequalities related to arsenicosis are manifested in the access to health care and in the degree of social stigma: women are the biggest victims, unmarried women in particular. The study shows that multiple axis of oppression as class, disability and age are crucial in determining the magnitude of the arsenic poisoning impacts in rural Bangladesh. Understanding the gendered dynamics in the arsenic poisoning crisis and, in particular its intersectional impact on women informs the debate on disaster management. Consequently, by expanding current knowledge, this case study lays the ground for more comprehensive and gender inclusive policy making in the context of hazardous waterscapes

Migration and Its Interdependencies with Water Scarcity, Gender and Youth Employment

Evidence shows that growing climatic variability has severe impacts on water availability and quality, which in turn jeopardizes social stability and jobs for the younger generations. This is particularly true in arid and semi-arid regions, where often migration is both the result of and a way to adapt to climate-induced environmental stresses and its social and economic impacts. This paper explores the interdependencies between water scarcity induced by climate change, youth unemployment and migration, and provides an overview of migration hotspots, in particular in originating and transit countries in the African, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and South and East Asian regions

“Women in groups can help each and learn from each other”: The role of homosocial practices within women’s social networks in building local gender contracts

Feminist scholars struggle to articulate gender relations in different contexts. Using the concept of local gender contract - a place specific agreement of gender relations, we explore how women’s networks challenge or shift gender contracts in their communities. Based on two empirical case studies of women´s groups from Eastern Africa and Thai migrants in Sweden, we show gender contracts are challenged through women’s homosocial activities. We highlight tensions between gender contracts and the women’s goals revealing a complicated process of assent and resistance. This study expands gender contract theoretically and provides a way to understand vulnerable women’s activities