Rethinking integration. JEMS special issue on adaptation and settlement in the era of super-diversity

New Special Issue of Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies published.

Special Issue: Rethinking integration. New perspectives on adaptation and settlement in the era of super-diversity is available from the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (jems). Featuring articles from IRiS Director Professor Jenny Phillimore, and IRiS members Dr Rachel Humphris, Dr Susanne Wessendorf and Dr Aleksandra Grzymala-Kazlowska, this special issue aims to bring new perspectives to the understanding of migrant integration, transitions and settlement, challenging a number of widely articulated fears that exist concerning migration.

The ongoing movement of peoples across Europe has contributed to superdiversification of the industrialised north, it has also contributed to fears of migrants and refugees, particularly the burden on public services and resources such as healthcare, housing and jobs, perceived by many to be a direct impact of migration. In their article Reciprocity for new migrant integration: resource conservation, investment and exchange, Jenny Phillimore, Rachel Humphris and Kamran Khan examine how new migrants use reciprocity to make connections, access integration resources and undertake acts of reciprocal exchange. Rather than conserve resources, the article suggests migrants actively use resource exchange strategies to mitigate stress and aid integration.

In her article From connecting to social anchoring: adaptation and ‘settlement’ of Polish migrants in the UK, Aleksandra Grzymala-Kazlowska revisits her original concept of social anchoring. This article moves the notion of ‘settlement’ beyond thinking of the concept of identity and integration to an understanding of the tangible footholds and structural constraints of social anchoring, linking them to the psychological and emotional aspects of settlement.

In other articles, Franz Buhr explores the idea of migrant spatial integration, introducing a new exploratory tool to examine in depth urban experience and migrant integration, focussing on Lisbon, Portugal. Dr Susanne Wessendorf draws upon her earlier studies of pioneer migrants in London to reformulate the notion of pioneer migrants, asking what factors impact their settlement process. The paper argues that ethnicity and country of origin are no longer the key factors shaping this process, but rather legal status and cultural capital.

This special issue outlines a number of key arguments and contributions pertaining to new and existing perceptions of migrant adaption and integration under conditions of superdiversity. The articles challenges existing concepts of the structures and resources migrants use to support their integration, highlighting their understanding of cultural capital and social connections to aid their integration and enable their contributions to the communities in which they settle and adapt.

To access this Special Issue and the full range of articles please click here

For more information about The Institute for Research into Superdiversity  (IRiS) please click here