Associations of Ethnical, Cultural and Religious minorities from a Perspective of Social Pedagogic

• Historically the majority society in Sweden has categorized minority groups out of different inconsistent characteristics. It can be out ethnical or cultural belonging but sometimes it is out of religious believes and the point of departure for those categories can only be understood out of a historical perspective. Examples of those historically well established patterns of categorizations are Romans and Muslims. In the group of Romans there might be several different religions represented, and in the Muslim group there might be several ethnical belongings represented. The categories, Romans and Muslim, are historically often used to distinct people from a belonging to the majority in Sweden which has an excluding effect as it separates us from them. As an answer to this excluding or marginalizing process, the groups themselves have organised their activities within groups of associations. Those associations have served several purposes depending on the specific group of interest, such as education, culture issues, or building up communities of fellowship. From one perspective those associations can be seen as segregated groups which run the risk to strengthen the marginalization for their participants. But the associations themselves argue that they instead have a crucial role for the integration of marginalized categories of citizens, on both a group and an individual level. In this paper we discuss associations which origin from two minority groups (Muslims and Romanise) with a theoretical frame of social pedagogic. They are built upon different categories, ethnicity and religion, but participants themselves says that the need for their associations origin from experiences of exclusion and marginalization from the majority society as well as needs for social cohesion within the groups. The aim is to develop knowledge and discuss the associations own purposes where the dichotomy between adaptation and mobilisation are of certain interest, and moreover, adaptation or mobilisation, to what? Such a question entails a discussion about the relations between minority groups and the majority society. One core question is – how can this kind of associations be understood from a social pedagogical perspective? Is it a place where the groups can experience community or a place where knowledge, traditions and values can be transferred from one generation to another? Or is it more platforms for mobilization and consciousness awareness about the relation to the majority society, where the relations itself are seen as having a great impact on everyday life? The empirical data derives from interviews with stakeholders from the associations and observations of group activities. Theories about participation and communities form the base for our analyses and understandings about the associations own work with issues like education, fosterage, commitment and mobilisation. We also lean on theories about multi-culturally politics of identity to analyse the associations’ relation and position to the surrounding society. The expectations are that the results will show which meaning the associations have for the minority group’s inclusion and relation to the majority society where the question of us and them is significant.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi -- Socialt arbete (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology -- Social Work (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap -- Pedagogik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences -- Pedagogy (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

SOCIAL SCIENCES

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

Social work

Socialt arbete

Education

Pedagogik

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