It’s a two-way thing: symbolic boundaries and convivial practices in changing neighbourhoods in London and Tshwane

Susanne Wessendorf and Tamlyn Monson

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: While there is a considerable body of literature on symbolic boundaries that engages with long-established/newcomer configurations, work on conviviality has only rarely taken this angle, despite its general focus on contexts of immigration-related diversity. This article connects these literatures by examining insider-outsider configurations between long-established residents and newcomers in two very different contexts of rapid demographic change, where the established population is already marginalised and feels further threatened by newcomers. Drawing on ethnographic research in Newham, United Kingdom, and Mshongo, South Africa, we advance debates on conviviality by revealing how perceptions of inequality, lack of civility, and lack of reciprocity shape symbolic boundaries against newcomers, which may in turn be softened by convivial practices. We also consider what the differences between the sites might reveal about the enabling conditions for conviviality in such neighbourhoods.

Keywords: migration; conviviality; exclusion; inequality; informal settlement; marginalisation; reciprocity; squatters; struggle discourse; symbolic boundaries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D63 J61 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 23 pages
Date: 2023-02
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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