Space, Place and Identity: Intercultural Encounters, Affect and Belonging in Rural Australian Spaces

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn this paper, I explore particular public spaces in a country town, the local hotel and public square, and investigate how these sites produce intercultural encounters between long-term regional residents and newer refugee-background migrant communities. These encounters, occurring in spatial contexts, are (re-)subjectivized by long-term residents and new migrants, and where differences and acceptance are contested and (re)constructed. In this paper I argue that the encounters that take place in these spaces, and the affective (dis)connections that are experienced, foster either a sense of belonging or non-belonging, inclusion or exclusion. I further argue that public spaces, as relational spaces, are not simply built environments that facilitate the flow of people and material objects but also spaces that reflect personal, local and national belonging and identities. This paper is based on ethnographic research investigating the experiences and interactions of Afghan Hazara migrants and long-term regional residents in a South Australian country town between 2014 and 2016.