Enacting Migrant Community: Struggles and Unbelonging in the Field of Russian-Speaking Cultural Production

In this article, based on ethnographic research conducted in Perth, Western Australia and Madrid, Spain, we consider how community is understood and enacted for Russian-speaking migrants and its role in cultural (re)production. Studies often overlook the important role of struggle, contestation and...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociology (Oxford) 2024-08, Vol.58 (4), p.796-813
Main Authors: Akifeva, Raisa, Baldassar, Loretta, Fozdar, Farida
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bourdieu, Pierre (1930-2002)
Community
Ethnographic research
Immigrants
Leadership
Migrants
Power
Power structure
Social space
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In this article, based on ethnographic research conducted in Perth, Western Australia and Madrid, Spain, we consider how community is understood and enacted for Russian-speaking migrants and its role in cultural (re)production. Studies often overlook the important role of struggle, contestation and power relations in everyday practices of community making. Drawing on Bourdieu’s field theory, we describe the Russian-speaking migrant community as a structured social space in which community leaders and migrant institutions compete for the right to represent the community. As a result of power differentials, contested ideas about what Russian-speaking culture is and how it should be transmitted, maintained and produced are established, (re)produced and revised. The community is perceived by its own members as disunited and/or consisting of members with whom migrants do not want to identify, forming a ‘community of unbelonging’.
ISSN:0038-0385
1469-8684
DOI:10.1177/00380385231219105