Ethnic minorities' reactions to newcomers in East London: symbolic boundaries and convivial labor

Wessendorf, Susanne ORCID: 0000-0002-0932-6635 (2020) Ethnic minorities' reactions to newcomers in East London: symbolic boundaries and convivial labor. British Journal of Sociology, 71 (2). 208 - 220. ISSN 0007-1315

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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. This article investigates the local experiences, perceptions, and attitudes towards newcomers among long-established ethnic minorities in an area which they have made their home, and where they predominate not just in numbers but also by way of shops, religious sites, school population, and so on. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in East London (UK), it 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 labor, 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:	Article
Official URL:	https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14684446
Additional Information:	© 2020 London School of Economics and Political Science
Divisions:	International Inequalities Institute
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform J Political Science > JV Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration
Date Deposited:	20 Jan 2020 13:57
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 02:02
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/103133

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