On post-Brexit London: difference doesn’t have to break us

Sztykowski, Zosia (2016) On post-Brexit London: difference doesn’t have to break us. Researching Sociology (26 Jun 2016). Website.

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Abstract

I first lived in London ten years ago and, with a few diversions, have been trying to make my way back ever since. To me, London is a place where difference is par for the course. Its much-vaunted multiculturalism leads to a kind of oblique acceptance which I can actually perceive, and have struggled to find anywhere else. I recognize that this is my experience only, and that this acceptance is conditional and highly imperfect; it helps a lot that I’m white and middle class and that, though I was born in Poland and am an EU citizen, I speak English with an American accent because I grew up there. Nevertheless, in London I have a truly international friend group, including my first Polish friends who aren’t related to me. It’s one of the few places that people don’t ask me where I’m from as soon as they hear my ethnic name. This is a relief, particularly because there’s no straightforward answer in my case. I love my super-diverse neighborhood, which reminds me of Washington, DC, pre-development. Though making a home out of this city is trying in a thousand other ways, the ability to blend in, so to speak, and to live together with people very different from you, is worth it.

Item Type:	Online resource (Website)
Official URL:	http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/researchingsociology/
Additional Information:	© 2016 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Sociology
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races J Political Science > JC Political theory J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) > JN101 Great Britain
Date Deposited:	26 Jun 2017 10:03
Last Modified:	15 Sep 2023 20:49
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/82246

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