Mixed Couples and Critical Cosmopolitanism: Experiences of Cross-border Love

ABSTRACT

Research on intermarriage until now has focused mainly on the challenging nature of interculturality and on the adaptation strategies of migrant spouses. As a consequence, native-born partners’ change in an intercultural family environment has been scarcely envisioned. What we suggest in this study of mixed couples in Spain is a necessary turn on the positive aspects of cross-cultural communication and on in-couple learning dynamics, which develop in the process of mutual intercultural adaptation. Our purpose is to shed light on cross-border love as a space of self-transformation where the original forms of dialogue and hyphenated social identities are built. Mixed couples have shown to be valuable cases for exploring and exemplifying dynamics of cosmopolitanism on a micro level. The results of this study provide empirical evidence to support the theory of critical cosmopolitanism and cross-cultural adaptation and transformation theory.

KEYWORDS:

• Mixed couples
• mixed marriage
• intermarriage
• cosmopolitanism
• cross-cultural adaptation
• intercultural intimacy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Marija Djurdjevic is Research Associate at the Rovira i Virgili University, Catalunya, Spain.

Jordi Roca Girona is Professor of Anthropology at the Rovira i Virgili University, Catalunya, Spain.

Notes

1. The italics are in the original unless otherwise stated.

2. Three phases of this research initiative, led by Prof. Jordi Roca Girona, have been financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness within the National RandD+i Plan: the first Imported love, migrants for love (47/05) in the period of 2006–2008; the second Transnational love (CSO2009-10187) 2010–2012 and the third Mixed couples living out of Spain (CSO2012-33565) 2013–2015.

3. At the end of a citation, indicated in brackets will be the interviewed person’s name, nationality and age followed by partner’s nationality and age. In the case of double interviews, both participants’ names will be given with the author in the first place.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Government of Spain [grant number CSO2012-33565].