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

ABSTRACT

In 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.

KEYWORDS:

• Migration
• place
• relational space
• public space
• identity
• belonging
• rural
• affect
• inclusion
• exclusion

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge and thank those who read and gave input in early versions of the draft of the article, especially Greg Noble, Rosemary Wearing, and Anthony Radford. The reviewers and editors for the journal have helped refine and strengthen the article. Their critique and suggestions have been much appreciated.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributor

Dr David Radford is a Lecturer (Sociology) in the School of Communication, International Studies and Languages, University of South Australia. His research focuses on mobilities, identities and social change. David is presently researching issues around multiculturalism and migration in regional Australia. He emphasizes the importance of investigating the micro or everyday lived experiences of migration and interculturality while drawing on macro factors impacting these experiences. David’s most recent publication was in the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies: ‘Everyday otherness: Intercultural refugee encounters and everyday multiculturalism in a rural South Australia town’ (2016).

ORCID

David Radford http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1905-6579

Notes

1 ‘Visible migrants’ refers to the recent wave of non-European background migrants (humanitarian/skilled/voluntary) who have moved into rural/regional towns. They maybe ‘visible’ because of differences associated with skin colour, dress, language, culture, religious practice or public behaviour (Galligan et al. 2014).

2 All names have been changed to maintain anonymity of respondents.

3 http://www.harmony.gov.au/

Additional information

Funding

The research behind the article has benefited from generous financial support through the Hawke-EU Centre for Mobilities, Migrations and Cultural Transformations, The International Centre for Muslim and Non-Muslim Understanding and an EASS DRPF divisional research grant (University of South Australia).