Superdiverse Contexts Research Articles

‘Academic literacies’: sustaining a critical space on writing in academia

In this paper, I briefly track the emergence and foci of academic literacies as a field of inquiry, summarising its contributions to understandings about writing and meaning making in academia. Writing from my specific geohistorical location in the UK, I foreground the importance of early key works that encapsulated concerns about deficit orientations to students’ language and literacy practices (e.g. Ivanič, 1998; Lea and Street,1998). I also underline the transnational dimension to the development of academic literacies which has helped drive forward intellectual debates about the relationship between academic language and literacy practices, and participation in academia. I argue that academic literacies provides an important space for critically exploring what are often taken-for-granted assumptions about the nature and value of academic writing conventions, and the ways these (both assumptions and conventions) impact on opportunities for participation in knowledge making. This critical thinking space continues to serve as an intellectual resource for researchers, teachers and students in contemporary neo-liberal higher education, where regimes of evaluation are super-normative, even in (or because of) a context of super-diversity, that is increased mobility of peoples and semiotic practices. Academic literacies as praxis necessarily involves straddling both normative and transformative orientations (Lillis and Scott, 2007) or what Hall (1992) refers to as the ‘academic’ and ‘intellectual’ dimensions to academia.

Sacred language acquisition in superdiverse contexts

This article presents and discusses data which reveal the multilingual contexts of contemporary UK mosque schools offering Muslim children liturgical (Qur’anic) literacy acquisition. It contrasts significantly with data collected twenty years earlier from broadly similar contexts. That data, gathered in the years 1998–2001, suggested relatively stable but complex patterns of language use including codeswitching, reading as decoding, memorisation and localised di/triglossia involving both prestigious and vernacular community languages, a sacred language (Classical Arabic) and a majority language, English. Nearly two decades later, findings from similar UK contexts present quite different linguistic profiles with less stable and much greater linguistic diversity, the more widespread—in some cases, the dominant—use of English, and the ever-increasing publication and use of English language and bilingual teaching resources and practices. This article attempts to bring research into liturgical literacy practices in such settings up to date by sharing data drawn from a range of sources gathered recently across a range of mosque schools in a northern city in England.

The role of superdiverse home country cities in helping migrants negotiate life in superdiverse host country cities

Global cities and megacities are locales where (super)diversity is experienced in a condensed form. Their social textures are in permanent evolution; they are constructed, deconstructed, and reinvented by their constantly changing inhabitants. Cities constitute spaces where largely identical lifestyles, ‘modes of behaviour’, and ‘patterns of thought and feeling’ (Giddens and Sutton, 2013: 206-220) can be experienced. In the migration literature, superdiverse host country cities, primarily of the global North, are often investigated as destinations of migration, whilst the role of superdiverse home country cities, from which migrants arrive and which are often situated in the global South, is rarely considered. This paper draws on findings from a qualitative study on understandings of integration of highly educated Indian migrant women living in the UK, and mainly in London, who prior to moving to the UK had resided in socially, culturally and demographically highly diverse Indian or other cities. It is argued that pre-migration residence in superdiverse cities shapes the ability to negotiate superdiverse host city spaces. In particular, exposure to superdiverse social environments in India in everyday life and the need to deal with them greatly enhances the propensity for acquiring such mental states and pragmatic skills and approaches that can later be used, at least partially, in other superdiverse contexts.

Linguistic landscapes

AbstractSome of the key challenges in teaching intercultural communication (IC) are to engage learners in activities which develop their critical intercultural awareness and to prepare them for communication in superdiverse (Vertovec, 2007) contexts. This paper discusses linguistic landscapes (LL) as an innovative method for teaching intercultural competence. Undergraduate linguistics students conducted a LL project to explore linguistic diversity in their chosen suburb of Sydney and reflected on their own intercultural learning experience. Student reflections revealed that the project had a strong impact on their perceptions of diversity and their attitudes towards other languages and cultures. Students increased their critical awareness of how identity, ideology and attitudes influence language choices and intercultural interactions. The experiential learning project also made them reflect on their own identity as intercultural citizens. The findings of this study highlight the usefulness of the project in developing intercultural competence (ICC). The paper discusses methodological implications for teaching IC in the context of increasingly multilingual and multicultural learning communities.

Faith-Based Education and Equality: Towards an Education of Prejudice? - The Example of Faith Schools in England

While education remains strictly speaking within the realm of the state’s duty, the analysis begins by challenging the assumption that autonomy is primarily perceived as personal autonomy. It then explains how normative pluralism may operate on the level of a functional normative system (creating self-governing institutions within education) in the case of Britain, increasingly combined with a background of religious normativity. Through the use of recent cases on segregation of boys and girls at faith schools, discrimination on admission criteria on the basis on faith to many of these schools as well as the growing discussion of British values taught at those same schools, the analysis will engage with the development of the debate in its broader socio-legal dimensions. Questioning the decline of religiosity in this field, the paper will set out the major challenges for the liberal state that this new ‘arrangement’ creates. Ultimately, it will also ‘re-read’ state-funded religious education as the next phase in the development of normative pluralism towards the protection of specific ethno-cultural groups in super-diverse contexts.

Narratives of migration on Facebook: Belonging and identity among former fellow refugees

AbstractThis article brings together research on migration and identity in translocal and superdiverse contexts, and the recently expanding interest in narratives and interaction in social media, by examining the construction of identities in narratives shared in a private Facebook group message. The participants are former fellow refugees from Poland who reconnected on Facebook after two decades. The article analyzes three narratives produced in response to the researcher's question about ethnic and national affiliations. Using Bucholtz & Hall's (2004) tactics of intersubjectivity framework, this study examines the complex and conflicting ways in which individuals position themselves with respect to various contexts of belonging and difference (Meinhof & Galasiński 2005) that emerge in their narratives. I argue that the narratives show a link between essentialist or nonessentialist views of ethnicity/nationality, and the teller's assumed agency over her identity. The study also discusses new possibilities for discursive practices in social media contexts. (Narrative, migration, social media, identity, belonging)

Health and safety regulators in a superdiverse context: Review of challenges and lessons from the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia

Health and safety regulators in a superdiverse context: Review of challenges and lessons from the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia

Intergroup relations in a super-diverse neighbourhood: The dynamics of population composition, context and community

There is now an extensive literature demonstrating that experiences of migration and diversity differ significantly between and across local geographies. Three broad explanations for differences in local outcomes have been put forward (Robinson, 2010): first, population composition – the characteristics of individuals living in the neighbourhood; second, context – the social and physical environment; and third, community – socio-cultural histories and collective identities. Few studies examine the linkages between all three explanations and their relative importance. This article applies all three explanations to intergroup relations in a super-diverse context. It draws on data from a mixed methods case study of a neighbourhood in Glasgow, Scotland where long-term white and ethnic minority communities reside alongside Central and Eastern European migrants, refugees and other recent arrivals. The evidence comprises local statistics and documentary evidence, participant observation and qualitative and walk-along interviews with residents and local organisations. The findings highlight the different ways in which people respond to super-diversity, and the importance of the neighbourhood context and the material conditions for intergroup relations. The article thus demonstrates the ambiguities that arise from applying the dynamics of population composition, context and community to neighbourhood analysis, with implications for the study of neighbourhoods more widely.

Australia’s Changing Religious Profile—Rising Nones and Pentecostals, Declining British Protestants in Superdiversity: Views from the 2016 Census

The 2016 Australian Census reveals continued change in Australia’s religious diversity. While reviewing some of the highlights of this development–the continuing increase in the ‘no religion’ category, the first ever decline in Catholic numbers, and the rise of Hindus and Sikhs–several religious groups, which are not usually combined in the census, actually when grouped together represent most of the Pentecostal and charismatic churches and form the fourth largest religious group in Australia. These changes are set in a comparative context, internationally and intergenerationally. The religious diversity and Anglican retention rates of Stonnington–one of Melbourne’s 21 Cities–are examined as a window on local diversity and change. Finally, we discuss three main categories of religion in contemporary Australia: the ‘nones’; the spiritual but not religious; and the religious and spiritual. The data reveal a new context of superdiversity in Australia.Open access: Attribution—Non Commercial—NoDerivs / CC BY-NC-ND

Neighbourhood participation in super-diverse contexts: comparing Amsterdam and Vienna

Urban policies are increasingly localized, stressing the role of neighbourhood social contacts in generating cohesion and citizen participation. Studies on ‘everyday’ multiculturalism also emphasize the neighbourhood as a meaningful place for encounters. However, there remains a lack of understanding of how specific contexts condition encounters with difference. We compare two European neighbourhoods that provide different contexts for participation: Amsterdam and Vienna. We ask how residents experience local spaces of encounter and how this influences their experience of the neighbourhood. We find a mismatch between the aims of local policies and the experiences of residents, who also value more superficial contacts.

Pathways of settlement among pioneer migrants in super-diverse London

ABSTRACTUrban areas in Europe and beyond have seen significant changes in patterns of immigration, leading to profound diversification. This diversification is characterised by the multiplication of people of different national origins, but also differentiations regarding migration histories, religions, educational backgrounds, legal statuses and socio-economic backgrounds. This ‘diversification of diversity’ is now commonly described as ‘super-diversity’. Despite an increasing number of studies looking at how people live together in such super-diverse contexts, little is known about new patterns of immigration into such contexts of migrants who do not follow established migration patterns. Where do recent migrants who cannot draw on already existing migrant or ethnic ‘communities’ find support? What do they do when they arrive? Drawing on earlier studies on ‘pioneer migration’, this paper reformulates the notion of such pioneer migrants and asks what factors impact their settlement process, particularly in regard to economic integration. The paper argues that it is not ethnicity or country of origin which are the main factors shaping this process, but legal status and cultural capital.

Legal status diversity: regulating to control and everyday contingencies

ABSTRACTTracing the link between population flux and the regulation of migration, this paper develops the argument that immigration status differentiations impact not only on categorical multiplicities but also on contingent dynamics in urban migration-related diversity. A better understanding of those contingencies is central to discussing processes of adaptation in contexts of superdiversity. I first point to the frequency of change in rules and regulations pertaining to a multiplicity of immigration statuses. I then emphasise the co-relevance of conditionalities of entry and parameters of presence, set out by those rules, as central components of legal status diversity. In a third part I consider the resulting differentiations in terms of information overload. Thinking about status differentiations as information contradicts devising ever more status tracks to order migration and optimise its economic and social implications. I then point to empirical patterns in legal status diversities emphasising spatiotemporal contingencies in admitting migrants through different immigration channels. Concurrently I highlight why the resulting patterns of change are relevant for local urban diversity dynamics. I conclude the paper by drawing parallels between on the one hand steering migration to optimise its implications and on the other hand steering adaptations in superdiverse contexts to optimise integration.

Researching Migration in a Superdiverse Society: Challenges, Methods, Concerns and Promises

The arrival of superdiversity raises a wide range of methodological issues that warrant further consideration by social researchers conducting research in superdiverse contexts. The complex multi-layering of population settlement that has emerged due to successive waves of migration means that identities, lived experience and access to services including welfare are played out in a plethora of different ways, often determined by the interplay of a range of socio-economic variables alongside structural characteristics, which influence the fundamental rights and entitlements of individuals living in the UK and in turn their settlement and adaptation experiences. This paper reflects on the limitations of ethno-centric research designs, which concentrate on ethnicity as the most important unit of analysis, and calls for more participatory and multidimensional methodologies that engage diverse participants and reflect the levels of socio-demographic complexity experienced in urban areas of society. It then moves on to discuss a number of specific methodological challenges associated with complex populations. In particular sampling and access issues associated with diverse migrant populations will be considered. The latter part of this paper discusses the adoption of a range of research approaches that offer promising potential in terms of better capturing and understanding the heterogeneity, complexity and fluidity concomitant with superdiversity as well as engaging a range of community stakeholders in the production of knowledge.

Contextual–transformational social work in superdiverse contexts: An evaluative perspective by clients and social workers

In this article, we uncover the perspectives of the stakeholders of a particular social work organization regarding outcomes and working principles in a contextual–transformative practice with vulnerable people in superdiverse contexts. Our study demonstrates how the main tasks of social workers in a contextual–transformational vision of social work, namely, improving the self-reliance of people and the conditions for societal participation and social cohesion, can be combined. By adopting a practice-oriented approach to evaluation, we succeeded in expressing the type of evidence that shows the outcomes of a contextualized transformational social work practice engaged with expanding the freedoms and agency of clients. Clients and social workers emphasize the following outcomes: a sense of belonging, increased practical competences, and feelings of confidence and empowerment. To achieve these outcomes, the social workers combine different practice principles. The principle of installing an “open house” in a divers sensitive and complex way is in the perspective of clients and social workers utterly effective. In superdiverse contexts and communities, social work practices must be recognizable for their clients and emit respect for cultural differences. The investment in effective relationship building with clients shows also to be crucial. Finally, juridical, informational, and practical support is essential for helping clients to acquire their (social) rights. Social workers’ crucial competence here in doing a “good” job, is their capacity to “set the problem,” “provide information”, and to look for improvement in the specific context.

Uncovering Language Policy in Higher Education: Reflections from the Classroom

This paper analyzes salient issues that emerged over the course of a language policy action research course at the Graduate Center City University in New York. The course, embedded in the larger scope of the Futures Initiatives, allowed students to study different language communities across different campuses in New York. This piece describes these findings in light of language policy and higher education in super diverse contexts and argues for further exploration of language practices to inform the work of educators across different settings in higher education.

Contesting the monolingual mindset

This paper focuses on the day-to-day practices of service providers working with multilingual immigrants. It reports on 74 video recorded conversations between service providers and immigrant mothers, drawing on ethnographic fieldwork atKind en Gezin, the organization that monitors childcare for the Flemish authorities in Belgium. In discussing the findings, we focus on two principal themes: First, we demonstrate what the language requirements enshrined in Belgium’s language policies entail for the day-to-day practices of service providers working with multilingual clients. Secondly, we argue that, in superdiverse contexts, the growing need is towards delegitimizing language policy makers’ protectionist claim that the national language should be the only language used in public service encounters.

Investigating deaf children’s plural and diverse use of sign and spoken languages in a super diverse context

Abstract This paper examines the meaning of plurality and diversity with respect to deaf children’s sign and spoken language exposure and repertoire within a super diverse context. Data is drawn from a small-scale project that took place in the North of England in a Local Authority (LA) site for deaf education. The project documented the language landscape of this site and gathered five individual case studies of deaf children to examine their plural and diverse language practices at home and at school. Analysis of the language landscape and case studies from this context is undertaken in order to define and exemplify deaf children’s language plurality and diversity in terms of context and individual experience. Concepts of repertoire are explored with particular reference to the unique type of translanguaging that the plural use of sign and spoken languages affords. Implications of these preliminary insights are discussed in terms of the development of methodologies that are sensitive to the particular translanguaging practices of deaf children, and approaches to pedagogy that are appropriately nuanced and responsive to deaf children’s language plurality and diversity.

The challenge of superdiversity for the identity of the social work profession: Experiences of social workers in ‘De Sloep’ in Ghent, Belgium

This article examines the challenges that superdiversity and complexity pose for social workers. Taking an ethnographic approach, we focus on the ‘knowledge-in-action’ of social workers in a small service organization in Belgium in order to access their experiences of being professionals in superdiverse contexts. The reflections of the social workers reveal the prominence of three inter-related issues: the social vulnerability of clients, the tensions that arise in coping with differences between personal and professional frameworks and identities, and the discontinuity that challenges the professional self-confidence of social workers. The findings raise important questions for the professional identity of social work.

Cultivating linguistic flexibility in contexts of super-diversity

AbstractIn this article we embrace the call that Flores and Lewis (this issue) put forth for situating research on linguistic “super-diversity” within particular historical, cultural and social contexts, challenging monolingual norms, and acknowledging ideological forces that drive the “sociopolitical emergence” of particular language practices. Using ethnographic and audiotaped data, we explore emergent linguistic practices in an after-school program in Los Angeles that in important ways both mimics and amplifies the diverse migration flows that characterize super-diversity. Focusing on linguistic interactions in this site, we question the tendency in research on super-diversity to celebrate translingual practices without consideration of power relations, including locally specific ideologies of language as manifested in both explicit and implicit forms. We examine linguistic practices that emerged and took shape as new members entered our space, identifying translingual and transcultural competencies that participants displayed as they “read” the local context and made choices about what language forms to utilize. We suggest that these may be largely unrecognized skills that are cultivated in contexts of super-diversity. At the same time, we sound a warning note about the constricted nature of the forms of language that came to predominate in this space. Finally, we highlight practices that were designed to disrupt hegemonic notions of language, support linguistic flexibility, and capitalize on the possibilities that super-diverse linguistic and cultural contexts offer.

Multiculturalism at play: young people and citizenship in Australia

This article analyzes an Australian theatre program that engaged diverse youth in (re)visioning citizenship and multiculturalism by creating new notions of belonging and altering perceptions of Aboriginal culture and its value in Australia. This kind of work – where young people's understandings of inclusion and diversity can be unsettled, critiqued, and developed – is crucial because current approaches to Australian multiculturalism tend to rely on Anglo-centric norms and fail to account for indigeneity. Drawing on participant observation and semi-structured interviews, I argue that youth theatre based on reflexive practices and cross-cultural sharing may offer a useful tool for young people's education for inclusive citizenship in a multicultural, super-diverse context. When practiced thoughtfully, such programs can offer space for rethinking citizenship and belonging in ways that recognize the centrality of Indigenous culture and critically reflect on the limitations of the dominant culture's reliance on Anglo cultural norms and ideas.