Landscape, justice and the quality of life in emblematically embodied nation/states – the case of Denmark

The modern notion of the landscape of the nation-state, we argue, emerged in part through an ‘emblematic’ 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 célèbre of the ‘Schleswig-Holstein Border Question’ and its continuing ramifications for the quality of life in Denmark—particularly for those living in the landscapes of state-designated immigrant ‘ghettoes’ scheduled for physical and social eradication because their settlements are perceived as endangering the bio-spatial cohesion of the ‘nation-state’

BØRN I VESTINDISKE FAMILIENETVÆRK: 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: FÆLLESSKABETS BEGRAVELSE?

Oprindelse og forbundethed blandt caribiske migranter   Migration studies seem to have created a “hybrid” 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 “diasporic” 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. &nbsp

Migrationsnarrativer:Fortællinger om den gode slægtning blandt vestindiske kvinder

Siden slaveriets oph&oslash;r midt i 1800-tallet har Caribien v&aelig;ret pr&aelig;get af en st&aelig;rk migrationstradition. Forskere har p&aring;vist, at denne tradition har f&aring;et n&aelig;ring afhistorier om den succesrige returmigrant, som rig p&aring; penge og materielle goder vender tilbage efter &aring;r i udlandet. I denne artikel argumenterer jeg for, at disse historier indskriver sig i et 'mandligt' narrativ, der prim&aelig;rt fokuserer p&aring; muligheden for at opn&aring; social og &oslash;konomisk mobilitet gennem migration. Gennem en analyse af livshistorieinterviews med kvindelige returmigranter p&aring; den vestindiske&oslash; Nevis viser jeg, at der parallelt med det mandlige narrativ findes et komplement&aelig;rt 'kvindeligt' narrativ, som omhandler den gode sl&aelig;gtning, der udvandrer for at hj&aelig;lpe familien i hjemlandet ved forsendelser af penge, t&oslash;j og andre materiellegoder. Denne migrant kan derfor vende tilbage som et h&oslash;jt respekteret familiemedlem til trods for de beskedne materielle ressourcer, vedkommende selv besidder. Selv om de to narrativer knytter sig til henholdsvis m&aelig;nd og kvinder, drager b&aring;de mandlige og kvindelige migranter p&aring; dem, afh&aelig;ngigt af deres s&aelig;rligeerfaringer i udlandet og de specifikke aspekter af deres liv de beretter om. Analysen peger p&aring;, at narrativerne ikke er faktuelle redeg&oslash;relser for migrantforl&oslash;b, men snarere kulturelt specifikke m&aring;der hvorp&aring; migranter skaber mening ogsammenh&aelig;ng i deres liv. Ikke desto mindre er narrativerne med til at pr&aelig;ge 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&nbsp;Caribbean has been characterized by a strong migration tradition. Research on&nbsp;Caribbean migration has shown that this tradition has been nourished by narrativesof the successful return migrant, who moves back home rich in money and&nbsp;material goods. In this article I will argue that this is a &lsquo;male&rsquo; narrative emphasizing&nbsp;the importance of achieving social and economic mobility through migration.Through life story interviews with female return migrants on the Caribbean&nbsp;island of Nevis, this article points to the existence of a complementary &lsquo;female&rsquo;&nbsp;narrative revolving around the good relative who migrates to help the family left&nbsp;behind. In this narrative a successful return is not measured by material gain, but&nbsp;rather by the extent to which support has been sent to the family and the respect&nbsp;this engenders in the local community. The analysis shows that, while the twonarratives of return are gendered, individuals may draw on both, depending on&nbsp;their particular experiences abroad and the specific aspects of their life story they&nbsp;are recounting. The narratives therefore should not be viewed as factual accountsof migration, but rather as culturally specific modes of representation that give&nbsp;meaning and purpose to individual lives. Nevertheless, the narratives shape individuals&rsquo;understandings and practices of migration, and they therefore play an&nbsp;important role in actual migration processes.</div

The Public Playground Paradox: "Child’s Joy" or Heterotopia of Fear?

Literature depicts children of the Global North withdrawing from public space to“acceptable islands”. Driven by fears both of and for children, the publicplayground – one such island – 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 –for the first time – 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 “children’s space” discourages adult engagement. However, in anovel and significant finding, a paradoxical phenomenon sees the playground’spresence 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