Ethnic minorities’ reactions to newcomers in East London: symbolic boundaries and convivial labour

Wessendorf, Susanne ORCID: 0000-0002-0932-6635 (2019) Ethnic minorities’ reactions to newcomers in East London: symbolic boundaries and convivial labour. Working Paper (35). International Inequalities Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.

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Abstract

In much public discourse on immigrants in Western Europe, perceptions towards newcomers are discussed in relation to what white national majorities think. However, today, new migrants often move into places which are already settled by previous migrants. Surprisingly little is known about the local experiences, perceptions and attitudes towards newcomers among long-established ethnic minorities in areas which they have made their home, and where they predominate not just in numbers but also by way of shops, religious sites, school population, etc. Based on ongoing ethnographic fieldwork in East London (UK), this paper looks at long-established ethnic minority residents’ attitudes towards newcomers from Eastern Europe, and how these are shaped by their own histories of exclusion. By bringing together theories on symbolic boundary making with the concept of ‘convivial labour’ (Nobel 2009; Wise 2016), it shows how experiences of stigmatization impact on perceptions of white newcomers, and how these perceptions are characterized by a combination of empathy and resentment.

Item Type:	Monograph (Working Paper)
Official URL:	http://www.lse.ac.uk/International-Inequalities
Additional Information:	© 2019 The Author
Divisions:	International Inequalities Institute
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
Date Deposited:	04 Oct 2019 16:30
Last Modified:	14 Sep 2024 04:06
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/101879

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