Programme full

Friday 17 April 2015 15:15 - 16:45
PAPER SESSION 8
abuse is largely accepted by Fijians, that it is 'in their culture,' which emerged strongly from my fieldwork interviews.
This racist and racialising view positions 'British culture' as a progressive counterpoint to the othered, 'regressive'
culture of Fijian personnel, effectively obscuring the gender inequalities and violences which structure life within the
British military institution and community. The paper reflects upon these reified and causative conceptualisations of
Fijian culture, and the particular conceptions of both British and military culture which this requires, to critique the
coloniality which continues to shape relations within British military communities.
'Alien Space' and Living on the Line: Migrant Mothers and the Everyday Experience of Liminal Enactment
Ni Mhurchu, A.
(University of Manchester)
The term 'living on the line' is often used to indicate a state of crisis or a time of intensified disruption into the familiar
order of certainty, stability and prediction. Yet, for some people living on the line is a regular part of their lives – as
demonstrated by one of the migrant mothers I spoke to who spoke about 'carving an alien space that is neither here
nor there'. This then begs the question as how people's lives are lived through vulnerability, fragility and contingency
rather than only beyond this. This paper will explore the experiences of migrant mothers as a group which live their
lives on the line between (because they are connected to both) 'host culture' and 'migrant culture'; 'citizenship' and
'migration'; 'past' and 'present'; 'inclusion' and 'exclusion'; 'belonging' and 'not-belonging'; 'here' and 'there' on a daily
basis. It will consider how these experiences of temporal and spatial liminality open up new possibilities for their
children's roles as citizens. It will consider how this experience of 'in-between' is one in which the taken-for-granted
order is neither temporarily suspended nor collapses entirely; it is an ongoing contingent, fragile state which helps us
rethink what citizenship can be. The paper will explore in particular how such experiences are tied into mundane
rather than only high stake forms of insecurity and contestation, by focusing on everyday experiences linked to family,
friendship and community relations.
Ethnic Identity Formation among Malaysian Female in Penang, Malaysia: A Comparative Study between
Malays and Chinese
Ismail, K.
(University Of Glasgow)
This research is focused mainly on Malays and Chinese ethnic identity formation due to their majority-majority
relationship in Malaysia. The main objective of this research is to discuss the important elements that contribute to the
ethnic identity formation and preservation in relation to inter-ethnic relationship between Malays and Chinese, in daily
life. In 2013, seven female Malays and eight female Chinese were interviewed in Penang, Malaysia. Penang was
chosen due to its population composition between Malays and Chinese, which is nearly equal with 636,146 and
670,400, respectively. Through the research it has been found out that female Malays and Chinese ethnic identity
formation in Malaysia is influenced by two important contexts which are: 'authority-defined' and 'everyday-defined'.
The authority-defined contributes to ethnic identity formation through educational, marriage and political institutions.
The respondents subconsciously self-categorized themselves and non-ethnic members into categories such as
religion, language and customs as the ethnic differences whereas; the ethnic identity from 'everyday-defined' is fluid.
The research has discovered that ethnic identity from this perspective can be adjusted based on situation and location
factors. In consequence to this fluidity, ethnic identity preservation only happens when respondents analyse the
situation as threatening or not. As conclusion, it is easier to defined ethnic identity in Malaysia based on the context of
analysis but to defined ethnic identity in the context of practise is a little bit challenging where the situational and
locational factors are important.
Race, Ethnicity and Migration 3
W727, HAMISH WOOD BUILDING
RACE AND ETHNICITY SUB-STREAM: RACE, ETHNICITY AND RESEARCH
Robust Knowledge, Dirty Research, Proof of Impact? Perceptions of ‘Evidence’ and Data in British Civil
Society Organisations
Allen, W.
(University of Oxford)
The terms 'Big Data' and 'evidence-based research' carry significant currency in business, academic, and computing
spheres. On contested issues like migration and social welfare, British civil society and voluntary organisations
BSA Annual Conference 2015 300
Glasgow Caledonian University