184 research outputs found
Landscape, justice and the quality of life in emblematically embodied nation/states â the case of Denmark
The modern notion of the landscape of the nation-state, we argue, emerged in part through an âemblematicâ fusion of the nation, imagined as a bio-organic body-politic, and the state conceptualised in geo-metric terms as the Euclidean, cartographic framework within which that body operates. The eliding of the geo-metric with the bio-organic has influenced national discourse, law and practice by defining the legal and social right to belong within this landscape in bio-spatial terms. This is exemplified by the international political cause cĂŠlèbre of the âSchleswig-Holstein Border Questionâ and its continuing ramifications for the quality of life in Denmarkâparticularly for those living in the landscapes of state-designated immigrant âghettoesâ scheduled for physical and social eradication because their settlements are perceived as endangering the bio-spatial cohesion of the ânation-stateâ
BĂRN I VESTINDISKE FAMILIENETVĂRK: Fire livshistorier fra Nevis
Karen Fog Olwig: Children in West
Indian Family Networks: Four Life
Stories from Nevis
Caribbean people often leave their children
behind with relatives when they migrate. It is
well known that these children play an
important structural role as central linchpins
in networks of social and economic
exchange which take place between the
migrants and their family in the community
of origin. There is, however, little
knowledge of the ways in which children
themselves experience growing up in these
global family networks. This article
investigates the point of view of the children
by examining four life stories related by
young people, from the Leeward Island of
Nevis, whose migrant parents left them, as
small children, in the care of their
grandparents. At a more general level, these
life stories also shed light on the cultural
values associated with ideals of a good
family life among people for whom
population mobility and socio-economic
connectivity, on a global scale, have long
constituted a basic framework of existence
Karen Fog Olwig: FĂLLESSKABETS BEGRAVELSE?
Oprindelse og forbundethed blandt caribiske migranter
Migration studies seem to have created a âhybridâ research object, defined both
thematically (as a category of people affected by migration) and in terms of cultural
background (as a group of people belonging to a particular âdiasporicâ community by
virtue of their shared place of origin). Through an ethnographic analysis of the funeral
of a Caribbean migrant to England, the article shows that the burial ritual created an
arena for the creation, demarcation and contestation of several different, partially
overlapping communities. This points to the need to explore the concrete expressions
of moral values and obligations, of social notions and practices of relatedness and of
cultural identification and recognition that unite and divide particular groups of people
of migratory background. At a more general level, it underlines the need to deconstruct
the conflation of the category of migrants and their descendants with diasporic
communities of belonging rooted in a distant place of origin.
 
Migrationsnarrativer:FortĂŚllinger om den gode slĂŚgtning blandt vestindiske kvinder
Siden slaveriets ophør midt i 1800-tallet har Caribien været præget af en stærk migrationstradition. Forskere har påvist, at denne tradition har fået næring afhistorier om den succesrige returmigrant, som rig på penge og materielle goder vender tilbage efter år i udlandet. I denne artikel argumenterer jeg for, at disse historier indskriver sig i et 'mandligt' narrativ, der primært fokuserer på muligheden for at opnå social og økonomisk mobilitet gennem migration. Gennem en analyse af livshistorieinterviews med kvindelige returmigranter på den vestindiskeø Nevis viser jeg, at der parallelt med det mandlige narrativ findes et komplementært 'kvindeligt' narrativ, som omhandler den gode slægtning, der udvandrer for at hjælpe familien i hjemlandet ved forsendelser af penge, tøj og andre materiellegoder. Denne migrant kan derfor vende tilbage som et højt respekteret familiemedlem til trods for de beskedne materielle ressourcer, vedkommende selv besidder. Selv om de to narrativer knytter sig til henholdsvis mænd og kvinder, drager både mandlige og kvindelige migranter på dem, afhængigt af deres særligeerfaringer i udlandet og de specifikke aspekter af deres liv de beretter om. Analysen peger på, at narrativerne ikke er faktuelle redegørelser for migrantforløb, men snarere kulturelt specifikke måder hvorpå migranter skaber mening ogsammenhæng i deres liv. Ikke desto mindre er narrativerne med til at præge de forventninger og erfaringer, der knytter sig til migration, og de spiller derfor en vigtig rolle i de migrationsprocesser, der rent faktisk finder sted.Migration Narratives:Stories of the good Relative among Caribbean WomenSince the abolishment of slavery during the middle of the nineteenth century, the Caribbean has been characterized by a strong migration tradition. Research on Caribbean migration has shown that this tradition has been nourished by narrativesof the successful return migrant, who moves back home rich in money and material goods. In this article I will argue that this is a ‘male’ narrative emphasizing the importance of achieving social and economic mobility through migration.Through life story interviews with female return migrants on the Caribbean island of Nevis, this article points to the existence of a complementary ‘female’ narrative revolving around the good relative who migrates to help the family left behind. In this narrative a successful return is not measured by material gain, but rather by the extent to which support has been sent to the family and the respect this engenders in the local community. The analysis shows that, while the twonarratives of return are gendered, individuals may draw on both, depending on their particular experiences abroad and the specific aspects of their life story they are recounting. The narratives therefore should not be viewed as factual accountsof migration, but rather as culturally specific modes of representation that give meaning and purpose to individual lives. Nevertheless, the narratives shape individuals’understandings and practices of migration, and they therefore play an important role in actual migration processes.</div
The Public Playground Paradox: "Childâs Joy" or Heterotopia of Fear?
Literature depicts children of the Global North withdrawing from public space toâacceptable islandsâ. Driven by fears both of and for children, the publicplayground â one such island â provides clear-cut distinctions between childhoodand adulthood. Extending this argument, this paper takes the original approach oftheoretically framing the playground as a heterotopia of deviance, examining âfor the first time â three Greek public playground sites in relation to adjacentpublic space. Drawing on an ethnographic study in Athens, findings show fear tounderpin surveillance, control and playground boundary porosity. Normativeclassification as âchildrenâs spaceâ discourages adult engagement. However, in anovel and significant finding, a paradoxical phenomenon sees the playgroundâspresence simultaneously legitimizing playful behaviour in adjacent public spacefor children and adults. Extended playground play creates alternate orderings andnegotiates norms and hierarchies, suggesting significant wider potential toreconceptualise playground-urban design for an intergenerational public realm
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