Discourses of Integration in Antwerp

ABSTRACT

Integration is a co-constructive process that involves the erection of structures, relationship building, and circulation of communal discourses. Utilizing observation and interviews, I critically examine the everyday discursive construction of integration in Antwerp, Belgium, which has one of the largest immigrant populations in Europe. Antwerp has established systems of integration lauded by many as a model for other nations to follow. Yet, integration is subsequently constructed as a form of agentic payment owed by immigrants prior to being socially accepted, central to three integration dictums (Learn the Language, Get a Job, and Adapt Culturally) I deconstruct in this paper.

KEYWORDS:

• Immigration
• discourse
• assimilation
• ethnography
• interviews

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.