(-) = visual ethnography, contact theory, language learning, willingness, communal living, cultural learning, social support, status holders, integration, migration
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
closed access
In this case study I investigate a unit of six people in the Woondiversiteit: a community in which Dutch students and Syrian status holders are living together. This paper attempts to show how...Show moreIn this case study I investigate a unit of six people in the Woondiversiteit: a community in which Dutch students and Syrian status holders are living together. This paper attempts to show how mutual social support, language learning and cultural learning have emerged within the informal context of this living community. It will be argued that this way of living creates opportunities for intergroup contact which results in positive effects of cross-cultural interaction, such as the reduction of prejudices and the development of family-like relations. These relationships being, on the one hand, ones that stimulate the willingness to contribute to supporting status-holders to integrate in Dutch society, and on the other hand to generate an understanding amongst the Dutch students of the condition that these status holders find themselves in and to learn new ways of being and interacting. This research consists partly of an observational film that shows these interactions. Visual ethnography as part of participant observation has been used as the principal method, to create a deeper understanding of relational learning within this community. I will discuss the different roles which the camera has played in these processes and as a medium of investigation.Show less
