Alternative spatial hierarchies: a cross-border spouse’s positioning strategies in the face of Germany’s ‘pre-integration’ language test
Shpresa Jashari, Janine Dahinden & Joëlle Moret
| Résumé |
This paper examines how spouses waiting in Turkey to be reunited
with their partner in Europe experience border regimes and deal
with the transnationalised discourses on ‘marriage migrants’ they
encounter. It is based on the analysis of a single narrative
interview, that of a woman taking German classes at Goethe
Institute in Istanbul in order to pass the required language test.
Like other respondents, she is confronted with negative gendered
preconceptions regarding ‘Turkish import brides’. Her boundary work
involves mobilising alternative hierarchies in an attempt to
discursively construct a different Turkey than the one generally
represented: she draws on social class (positioning herself as a
member of the highly educated, mobile and economically better off),
socio-spatial units (focusing on her urbanity) and gender
(experiencing ‘modern’ and equal gender relationships). The paper
emphasises the importance of the socio-spatial context, here the
classroom, where boundary-making takes place. It also provides
insights into the effects of global spatial hierarchies on migrants
and their alternative narratives, a dimension that can only be
understood through a decentred analysis. The article contributes to
studies on cross-border marriages by analysing the ‘outgoing’ side,
a perspective still rarely addressed in the literature. |
| Mots-clés |
Boundary work, cross-border marriages, border regimes, gender, social class, space and place |
| Citation | Jashari, S., Dahinden, J., & Moret, J. (2019). Alternative spatial hierarchies: a cross-border spouse’s positioning strategies in the face of Germany’s ‘pre-integration’ language test. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 1-12. |
| Type | Article de périodique (Anglais) |
| Date de publication | 17-7-2019 |
| Nom du périodique | Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies |
| Pages | 1-12 |
| URL | https://tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369183X.2019.16... |
| Liée au projet | Cross-border marriages under conditions of transnationali... |