Suchergebnisse

This paper aims to advance understandings of young Syrian men in forced displacement in relation to the frequently partial and ambiguous position of immigrant men in societal debates on gender- and partner roles, debates in which immigrant men frequently find themselves as static agents. Such debatesoften produce and reinforce one-sided accounts of husbands, partners or potential partners whose relationship's attitudes, traditions and behaviours seem to abide by fixed blueprints. Earlier studies, however, emphasise nuanced and plural understandings of immigrant men and call attention to men as agentic individuals who actively negotiate emotional, economic and political hardships (Charsley, 2005; Gallo, 2006; Huizinga and van Hoven, 2020). Moreover, Hyman et al. (2008) and Shirpak et al. (2011) illustrate experiences of intimate partner relationships after migration to be both positive andnegative, depending on the agentic capacities of immigrant men to adapt to new circumstances.

The Dutch government currently underemphasises the interaction between refugees and place in the context of refugee spatial dispersal policy. This paper seeks a more detailed understanding of refugee integration by looking at opportunities for, and obstacles to, belonging within the ethnically homogeneous context of the Northern Netherlands. We draw on in-depth and walking interviews to provide a rich illustration of the daily routines and activities of ten Syrian male refugees in and around their residential neighbourhoods. Our findings highlight that a sense of belonging is grounded and embodied in space and place, and emphasise the role of everyday neighbourhood places as sites where refugee (non-)belonging emerges through social (non-)encounters and (non-)interaction with others. Daily life in transitory neighbourhood spaces provides opportunities for refugees to develop and maintain social relationships, asserting their presence and belonging in neighbourhood life. However, at the same time, refugees are demarcated as others because the different time geographies of refugees and existing residents form barriers to establishing nodes of encounter. Their otherness is further accentuated as potential places of encounter are often legally or economically inaccessible. Due to these experiences, or at least in part, refugees develop 'new places' built around shared memories, stories and food practices from their home country. Consequently, we argue for a more constructive understanding of migrant communities and suggest allowing multiple spaces of refugee belonging. Our study shows that achieving belonging is a multifaceted, nuanced and relational process, and one that is undervalued in the context of refugee dispersal in the Netherlands.

This paper contributes to current debates on positionality by critically discussing and comparing three researchers' experiences doing research involving Muslims. We introduce positionality meetings to enhance reflexivity in qualitative research projects. Based on empirical evidence from our independent projects and the positionality meetings, this paper illustrates how efforts to understanding each other's perspectives and positions, which differ in identities and biographies, challenge our accounts of self-reflexivity. Due to their deliberative character, positionality meetings reveal new and sometimes uncomfortable insights into, for instance, insider and outsider relationships and our attitudes towards religion as a research subject in a particular political context. The paper highlights several stages of the meetings to demonstrate the deliberative practice's value throughout the collective reflexive process. Serving to an interdisciplinary audience, we encourage qualitative researchers to engage in positionality meetings. Therefore, we conclude this paper by providing recommendations on how to organise such meetings.