Long, Jennifer

English

Scholarship@Western

A PLACE FOR BELONGING IN THE NETHERLANDSJennifer Long, PhD CandidateUniversity of Western OntarioIslam in the Netherlands Distribution of Muslims by ethnic background (2006)Tension in the Netherlands Relationship between Muslim immigrants and Dutch natives strained after the murder of film director Theo van Gogh by a Muslim extremist of Dutch Moroccan heritage The topic of immigration and the role of Muslims in Dutch society dominates political and social agendas Media coverage of Islam and non-western immigrant communities foster Islamophobicsentiments among the populationResearch Questions My research examines how larger social and political discourses influence the ways in which individuals get along in everyday life.  In order to examine this, I examined the uses of, and ideas about, public spacesResearch Questions My study involved not only the use of spaces and interaction between residents but an understanding of how public spaces were conceived of and created.  In this way, I was able to uncover ideas about who and what were allowed in public spaces and in doing so, who and what were acceptable in the Netherlands. Field site: Rotterdam, NetherlandsWhy Rotterdam? Historically a very conservative right-winggovernment Has a Dutch MoroccanMayor  Questionable polices toward immigrantse.g. Rotterdam’s Citizenship Code (2007) Regulation of Mosque architecture Preliminary Findings… Social and Political discourses have affected daily life It is not just the first generation of laborers but also their wives, their children and their children‘s children. In this way, generations of individuals born and raised in the Netherlands are seen as ‘outsiders’ to their own nation.Preliminary Findings… Those ‘who do not belonging’ according to social and political rhetoric, do not have the same access to public spaces. They also do not have the same capability to affect change in these spaces. This has an impact on one’s perceived belonging to the Netherlands and therefore their acceptance within the larger communityPreliminary Findings… Culturalization of Citizenship –immigrants are not only judged by their integration into political and economic realms anymore. Instead, they are also judged by social and cultural factors as well. Essentially, immigrants have to socially and culturally assimilate (to varying degrees) in order to be accepted. But what about in space? Preliminary Findings… Spatial capital (Ryan Centner 2009): the ability of certain individuals to shape and take advantage of public places according to their own uses and ideas Spatial capital could work to make public places more accessible and inclusive of immigrants wants, needs, and visions of their neighborhood public places Their presence in public spaces in a more permanent sense could foster ideas of their long-term presence and loyalty to the Netherlands thus positively influencing their social and cultural captialTHANK YOU!Special thanks to Secil, Vicki and the MER program

Negotiating Identity through Public Spaces in the Netherlands

https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&amp;context=mer

Negotiating Identity through Public Spaces in the Netherlands

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Scholarship@Western